Michael Vaughan exposes England under Brendon McCullum; dares the team vs India and Australia
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Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan has raised questions on England's over-aggressive approach with the bat during the third Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval, London. Vaughan was critical of the way the home team allowed Sri Lanka to come back into the game during their first innings.
England were 261-3 at one stage and looked set for a big score in the first innings. Even at 290-4, they were in a great position. But they lost their next 6 wickets for just 35 runs to be bowled out for just 325. The score wasn't bad but given their position, it was a disappointing first innings performance from the home team.
One of the main reasons for England's dramatic collapse was their over-aggressive approach with the bat. The batters tried to score runs quickly as they have often done in the Bazball era and kept losing wickets. As a result, they were met with a lot of scrutiny.
Michael Vaughan questions England's over-aggressive approach in the 3rd Test vs Sri Lanka
While speaking on the 'Test Match Special' Podcast after the end of Day 2, Michael Vaughan was severely critical of England's aggressive approach which led to their downfall. He argued whether England would bat the same way against India and Australia as well.
"It just felt like the end of term. With the bat in hand, they were very expansive. Would they bat like that against India and Australia? They wouldn't," Vaughan stated.
The former England batter also compared England's tactics with school cricket but expects them to win the match.
They came out and set the field with lots of slips and didn't have a fine leg. It was like when you played school cricket and played a school you knew you were better than. England haven't had many bad days this summer. I still expect them to get over the line," he added.
"Be very, very careful" - Michael Vaughan
Although Michael Vaughan stated that he likes England's positivity he also wants them to play carefully. He also spoke about the tougher challenges in a year's time by referring to the Ashes 2025-26 in Australia.
"England delights me a lot in the way they play. I like that they do things completely differently. But I sometimes watch and think, 'Be careful because this game has a way of biting you.' Don't take the mickey out of the game," Michael Vaughan said.
"Be very, very careful. There are cricketing gods up there and in a year's time, there are tougher challenges," Michael Vaughan said on the same podcast," the former England skipper added.
Sri Lanka settle down after a horror show from middle order
After England's collapse, Sri Lanka started well in their first innings and were 70-1 at one stage. However, they were soon reduced to 93-5 as the England seamers made full use of the overcast conditions on offer.
But Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis stayed till the end of the day to take the visitors to 211-5 at stumps on Day 2. England were not able to use any pace bowler in the last session which further helped Sri Lankan batters to settle down.
Sri Lanka are now trailing by 114 runs with five wickets in hand and two set batters at the crease. Earlier, England's stand-in captain Ollie Pope scored a magnificent hundred in the first innings. Pope scored a quickfire 154 off just 156 balls while opener Ben Duckett smashed 86 off 79 balls.
