Aakash Chopra, a renowned analyst, has slammed England’s head coach Brendon McCullum for his post-match comments following the completion of the second Test of the present Ashes series. England trail by 0-2 following an eight-wicket loss in the pink-ball Test in Brisbane.
Chopra felt McCullum should have allowed the main English squad to play the two-day match against the Prime Minister’s XI rather than giving them some extra time off.
He even went so far as to say that Brendon McCullum and his Bazball tactics had created a “slight mockery” of the red ball format.
“Brendon McCullum was asked about the preparation after the Test match loss. He said they were overprepared, and the entire world lost it. A match was happening and you were not letting your guys play. There was only one match in the gap, but you didn’t play. You come and swing the bat, try to hit sixes, lose one match in two days and the second match in four days, and then you say you were overprepared. How does it actually work? Has it not become slightly ridiculous? You have made a slight mockery of Test cricket,” stated Chopra in a video on his YouTube channel.
England have lost both their Tests by eight wickets, and while the second Test went until day four as compared to the series-opening clash which lasted for only two days, both the defeats were equally crushing for the tourists.
The third match of the five-match series is scheduled at the Adelaide Oval from December 17. The Three Lions will have plenty of eyeballs fixated on them and it remains to be seen that kind of practice they undergo in the period between the second and third Tests. It is noteworthy to mention that England have not won a single Test in Down Under since the 2010-11 season.
India
