Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has revealed what went wrong for England in the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. After defeating the hosts by two wickets on Day 5 of the first Test (20 June), Pat Cummins and Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
After the 80th over on the fifth day, rather than grabbing the available new ball, Stokes allowed Joe Root to bowl one more over with the old ball. However, their efforts were rewarded when Australia’s keeper-bat, Alex Carey, was dismissed with the score at 227/8.
Cummins and Nathan Lyon led the charge for the visitors, taking advantage of England‘s decision to continue using the old ball. After the 85th over, England decided to take the new ball, but both Australian batsmen had already set their sights on the ball.
Harbhajan Singh stated that Cummins merited a great deal of praise for his innings, claiming that he played a captain’s inning at the bottom of the order.
The Australian captain scored 44 runs unbeaten off 73 balls, while Lyon contributed 16 runs off 28 balls to help the team triumph. The former India off-spinner believed that Stokes made an error on the final day by not utilising the new ball as soon as it became available.
“Pat Cummins deserves acclaim for his innings; he batted like a captain at the bottom of the order. “Ben Stokes made a mistake by not going for the new ball; they waited too long,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by Sports keed.
He continued by stating that England believed they could easily dismiss Cummins and Lyon with the old ball, but they were unable to do so in the face of Australia’s counterattack. Notably, the pair posted a 55-run unbeaten stand for the ninth wicket.
“England believed they could also get Cummins and Lyon with the old ball, but Australia counterattacked instead,” he added.
Harbhajan Singh stated that Stokes ought to have taken the ball after dismissing Carey. The 42-year-old commented that the burden is now on England, but based on their performance thus far, he is confident that they will make a stunning comeback in the series.
“You can never tell with a new ball, so he should have taken it after Carey was dismissed.” By the time the photograph was taken, both Cummins and Lyon had established themselves. Now England will be under pressure, but based on their performance thus far, I believe they will respond firmly,” the former cricketer concluded.
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