ENG vs AUS: "They Whacked Us Left, Right And Over The Top" - Ian Healy Takes A Dig At Pat Cummins' Captaincy On Day 2 In Manchester

Former Australian keeper-batter Ian Healy took a dig at Australian skipper Pat Cummins’ tactics on Day 2 of the fourth Test against England in the Ashes 2023 series. Ian Healy stated that Pat Cummins didn’t bowl well and additionally dropped two catches on the field.

Pat Cummins’ captaincy came under scrutiny following England’s dominant performance on the second day’s play at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday, July 20. The hosts scored 384 runs in their first innings for the loss of four wickets, scoring 5.33 runs per over.

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Didn’t Have A Fielder On The Slog Sweep – Ian Healy

Speaking on SEN 693, Ian Healy highlighted that Pat Cummins didn’t place fielders in the right positions and bowled according to the batters’ strengths.

“It was not a day to be proud of whatsoever. We couldn’t keep things tight. Cummins had a terrible day on the field. He dropped two catches and didn’t see one.

“He kept bowling half-paced half volleys. They bowled straight to (Crawley) early, but you have to get the ball away from them and not hit from their favourite areas.

“They whacked us left, right and over the top. We didn’t have a fielder on the slog sweep for Travis head, but every fast bowler has got someone out on the boundary. It was just incredible,” Healy said.

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Pat Cummins Didn’t Get Everything Right – Tim Paine

Former Australia captain Tim Paine defended Pat Cummins, saying that captaining a side under pressure can be challenging. Tim Paine hoped that Cummins would bounce back in the following days.

“I will say before we get into it, it is so much easier to captain a side sitting on your lounge or sitting in a commentary box when you’re absolutely under no pressure,” Paine told SEN Tassie Breakfast.

“When the ball is flying around like Zak Crawley and the Poms had it flying around last night, it can go pear shaped and I think Pat would admit he didn’t get everything right yesterday, but he’s not going to.”

“He’s never going to. No captain is ever going to. All you can hope is he comes back tomorrow and they’ve had a good think about how they’re going to slow the run rate down and build a bit of pressure and try and get some wickets that way.”

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