Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has identified Ben Stokes’ unexpected declaration on the opening day of the First Test at Edgbaston as a big mistake that England will lament following their failure to reclaim the Ashes at Old Trafford.
With a 2-1 lead, Australia will enter the final Test commencing on Thursday. Although the Ashes trophy has already been secured, they still have an opportunity to achieve their first series victory in England in 22 years.
England declared their first innings at 393/8 after just 78 overs, making it the earliest first-innings declaration in Ashes history.
‘I think they will regret the fact that they declared. I think they’ll regret how hard they went with the bat in the second innings. A 280-run lead having been bowled out in the second innings, I think if you had asked straight after losing the toss, you’re going to be happy chasing 280. I would’ve taken that,” Ponting told Sky Sports.
Stokes’ decision shocked many in the cricket world, including former England skipper Kevin Pietersen.
Pietersen voiced his concern about the early declaration, stressing that “England should have targeted a total in the range of 400-450 runs.”
“The pressure’s on England. What England have done, unfortunately, is put unnecessary pressure on themselves by declaring too early in the first Test. That is craziness because of the pressure that they’re now under going into the second match,” he added.
Ponting, while discussing the second Test at Lord’s, pointed out England’s inflexibility in adhering to coach Brendon McCullum’s aggressive and daring ‘Bazball’ approach.
“I said right from the start, if they want to play that way, that brand of cricket and they’ve talked about it so much, they sort of back themselves into a corner where they’ve got to play that way. And when that tactic started, they were in complete control of the game at that point, the batting looked good, they were scoring quickly, and then the loss of those four or five wickets in a short amount of time turned that (Lord’s) Test match on its head.
“I don’t think they identified quick enough that they didn’t need to play that way right there. With this approach, I think there’s a time and a place against the very best Test teams to be able to play that way.
“I don’t think they’re going to be able to do it all the time, and I think the fact that they went as hard as they did in the second innings at Edgbaston and then probably lost those wickets to the short ball at Lord’s were the reason that they found themselves 2-0 down after the first two games,” said Ponting.
-IANS
