’Lazy’ England torn to shreds as Bazball reaches embarrassing new low
Jos Buttler’s Bazball is officially dead as the England side is torn to shreds after hitting an embarrassing new low.
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England’s training and preparation habits have come under the microscope after Jos Buttler’s men suffered a 3-0 ODI series whitewash against India ahead of the Champions Trophy.
On Wednesday, India cruised towards a thumping 142-run triumph over England in Ahmedabad to seal the series whitewash, with the tourists crumbling from 2-126 to 214 all out within 34.2 overs. It comes after India won the T20 series 4-1.
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England’s batters have looked vulnerable against spin through the white-ball tour, a worrying sign ahead of next week’s Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan.
Following the Ahmedabad defeat, former England batter Kevin Pietersen criticised the visitors for not training or conducting a net session since the series opener in Nagpur. According to reports, England trained regularly throughout the T20 series and before the ODIs, but halted sessions last week because of mounting injuries amid a tightly packed itinerary.
Coach Brendon McCullum, who has mentored England’s Test side since 2022, has encouraged a relaxed environment since taking over the white-ball teams earlier this year.
“I was flabbergasted when I learnt England hasn’t practised since the first game,” Pietersen said, according to Metro.
“I get it. Enjoy yourselves. These are the best time of your life. Play golf. Go out, eat in a beautiful restaurant.
“But you get paid to score runs. That is why you get paid. You get paid to win games of cricket. You don’t get paid to play golf. This is not a golf tour, this is a cricket tour.
“You practice so that you leave on a flight tomorrow knowing you have given everything to win a game of cricket for England.
“I am gutted they have disrespected Indian conditions and India so much. I am absolutely gutted as an Englishman.”
Pietersen claimed that England batter Tom Banton, who touched down ahead of the third ODI as an injury replacement for Jacob Bethell, spent the day before the match on the golf course rather than training. England superstar Joe Root was reportedly the only player to complete a net session ahead of the third ODI while his teammates played a round of golf.
“I never played golf when I played cricket,” Pietersen continued.
“I was in the nets hitting thousands of balls, trying to make improvements here in the subcontinent. Have your days off in England.
“England will be bitterly disappointed, but they have only got themselves to blame. The margin of defeat got bigger and bigger. Thinking caps need to go on very quickly. If you don’t practice, you don’t improve.
“The subcontinent is where you learn the art of being able to play these guys, by playing all sorts of spinners in the nets … England should be spending hours in the nets and leaving India thinking they are much better players of spin.”
Former India coach Ravi Shastri continued: “If you’re not prepared to do the hard yards, you’re not going to improve.”
However, captain Buttler denied Shastri’s claim that England had conducted one training session since touching down in India ahead of the T20s.
“I’m not sure that’s quite true to be honest,” Buttler said.
“It’s been a reasonably long tour with a few long travel days.
“There’s been a couple of times where we’ve not trained, but we’ve certainly done plenty of training through the tour.
“We obviously try to create a really good environment, but don’t mistake that for a lazy environment or a lack of effort. The guys are desperate to perform and do well and improve.”
While England fans were even less forgiving, pointing out just how dire a situation it is.
“India win by 142 runs in Ahmedabad. Bleak tour for England, who lost seven out of eight matches. Their ODI is grim - 16 defeats in 23 matches since the start of 2023 World Cup,” one fan wrote.
“I am blaming Baz. 100%. The attitude and lack of accountability starts with him,” another said.
Speaking on TNT Sports, former England wicketkeeper Matt Prior acknowledged the travel schedule had taken its toll on the touring party – the three ODIs were played across seven days with more than 1000 miles between venues.
“It’s very easy to sit here now and say they should be in the nets every minute of the day working hard,” Prior said.
“I’m sure there will be people sat at home fiercely frustrated by watching England lose time and time again.
“Your initial reaction to hearing they have had one net session in this whole ODI series, and that one batsman was Joe Root is ‘hang on a second’. You’ve got young batsmen struggling for runs, why are they not going in the nets working hard.
“We have to be balanced as well, it has been a long tour, there has been a lot of time away, the travel is an element. Especially when you are losing, you cannot remove all elements of fun and keep beating yourself.
“But as a young team rebuilding, an opportunity to build for a Champions Trophy in the subcontinent, you should be in the nets, you should be working on your game trying to improve yourself.”
Former England bowler Steven Finn continued: “It is an eight-week long trip towards the end of the Champions Trophy. On the face of it you think they should be in the nets but you can also compound bad habits.
“On the 2013/14 Ashes tour, I spent the entire tour making bowling complicated in my head by practising.
“The more I practised the worse I got. It took 18 months to untangle the rubbish I put inside my head by complicating the game.”
While bizarrelly star England batter Ben Duckett said before the third ODI against India that they are not bothered if they lost the third game as their focus is on beating India in the final of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
England has lost 16 of its 23 ODIs since the start of the 2023 World Cup in India. The nation’s first match of the Champions Trophy will be against Australia in Lahore on February 22.
Originally published as ’Lazy’ England torn to shreds as Bazball reaches embarrassing new low
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