According to former captain Michael Vaughan, England was “too casual” on the opening day of the second Ashes Test.
Vaughn stresses that the England team needs to understand that the match “is not just another game.”
After being given the ball to bat at Lord’s, Australia scored 339-5 at the end of the match against a dull England performance. The hosts now face an uphill battle in their attempt to tie the series after dropping two catches, bowling 12 no-balls, and showing inconsistent ball control.
Vaughan expressed his concern for England. “I have observed far too much unserious behaviour in the game. When it truly counted, England didn’t turn on quickly enough or work hard enough to win,” Vaughan said, “They switched off last week at Edgbaston.”
With an offensive strategy on the field and a more laid-back attitude off the field, England has received lots of praise for its comeback under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, who has helped them win 11 of their first 13 Test matches.
However, they were defeated by two wickets in a thrilling first Test last week at Edgbaston, driving opener Zak Crawley to predict that England would “win by 150 runs” on the Lord’s ground.
Some of the tweets were encouraging, almost as if England had won the Test match, especially after the defeat at Edgbaston, but they had not. They had lost, according to Vaughan.
“I get the feeling that it’s just another game of cricket,” he continued. “The Ashes is not your average cricket match. Against many other sides, you may be as casual as you like, but I’m afraid now is the time when it counts. This is what distinguishes England from Australia.”
