ENGLAND ROLLED OVER FOR 161 IN ONE SESSION
Another collapse as pathetic England are rolled over in one session for 161 as Pandya rips through fragile batters
ENGLAND’S hopes of avoiding defeat in Nottingham hang by a thread after one of their trademark batting collapses.
For 78 years between 1938 and 2016, England were never bowled out in a single session. Yet since then it has now happened three times, twice on tour – in Bangladesh and New Zealand – and now here.
From 54-0 they slipped to 161 all out, including a last-wicket thrash of a partnership between Jos Buttler and James Anderson that at least allowed them to avoid the follow on. All-rounder Hardik Pandya claimed 5-28.
But the bare facts remain that England’s top-order batting has been woefully inadequate for some time and they are showing little sign of improvement, with just two Test tons scored between them all in 2018. Senior players such as Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes are neither leading from the front nor showing the application the younger and newer faces can learn from.
And while more might be expected of Keaton Jennings and Ollie Pope as Test match batsmen, they are not the men who should be driving this team forward.
Most frustratingly of all is the way in which England’s batsmen continue to make the same mistakes, pushing hard at the ball when they would be better leaving it well alone.
And they admit that is something they need to work on. “It was very disappointing,” said Buttler (right), who top scored with 39 before India extended their lead to 292.
“Maybe someone needs to be a bit of a limpet for an hour and ride the session out, but we weren’t good enough to do that.
“It keeps happening and it is up to the guys to work hard and be more disciplined. It is hard, it is not easy – and it is not meant to be easy.
“It tests individuals and teams in tough ways and it takes character to come back.
“People are saying that it has been happening too often – and it has. Guys have got to improve and we need to eradicate these collapses.
“There is no magic answer, just hard work. We have had a poor day, but we will dust ourselves down and come back again hard.
Captain Root has carried much of the strain for the past couple of years with Cook and Bairstow popping up in support to give their brilliant bowling attack enough to work with to make them competitive.
But here and in the last Test at Lord’s, Root has looked oddly out of touch, while Cook no longer has the air of a man the side can rely on for a score.
And the fact that England bat so low down with all-rounder Chris Woakes rescuing them at Lord’s might be a curse as well as a blessing, easing the responsibility on the top-order batsmen.