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Follow UsFormer cricketers Nasser Hussain and Rob Key said England will have to sort out their County structure and come up with better pitches if they want to produce world-class Test batsmen like India and New Zealand. Joe Root and his men have come under immense scrutiny after losing the second Test against India at Lord's despite being on the driver's seat for the majority of the game.
"I agree about the schedule up to a point but England's problems in Test cricket have not come about because of the Hundred. There was a lot of Championship cricket before the New Zealand series but England still got blown away with the bat. The techniques of England players have evolved through the environment they have played in for seven or eight years. We are seeing the results of years of neglect for red-ball cricket," Key told the Daily Mail.
"The thing that does have to give is the first-class game. We need quality four-day cricket rather than quantity. If you play 10 high-quality Championship games at a better time of year, which you probably could do, it would provide much better competition and preparation. Work the rest around it.
"And play best against best. I don't like the conference system we've had this year. Yes, the first division will be good when it starts up again but what about divisions two and three? Good luck to Alan Fordham who has to come up with the county schedule. It's like the world's most fiendish sudoku."
Former England skipper Hussain added: "I completely agree. Key was saying these things towards the end of his playing career, and this batting demise has been a long time coming. It's not just England by the way. It's red-ball batters around the world. It only seems to be the two World Test Championship finalists in New Zealand and India who are producing high-quality red-ball batsmen.
"If you started with a blank piece of paper now you wouldn't have this schedule but the problem is that every format wants to play in this chunk of summer. Joe Root has had his hands tied behind his back for over a year. That includes Covid bubbles, rest and rotation, injuries."
Hussain said England will have to find a way to prepare better surfaces if they want to produce quality batters. The 53-year-old also spoke about the lack of quality spinners in the domestic circuit.
"We've had Simon Doull with us this season and he said New Zealand were going through this a few years ago. They decided to play on better pitches — not just flat — and four or five years down the line you can see the results in New Zealand's Test batsmen. They have better techniques and they're ready for Test cricket.
"Root talked about this at the end of the series in India last winter. He didn't blame the Indian pitches for England's defeat. He blamed the English ones. And we haven't even mentioned our lack of spinners. Once county pitches turn, like at Taunton, we dock points."
England, at the end of day four’s play were in a position of ascendancy, restricting India to six down. On top of that, they even started the fifth day’s play on a high, sending back Rishabh Pant, restricting India to 194/7. However, the decision-making post the dismissal was appalling, with the hosts insisting on bouncing out the Indian tail.
While the Indian tail were on the receiving end of some barrage, they took the attack the bowlers from thereon, putting on a show for the fans. Mohammed Shami, in particular, was scintillating in his 70-ball 56* with help from Jasprit Bumrah (34*), allowing India to set a target of 271 for the hosts. The hosts ended up losing the game by 151 runs.
"The most amazing thing is that when Rishabh Pant walked off at Lord's on Monday morning, England were actually in a position to win the second Test. Joe, Chris Silverwood and Ashley Giles need to sit down and come up with a plan for red-ball batting," said Hussain.
"It will be difficult (for England to bounce back) with so many bowlers out injured, and the way England are batting. But, I repeat, they were in a position to win the second Test on the final morning so that game wasn't all bad.
"They had a mad hour but that's the brilliance of Test cricket. The game can change so often throughout five days. It could be different at Headingley. It has looked very flat this year. But these are two vulnerable batting line-ups."