Former cricketers Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton lampooned England's top order for their early collapse, courtesy of scorching spells by Indian quicks Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj in the final session on Day 2 of the second Test at Edgbaston on Thursday.
Akash and Siraj bowled in tandem and made early inroads in the final hour of the third session. Akash ran rampant in the third over, forcing a thick outside edge from Ben Duckett, which flew straight to captain Shubman Gill stationed at third slip, sending the southpaw back for a five-ball duck.
On the very next delivery, Ollie Pope fell for a golden duck after coming forward to flick, only to offer a thick leading edge to KL Rahul at second slip. Rahul fumbled initially but managed to hold on at the second attempt. With the floodgates now open, Siraj outfoxed Zak Crawley (19) by luring a thick edge from a loose shot, which flew to Karun Nair at first slip.
Hussain was baffled by the approach of England's top three on Edgbaston’s flat surface, especially when the ball was swinging only slightly.
Speaking on Sky Sports, he said, "As an England top-order batter, you should be able to cope with this. The pitch is flat, and the ball is just swinging a bit. There’s no need to waft outside the off stump. Back your defence as well!"
With England reeling at 25/3 in reply to India's daunting 587, Harry Brook and Joe Root stitched together a cautious recovery to bring the hosts back into the contest. While Root exuded confidence, Brook looked more aggressive. He attempted to steer the ball between the slips but was thoroughly beaten by Akash and almost edged one in the process.
Brook's risky approach didn’t sit well with Atherton, who didn’t mince his words. Commenting on the 26-year-old’s shot selection, he said, "Brook has got to get his batting head on here. He was trying to run that down (towards third man) with two slips in place. Ridiculous."
Brook and Root managed to see out the day unbeaten on 30 and 18, respectively, as England reached 77/3 at stumps — still trailing by 510 runs after the end of Day 2.
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