If Edgbaston is any indication, England could be staring at even bigger problems ahead against India

England’s ‘Bazball’ dream might be slowly turning into a nightmare. Since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over the Test team, England have stuck to only one plan – to chase in the final innings, no matter what. They believe their aggressive batting can chase down any target. But against a young India side at Edgbaston, that plan fell apart as they lost by a whopping 336 runs.

Even though the pitch was flat and looked good for batting throughout the match, England couldn’t take advantage. India’s bowlers were brilliant, but England also batted very poorly. After the loss, Stokes blamed the pitch, calling it a “subcontinental wicket” like the ones in India and other Asian countries.

Also Read: Ben Stokes accused of lacking honesty as he calls Edgbaston pitch ‘subcontinent’ track after defeat

Numbers show England must look into their batting

However, the numbers tell a different story as 18 of England’s 20 wickets were taken by Indian fast bowlers, not spinners, something that is rarely seen in India. On the other hand, England’s pacers managed to take only 9 wickets across two innings in the match.

In fact, according to a tracking system called PitchViz, only three pitches in England since 2005 have been flatter than this one. That means it was one of the best pitches to bat on, and England still couldn’t last more than 160 overs in the match despite winning the toss and electing to bowl first.

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The only positives for England in terms of their batting were Jamie Smith and Harry Brook, who played good knocks in both innings. The rest of the English batters failed badly.

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Even Stokes himself is going through a poor patch. Among England players who have batted at least 20 times since July 2023, Stokes has the third-worst average – 28.38. Only Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir have lower averages than Stokes, and they are not even considered proper batters.

The next Test at Lord’s won’t be any easier. That pitch usually helps fast bowlers more, and India will have Jasprit Bumrah back in the team. If he gets going from the Pavilion End with the slope behind him, England’s batters could be in serious trouble. India had beaten England at Lord’s the last time they played there in 2021.

Also Read: Pat Cummins gives his verdict on the Edgbaston pitch after India score over 1000 runs: 'Who'd want to be a bowler there?'

England struggle with the ball as well

England also struggled with the ball. Their bowlers gave away over 1000 runs in the match, with Shubman Gill alone scoring 430, the second-highest aggregate in a Test game. On the other hand, India’s bowlers were sharp. Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj got more movement and bowled much better than England’s pacers.

India won the second Test by a massive 336 runs after bowling England out for 271 on Day 5. It was India’s first-ever Test win at Edgbaston. Starting the day at 72/3, England lost quick wickets and never looked like chasing the target of 608. It seemed that they were not even trying to save the match and were already thinking about the next game at Lord’s.

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Akash Deep was the star with a match haul of 10 wickets, including a six-fer in the final innings. Jamie Smith (88) was the only one who fought hard, but once he fell after lunch, it was all over for England.

The series is now tied 1-1. Ahead of the Lord’s Test, England must fix both their batting and bowling or they could be in for another tough few days. While England are expected to make a couple of changes in their bowling lineup by bringing in Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson, their batting order will likely remain the same.