Follow UsWhat do you expect from a number eight batter in Test cricket? Whatever might be the contextual reason, the basic requirement at that number is that the batter would be able to bat with the tail and score some valuable runs at the end.
Jamie Smith, who came at number seven for England in the first innings at Lord's, scored 41(47) in his 84-run partnership with number nine batter Brydon Carse, who also scored a half-century just like Smith.
Washington Sundar came to bat at number eight for India and had a very good 50-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja. However, as soon as Jadeja was dismissed, Washington failed to score runs from his end, something which England were able to do due to Carse. That became a major factor in India finishing on 387, which is exactly what England scored in the first innings, and not getting a first-innings lead.
While he was batting with Akash Deep, who showed his hitting prowess by smashing Jofra Archer for a six over deep fine leg, he was happy to give singles to his batting partner despite being a specialised batter himself.
That ended up exposing Akash Deep to Brydon Carse in the 117th over, and he got caught by Harry Brook in the slips on the first ball of the over itself in an attempt to get a cute boundary in the third man area.
That brought Jasprit Bumrah to the crease, and then he had to survive five balls from Carse in that over. Not only were the opportunities to score in that over lost, but Washington didn’t do much in the next over bowled by Jofra Archer as well, and just played the ball on its merit. There were no improvisations made by him to amp up the scoring since India were only two wickets away from being bowled out.
Rather, he gave a single to Bumrah on the fourth ball of the over, who somehow survived, but was back again in Chris Woakes’s next over to face three balls as Washington decided to give him the strike rather than trying to maximise the scoring himself.
And guess what? Bumrah was out for his sixth duck in the last seven innings, and India were left with just one wicket in hand. Mohammed Siraj did well to survive the last two deliveries; however, next over, Archer came back, and it was curtains for India as Washington skied a short ball to long stop behind the keeper.
By giving singles to the lower-order batters and not taking the responsibility of scoring on his own shoulders, Washington not only missed crucial runs that would have allowed India to take a first innings lead he also exposed the Indian bowlers to be sitting ducks against England’s pacers.
That’s exactly what he shouldn’t have done while batting with the tailenders.
The team management might be forced to reconsider his batting position, as there’s Nitish Kumar Reddy as well in the batting order who has a much better power game and that’s where his T20 batting prowess can also be utilised.