‘Woeful’ England smashed after Indian debacle

March 5, 2021 Sports 1 Views

England’s cricketers are in the firing line after yet another inept batting display, this time on the opening day of the fourth Test against India.

Playing at the same ground in Ahmedabad where they lost inside two days last week, England is once again on the back foot.

After captain Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat, the visitors were bowled out for just 205, on a pitch generally viewed as being good for batting.

Nick Hoult in the Telegraph led the condemnation, arguing the pitch should have suited the English batsmen.

England’s Dom Sibley is bowled on the first morning of the fourth Test against India. (AP)

“There can be no excuses for this performance,” he wrote. “The pitch or grumbles about umpires cannot be used to distract from a poor England batting display that gifted India the upper hand.

“England’s batting problems can be summed up by the fact they have not managed a fifty partnership since the first Test and have just one batsman — Root — averaging above 29. From 578 in the first innings in Chennai, they have gone in reverse with batsmen guilty of repeating the same errors with more soft dismissals here.”

Leading commentator Harsha Bhogle was another who lamented a poor performance by England, describing their total as “below par.”