Former England batting coach Graham Gooch has slammed the England top-order for not scoring consistently in the Test series so far. Both openers were dismissed for a duck in the second innings at Lord’s. Haseeb Hameed batting in the middle-order also failed to score. He scored a duck and nine batting at number three at Lord’s. This has got former England skipper and batting coach very angry.
Taking a dig at the end at the England top-order, Graham Gooch said that even former England skipper Alastair Cook having retired three years ago is still good to open for the side.
“Alastair Cook retired 3 years back but he is still good to open for this team. He’d still play if he was available, of course he would,’ Gooch told the Daily Mail.
Graham Gooch Slams England Top Order
Gooch believes England openers need to go back to the drawing board and figure out their shortcomings in the ongoing Test series to ensure they can perform consistently.
“Every one of those cricketers works hard, trains hard, prepares themselves. It’s not lack of effort but things like attitude, technical ability, knowledge and concentration all come into play, especially for an opening batsman because one mistake and it’s the end of your day,” said Gooch.
Joe Root is the top-scorer in the series with two centuries to his name. Barring him, none have stamped their authority in the series yet. Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali despite their experience have not been upto the mark. Buttler might even miss out on the last two Tests given his poor run of form.
England lost the second Test at Lord’s by 151 runs to go 1-0 down in the five-match series and will be hoping to bounce back strongly when the two sides meet in the third Test at Headingley in Leeds from August 25.
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