ASK NASSER: Have England blown their big chance? Is Joe Root just not suited to Bazball? And can we still trust the DRS technology?
England and India will enter the third Test court after Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s men failed to pull off back-to-back miracles in the second Test.
They were bowled out for 292 at the start of the week, but their 106-run defeat prevented them from repeating the magic on display in Hyderabad where they recorded an important opening win.
But as the dust settles on the team’s travails in Visakhapatnam and preparations begin for the third Test in Rajkot, former England captain NASSER HUSSAIN answers your burning questions.
Q. Let’s be honest: England have never had a better chance to take a 2-0 lead in India. This only goes one way now, right? – Mike Hartley, Blackpool
Not necessary. England played a lot of good cricket in the second Test and so far this doesn’t remind me of the last tour of India when they won the first match and then lost the series 3-1. But I do think India will definitely become stronger.
England had failed to pull off a second successive miracle on Indian soil in the second Test
The Indian side will only go from strength to strength with the possible return of the talismanic Virat Kohli
This was an opportunity for England, but don’t forget that they were also missing players such as Jack Leach and Harry Brook. And Joe Root couldn’t bowl in the second innings. Yes, things will get tougher for England – with the return of KL Rahul and possibly Virat Kohli – but that was always going to be the case.
Question: Was Ben Stokes right to be happy with the performance in Vizag? – Dannika Corby, Sydney
The one thing about Ben is that he is always honest. Like when he basically said England were rubbish during the World Cup. So he’s right to be happy with a lot of what happened here. Did they knock India out twice because of sub-par scores? Yes. Did they bat well and reach almost 300 in the final innings in India? Yeah, that’s a pretty good effort.
The problem came in England’s first innings and that was due to an exceptional spell from Jasprit Bumrah, as good as I have seen from a fast bowler in the subcontinent. Many English batters got in and got out. That’s what they need to correct.
Ben Stokes will be proud of the effort his side have put into the first two Tests of their series
Jasprit Bumrah took pleasure in threatening England’s batsmen during an exceptional period
Q. Joe Root and Ollie Pope are too good to play hectic innings. They don’t need Bazball, right? – Zoë Ennals, Melbourne
Good question. Pope has always looked feverish. If you saw him in the first innings of this match, you would never have known that he made 196 in the last. It’s just him.
But the pair has great stats under Bazball. Root is averaging 53 during this regimen. I don’t think Joe in particular needs to be overly aggressive. He has to find the right balance.
Q. We had two great tests in front of a big audience. Should we see the wider picture and not get angry when England lose? – Jamie Milne, Edinburgh
Results are important and you should get angry when you lose. Think of all the traveling England fans in India and the people who get up at 4am at home to watch or listen. But they also want good, entertaining cricket and that’s what they got. It’s been eight brilliant days of Test cricket and if you add the West Indies’ victory over Australia in Brisbane, it’s been a good start to the year.
Joe Root is able to find the right balance and does not need outright aggression to play the Bazball of the team
Q. Stokes raised eyebrows by saying ‘the technology got that wrong’ after Zak Crawley was awarded lbw in the second Test. Can we no longer trust DRS? – Matt Davies, Barrow
I think DRS is brilliant. Look at the VAR and see how football is not doing well. That is not the case in cricket. Sometimes technology is not 100 percent accurate. That’s why we have a referee call.
This decision looked a bit strange and most of us would have thought it was a leg stump. But the game is about angles – and the left-armer in Kuldeep Yadav bowling over the wicket does create an angle – so I don’t think we should doubt the technology.
Q. England are now leaving for Abu Dhabi for eight days for some R and R. Can’t they stay in India? – Dan Sayers, Leamington Spa
That could be, but there’s a lot of cricket coming up this year, so any time they can be with their family and relax in an environment where they feel comfortable is fine by me. It can be a cauldron in India because there is so much love for cricket. As soon as these guys leave their hotel room, they are harassed. They have been successful in part because they can relax and get away from it all.
Brendon McCullum is taking his players to the Gulf State for a while with the whole family and needs some rest and relaxation
Q. Virat Kohli is coming back to be the hero. He would love that, wouldn’t he? – Grant Scandling, Sevenoaks
He would! The only thing about India is that they have been a bit sloppy in three of their four innings. I know Rahul Dravid and he would have been keen on some of the layoffs so far. India will think, ‘We’ll keep giving England a pinch here, let’s be more ruthless’. And the one thing Kohli is is absolutely ruthless.
I hope he comes back because the only thing this series is missing is the battle between Kohli and Jimmy Anderson. I look forward.
Q: If England go with two spinners and two seamers in Rajkot, or three and one, who will you pick? – Matt Deighton, Adelaide
That’s their problem. If it was Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, England would go two and two. But these three spinners are so young and inexperienced that they will have good days and bad days. So Stokes has to play almost all three. I have to think about this and look at the field in Rajkot before answering.
Q: If Harry Brook comes back, is he a straight swap for Jonny Bairstow? – Ben Hughes, Huddersfield
No not yet. Bairstow is an excellent player and only needs to convert one of his starts. It wasn’t just him. All the English batters got in and got out in Vizag. Jonny will know that if Brook goes to India he has to be clinical and get a high score. But this England team has shown confidence in their players and I expect they will also show confidence in Bairstow.
Harry Brook’s return does not automatically mean the end of Jonny Bairstow’s time in India
Q. What will happen next? – Z Khan, Delhi
We’re going to have something fun! India are favourites, I said that before a ball was bowled, but the next three matches will be fun because of the way this England team is playing. And because India is going to get better.
Now that I’m not involved, I’m not worried about the results. I worry about the bigger picture and the future of Test cricket, so I’m glad it’s been so much fun so far.