England’s back-to-back losses in the ongoing Test series against India have left the former cricketers dejected and fuming. The visitors began the 5-match series with a remarkable 28-run win but they couldn’t carry the momentum forward. India bounced back in Vizag with a 106-run victory and then their biggest against the Three Lions, by 434 runs in Rajkot.
A wounded England will look to bounce back in Ranchi to level the series to keep it alive. Meanwhile, former captain Alastair Cook has urged England to drop wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow from the next fixture to ‘protect the player’ who is having an abysmal series. Playing as a specialist batter, Bairstow has endured a woeful run in the ongoing five-match series. He is averaging 17.00 having registered scores of 0, 4, 25, 26, 37 and 10 in six innings.
Speaking with TNT Sport, Cook opined to replace a struggling Bairstow with a ‘fresh face’; someone like Dan Lawrence.
“I’m taking him out of the firing line to protect the player, as I think he’s had a tough tour so far and India is a tough place to keep going on the treadmill. I’m not saying he’ll never play Test cricket again, but it’s good to have someone who’s fresh of all the debris of this series so far,” Cook told ‘TNT Sport’.
“When you’re not scoring runs, there’s a build-up of pressure and momentum from certain bowlers on you, so I’d let Dan Lawrence have a go,” he added.
Speaking about the bowling changes, Cook called for the inclusion of Ollie Robinson and uncapped Gus Atkinson in the upcoming 4th Test in Ranchi.
“The two people I’m bringing in are Ollie Robinson and Gus Atkinson — we haven’t seen Gus in a Test match before, but everyone I’ve spoken to about him thinks he could do well. We’ve seen a lot of Ollie Robinson, who has great skill and great control. He’ll give the control that Anderson gives, whereas Atkinson gives that freshness. Both will be raring to go,” he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
Comments
0 comment