UK View: England stars ‘under threat’ after missed opportunity as 20yo ‘real deal’ emerges against India

The general consensus out of England’s first series loss under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum?

This was a missed opportunity, but not necessarily the same sort of one that would bring the same sort of widespread scrutiny that England may have seemed destined for earlier in the series.

Why? Well, on this occasion — as skipper Rohit Sharma put it after India’s five-wicket win in the fourth Test — “a lot of challenges were thrown” at the hosts.

It gives England plenty to take away from their tour of India, one which Stokes said they were not given a “chance in hell of even competing in”.

But it also leaves a “lingering regret” according to former England skipper Mike Atherton, who had mixed emotions on the fourth Test and tour as a whole when speaking on Sky Sports’ Cricket Podcast.

“If I look at this tour, I don’t feel like I can sit here and be unduly critical,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone expected them to come and win here. In general, I feel they played some pretty good cricket. The cricket has been competitive. India know they’ve been in a scrap.

“But in the end they were not quite good enough. The residual regret over the opportunities missed and the fact India were missing big names like Kohli and Shami and Bumrah here… so there is kind of a lingering regret in that. But in terms of this particular tour, I feel they’ve given a pretty good account of themselves.”

India is now yet to lose a series at their home since 2013, with its latest victory marking 17 in a row — important context that Nasser Hussain pointed out when giving his thoughts on England’s defeat.

However, building on Atherton’s comments, he also viewed it as a “missed opportunity” given the long list of names that were unavailable for India.

“India, 17 series in a row they’ve won at home, that’s how difficult they are to beat in those conditions,” the former England Test captain said.

“But I sit here and see it as a missed opportunity in as much as there is no Virat Kohli, there is no Mohammed Shami, there is no Rishabh Pant, for most of the series there is no KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah has been rested, Jadeja injured, Ashwin has to leave for a day of Test match cricket. There were opportunities there.”

The biggest of which came in the first innings, when England had a chance to build what could have been a 100 or even 150-run lead but instead settled for just 46 after losing their final seven wickets for 35 runs.

“There is no shame in losing to this India side but obviously, like with any Test series and any Test match, you look at key areas where you let the game slip and for me, all of yesterday really,” added Hussain.

“What could have been a 100-run lead ended up being 46 and then in your third innings you don’t know whether to stick or twist and I think England batted in that collapse 26 overs for that 37-5 which, for this side, to go just over one run an over shows they didn’t know whether to stick or twist yesterday.”

Sir Geoffrey Boycott though could not shake the fact that he believes England should have beat both India and Australia, writing for The Telegraph Sport that batting proved costly on both occasions.

“I know some supporters will say how much they have enjoyed the aggressive nature of our batsmen and they have provided us with some thrilling moments,” the legendary former England opener wrote.

“Bazball has given Test cricket a shot in the arm and England deserve praise for that. At times, I love it. But I love winning more and England have failed to beat the best two teams in the world: Australia and now India. What should really hurt them is that they should have beaten both.

“The batting cost them winning the Ashes and it lost them the series against India. In this series they have had odd moments when someone has scored a good hundred. But they have been in isolation and there has been no consistency. Zak Crawley is the one England player averaging over 40. Six of the Indian players have averages higher than 43.

“I know they all have to buy into the Bazball mantra because that is all they talk about. To play with no fear is good, but at times England were reckless and too cocky about how they were going to smack everybody around. Getting out is part of the game but getting yourself out is silly.”

To further prove that point Boycott went back to Joe Root’s questionable reverse scoop on day three of the Third test, which he at the time described as “a wasted wicket by a talented player”.

Root went on to score an unbeaten 122 in the first innings from 274 balls in the fourth Test, much to both the delight and frustration of Boycott.

“Joe went back to basics for one innings and it was wonderful,” he wrote.

“That tells you everything. The basics have been there for 200 years. They can’t be totally wrong. I know some play in the IPL and think they have reinvented cricket because they play reverse ramps and scoops.

“They haven’t really. They have innovated, but the basics of cricket have never changed.”

