The second Test between India and England at Lord’s witnessed one of the biggest turnarounds in the longest format of the game on its final day. An under-pressure Team India bounced back confidently with a record 9th wicket partnership of 89 runs between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. The visitors declared their innings at 298 for 8, setting a 272-run target for England. In reply, the hosts were bowled out for 120, losing the game by 151 runs.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has now questioned the lack of intervention by head coach Chris Silverwood in the first session of the final day in which India got an edge over the hosts. Taking to Facebook on Saturday, Vaughan wrote a long post, stating that Silverwood remained a silent spectator when India’s tail was hammering the home attack.
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“The nadir came in that hour and 20 minutes before lunch on the fifth day of the second Test, which must rank among the worst stuff I’ve seen from an England Test team in years. Plenty has been written and said about how England lost the plot in attempting to bounce out Jasprit Bumrah, and Joe Root was undeniably let down by some of his senior players who should have intervened with him sooner, but I also wanted to see something from the coach,” Michael Vaughan wrote on his Facebook page.
“Why was Silverwood not sending someone out onto the pitch with a drink, asking Root what the hell was going on and getting him to change tactics? I know that is what Duncan Fletcher would have done with me had I suffered a brain-fade on the field.
{{/usCountry}}“Why was Silverwood not sending someone out onto the pitch with a drink, asking Root what the hell was going on and getting him to change tactics? I know that is what Duncan Fletcher would have done with me had I suffered a brain-fade on the field.
{{/usCountry}}“Every Test match essentially boils down to a handful of moments which dictate the outcome: the best teams rise to them and find a way to win them. This was the big moment in the second Test and England blew it, and Silverwood has to take his share of responsibility for that,” he added.
England trail 0-1 in the series and with three games to go, Vaughan said he would like Silverwood to show he is capable of changing the momentum of the series.
“He (Chris Silverwood) has to show that he is capable of changing England’s momentum in this series, because at the moment it is only going one way and that is in the direction of Virat Kohli, who has his hosts right where he wants them - hot under the collar, not thinking straight and making silly mistakes,” Michael Vaughan added.