Cricket legend Shane Warne slammed Joe Root’s tactics on the fifth morning of the India-England second Test at Lord’s, calling it “horrific”. The former Australian spinner believes England got “a bit too emotional,” which ended up costing them the game.
With a lead of only 182 runs, India were eight wickets down in the morning session. Instead of going for the kill, Joe Root brought Mark Wood into the attack and set fielders on the boundary, attempting to bounce the Indian tail out.
According to Shane Warne, the tactics were retaliatory and were in response to Jasprit Bumrah’s barrage of short balls to James Anderson on Day Three. England played into India’s hands as Bumrah and Mohammed Shami withstood the phase with a match-defining unbeaten 89-run ninth-wicket stand.
“They’re standing there scratching their heads saying, ‘what went wrong?’ and what went wrong was horrific tactics,” Shane Warne told SEN.
“They had five, six, seven fielders on the fence. The bowler is standing at the top of his mark, looking around, saying, ‘how am I going to get some of these guys out?’ They got a bit too emotional, a bit too much short stuff, and in the end, the best team won, and that was India.”
During the day, Shane Warne also let his displeasure be known on Twitter.
David Lloyd echoes Shane Warne’s views on England
Former England cricketer, coach and noted commentator David Lloyd agreed with Shane Warne’s observations. He also felt that England were more focused on getting back at Jasprit Bumrah rather than getting him out.
“England just seemed intent on knocking lumps off (Jasprit Bumrah) rather than getting him out. It looked as if England had lost the plot,” said David Lloyd in response to Shane Warne’s observations.
Jasprit Bumrah (34*) and Mohammed Shami (56*) registered their respective highest scores in Test cricket. Riding on the confidence provided by their salvo with the bat, the duo then knocked off both England openers in the first two overs of the fourth innings. Bumrah finished with a three-wicket haul with able support from Mohammed Siraj (4/32) and Ishant Sharma (2/13) as India completed a famous 151-run victory to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