“They need to cut out the braggadocio and start beating the big teams,” added Boycott earlier in the column.

“It is alright duffing up the lesser ones but England will be judged on whether they beat Australia and India and our batsmen have blown it both times so far.”

With that in mind, are there any members of the England squad in particular whose positions may be under threat ahead of the team’s next Test in July against the West Indies?

From a batting perspective, Simon Wilde of The Times UK wrote that Jonny Bairstow, who has managed just 170 runs in eight innings so far during this series, is under some pressure.

“Jonny Bairstow is averaging 21 for the series with a top score in eight innings of 38, form that may confirm for some that he is in a decline that cannot be arrested,” Wilde wrote in a column titled, ‘Bairstow and Leach under threat but youngsters thrive: what we’ve learnt’.

“He actually shaped well in both innings in Ranchi, but that only made his failures to kick on all the more frustrating. He will make his 100th Test appearance next week, but if he does not post a big score he could find support waning, if only because room must be found for Harry Brook.

“Bairstow’s best route to staying in the XI may be to snatch the wicketkeeper’s gloves off Ben Foakes again, but Foakes has had a fine series and Stokes was at pains to praise his efforts in his latest press conference.”

The same goes for Jack Leach, who is set to undergo surgery on the knee injury that saw his involvement in the tour of India cut short.

Wilde wrote that the injury setback felt “unfortunate” for England at the time but that the emergence of young spinners, especially Tom Hartley, poses an interesting question.

“Leach has a lot of credit in the bank with this regime and was one of Stokes’s first projects as captain, but Hartley is eight years younger and his qualities are evident,” Wilde added.

“He bats well (better than Leach), fields well, too, and is an attractive all-round package. “England won’t be swayed if Hartley gets squeezed out of Lancashire’s early-season County Championship side because of Nathan Lyon.”

The one name brought up by Wilde, Atherton and Hussain was Ollie Robinson, who impressed with a 58-run knock in the first innings but struggled with the ball in hand while also being guilty of a crucial drop on Dhruv Jurel.

“Ollie Robinson I was really disappointed with in this game,” Atherton said.

“I felt that his pace was pedestrian, he was down on pace. [He] obviously got that half-century but dropped a catch, he wasn’t called upon on the fifth day by Stokes.

“He looked like a player who had been out of cricket for seven months and for all the training you do and all the practice sessions you have, I think he looks like a bowler who needs a good run of game time now, and not necessarily with England either.”

Hussain said Robinson, who last played for England in the third Ashes Test at Headingley in July, has all the makings of a “very highly skilful bowler”.

“Even if there’s not a lot in the pitch he has those skills,” Hussain added.

“But he needs to be playing to show those skills. He needs to be of a certain pace, he needs to be in the 80s or mid-80s not high 70s and he did look a yard short of a gallop at least. He just looked like he hadn’t played for a year and he hasn’t.”

Wilde wrote that while Robinson’s batting performance in the first innings was “important” he “could not have been more disappointing” with the pace of his bowling.

“Question marks have been hanging over his stamina for some time and this suggested there remains room for improvement. He may benefit from doing something useful with the ball in Dharamsala,” added Wilde.

If there was one overwhelming positive to come out of the fourth Test though it was the emergence of Bashir and Hartley, who came into the tour uncapped.

Sir Alastair Cook described Bashir, who had eight wickets, as “brilliant” while BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew wrote that the 20-year-old off-spinner “looks the real deal”.

“Playing in just his second Test, Bashir – previously released by Surrey and with only six first-class matches under his belt before this call-up – took 3-79 in India’s second innings, to go with his maiden five-wicket haul in the first,” added Agnew.

“On day two he showed his stamina and ability to continue to spin the ball hard through a marathon 31-over spell. That was impressive enough.

“But bowling in the fourth innings with your side defending a small target is a highly pressurised situation.

“Every run hurts and you see the number of runs required ticking down on the scoreboard. It can force you to search for wickets and actually deliver more poor balls.

“Despite only making his first-class debut last year, Bashir did not do any of that.”