'Dose of honesty is the most important thing for this England team', says Michael Vaughan

NEW DELHI: Coming down heavily on England’s batting failures in their 4-1 Test series loss to India, former captain Michael Vaughan said the Ben Stokes-led side need to be given a dose of honesty over their performances in the five-match tour.

England had arrived in India on the back of not losing a series due to their attacking style of play dubbed as ‘Bazball’. They raised those hopes after winning the opening Test at Hyderabad by 28 runs, thanks to Ollie Pope’s 196 and Tom Hartley’s seven-wicket haul.

But after that famous triumph, England lost next four matches in Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamshala, where they lost many crucial moments with the bat, to lose a Test series for the first time under the Stokes-McCullum regime.

"After a humbling series defeat in India, I strongly believe that a dose of honesty is the most important thing for this England team right now. I don’t believe they need to rip everything up. They are better playing this way than they would be otherwise.

"I respect what they are trying to do, and get up early every day to watch them because they have me on the edge of my seat and I know something is going to happen. The great frustration is that they have the talent to be really competitive all over the world but they have blown two big series and in this case it was because their batting failed miserably,” wrote Vaughan in his column for The Telegraph on Sunday.

He also felt Jonny Bairstow’s approach with the bat in the fifth and final Test at Dharamshala summed up England’s batting in the trip to India. Bairstow thrilled in bits with his expansive strokeplay, but never reached a fifty as he amassed 238 runs in ten innings at an average of 23.80. At Dharamshala, he promised a lot with his flurry of boundaries, but was dismissed in both innings by Kuldeep Yadav.

"England’s batting was a real worry on this tour. I watched Jonny Bairstow in Dharamsala, on his 100th Test, and I thought his two innings almost epitomise what this team is becoming. I would call it Clickbait Batting. They are playing shots to get clicks, likes and follows.

"I’ve been there on social media! In a batting context you play a few great looking shots and everyone swoons on social media and then you get out, but you’ve not actually done anything. It’s chasing moments, it’s not about anything substantial.

"Jonny batting like that is a wicketkeeper-bat at No 7. That’s not how a No 5 bats. If he wants to bat like that, he sticks his gloves back on and competes with Ben Foakes and whoever else to keep. Maybe that’s what he wants," he elaborated.

Vaughan was further left worried over the defensive style of batting going away from England batters’ repertoire in Tests. "I watch them bat and worry that defence has become a dirty word in the setup because it’s negative. Is it a cover because they don’t trust their defence?

"Ollie Pope starts like a cat on a hot tin roof, and many of them lack the ability to calm the situation with a few overs of defence. Their style has twice been shown up against top quality spin: on this tour, and in the Ashes when Nathan Lyon was fit at Edgbaston. If he had played at Leeds they surely would have won there too."

"They needed three players like Joe Root to thrive in India, and even he took a volley after three Tests to get back playing the right way. Instead, they had streaky players who average in the thirties. Root’s method and tempo in the last two Tests should be what they are all hanging on to, and I hope they are all picking his brains," he signed off.