England are poised to open their account in the Ashes series as the side requires 226 more runs to win the Headingley Test, with two days remaining in the match. The English bowlers produced an impressive outing on Saturday to bowl Australia out on 224 after rain washed away the opening two sessions on Day 3. Travis Head (77) played a key role as Australia faced a batting collapse, helping the visitors set a competitive 251-run target for England.
The hosts, though, had a positive start despite opener Ben Duckett facing significant issues with extra bounce on multiple occasions, as they ended at 27/0 at the end of the day. England, thus, must count themselves favourites to take the Test and stay alive in the Ashes series, and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar had a word of advice for Ben Stokes and co. as they chase a win in Leeds.
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Taking to his official Twitter account, Tendulkar warned England to play sensibly and not give away their wickets cheaply in hunt for quick runs.
“The first hour at Headingley is going to be critical tomorrow,” Tendulkar wrote.
{{/usCountry}}“The first hour at Headingley is going to be critical tomorrow,” Tendulkar wrote.
{{/usCountry}}“I feel the wicket is playing absolutely fine and if England bat sensibly and are positive in their approach they will get there. They require discipline in their shot selection with a positive approach and the total will be chased.”
England endured a poor performance with the bat in the first innings as they were bowled out on 237; the final total could've been much lesser had Ben Stokes not shown some composure at the crease, as he scored a valiant 80.
Throughout the Ashes series so far, England have been heavily criticised for being overly-aggressive with the bat, with some of the side's greats including Geoffrey Boycott slamming ‘Bazball’. Both, Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, however, have defended the style of play that has reaped rewards for the English team over the past year.