Bazball it ain’t but this team must learn to tough it out

Forget any debate about the merits of Bazball, what england have lacked during this series in India is a ruthless streak to get through difficult periods.

they just haven’t been able to stop first-innings collapses. Simple as that. And it’s cost them dear.

Unfortunately, they saved the worst until last, because slumping from 100 for one on the eve of lunch to 183 for eight in the afternoon was the most disappointing passage of play of the tour.

the response from this england batting line-up can’t be: ‘Well, this is the way we play and occasionally we will have great days’, because to become a great side — and by that I mean one capable of winning in Australia and India — you have to be better than that.

only twice in five matches have england made India captain rohit Sharma think about whether or not to take the second new ball. Here, they won the toss and batted just 57.4 overs.

If you are 100 for one batting first, be ruthless. It has been an ongoing failing. When opportunity has presented itself to get ahead in the game, these tourists have not nailed it down.

In the test they remarkably turned around in Hyderabad, england were 55 without loss, before losing seven wickets for 100 runs; in the second match, from 114 for one, they lost six for 68; in rajkot, from 224 for two, it was eight for 95; a fortnight ago, the end of a 47-run opening stand sparked a spell of five for 65.

A bit of ruthlessness, an ability to get through to periods when batting becomes easier, and they would still be in this series. So, regardless of what happens in the remainder of this match, if they want to learn something from the trip, it should be how to be better in pivotal moments.

It’s the repeated errors that can develop over a five-test series which will be the biggest frustration to the england team and their supporters.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett had done all the hard work, surviving excellent morning bursts from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. then, inexplicably, ollie Pope ran past one from Kuldeep Yadav.

Pope is one of those players in the england side who’s not picking the wrist spinner particularly well. And coming down the pitch on the stroke of lunch, trying to knock him for one when uncertain which way the ball was going, just played into the opposition’s hands. Now, I’m not saying don’t play any shots, but turning to leg in the circumstances was a high-risk option.

Batting is all about risk and reward, but with that particular shot you’re effectively risking everything for a single. the percentages aren’t in your favour, especially if you’re not sure which way its spinning.

When Pope missed the ball, India’s body language lifted immediately because they knew a new batter would be at the crease at the start of the afternoon session.

After another fine innings from Crawley, Jonny Bairstow went on the counter-attack, which is his game, but the 20s and 30s that have littered england’s innings do not hurt the opposition. In India, when you get in, you’ve got to make a big contribution, not throw it away by getting out.

And as you might anticipate at the end of a seven- week tour, there was a bit of scrambled brain syndrome in the middle order burning their reviews in a 13-ball spell. With the naked eye, all three looked out — Bairstow nicked one and Joe root and Ben Stokes were both stonewall lbws.

A series like this wears you down and Stokes has discovered his nemesis in Kuldeep.

this was the third time Kuldeep had dismissed him in four innings, and a sign that he’s not picking the left-armer is that he’s playing him off the back foot, which in theory gives him a bit more time. only on this occasion, Kuldeep bowled it quicker and rushed Stokes.

the collapse showed england have not learned to soak up pressure. Yes, in India you do get collapses on big turning pitches but this was not one of those.

this was a pitch that spun a bit, not a lot, and on those you’ve got to stem the flow and survive for half an hour — because in these conditions, nothing energises the opposition more than wickets.