India vs England: With collapse on Day 1, hosts show they are still learning the art of being ruthless

Six months ago, at the Gabba in Brisbane, England had cruised to 145-2 halfway through the opening day of the first Ashes Test. James Vince and Joe Root looked at ease and England looked in command. Then all of a sudden, there was a misjudgement of a run. Vince was the culprit. He was run-out by few yards and his wicket triggered a collapse. Next morning, England were all out for a paltry 302. They lost the Test match by 10 wickets and series 4-0. Fast forward six months to Birmingham, it is England’s 1,000th Test match, the sun is out, the pitch has lost hits zing and the Indian pace bowlers have started to tire. The score reads 3-216 and Root is in total command. Then it happens again, Root is run out brilliantly by his Indian counterpart, Virat Kohli. All of a sudden the wickets start to tumble, as England’s middle and lower-order cave recklessly to finish the day on 9-285. [caption id=“attachment_4874951” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] England’s Ben Stokes looks dejected as he walks off after losing his wicket to India’s Ravichandran Ashwin. Reuters[/caption] By no means is the pitch treacherous nor is the bowling, but England have failed to seize the initiative. Back to the Ashes and England had suffered a similar demise in Perth in the third Test, they went from 368-4 to be all out for 403. All of these results came on decent batting pitches, so how is it that the team that bats so deep and has plenty of ability continues to perish from such positions of control? Yes, this England team is going through a transition, but the fact that well-set batsmen keep succumbing to poor strokes is a sign of great concern. Even Root, one of the most accomplished England batsmen, seems to be struggling to overcome this. In the past year, he has been dismissed on 11 occasions for scores between 50 and 100. It is bizarre that a batsman of his calibre continuously struggles to convert starts. Root might consider himself to be unlucky, but it was a loss of concentration. More importantly, as captain, he would have been further irritated by the manner the other batsmen perished. Jonny Bairstow, who had batted beautifully, suddenly had a brain fade, as he tried to cut a ball that was on the line of the fourth stump. Jos Buttler missed a ball that he could have played blindfolded. Ben Stokes lobbed a simple caught and bowled. With each wicket, England started to panic. It was batting mayhem and too on the first day when the pressure was minimal, especially given the foundation the top-order had laid. This new generation of England batsmen have been brought up clobbering the white ball on flat wickets and from their outing on the first day in Birmingham, it seemed like patience is not a stronghold of their batting. The shot selection on show provided an insight about the modern players that just continue wanting to attack and not show game awareness. Keaton Jennings, one of the new members of the team, explained the disappointment in the dressing room after the day’s play. “It has been a little bit of a missed opportunity for us. I suppose it’s pretty disappointing for Root personally not to go on and get a really big score,” he told reporters after the match. Perhaps if there is one person that is different, it is Alastair Cook. The new breed of England players needs to take a leaf out of his book and learn to be ruthless in a more careful manner. The only time England have managed to be merciless in the last few months has been when Cook dropped anchor at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and scored a double hundred. The fact that Cook is a Test specialist and is renowned for his concentration is one part of the reason, but the fact that at the age of 33, he can still gather his thoughts after each ball, and apply himself mentally is something that needs to be passed on to the younger troops. England are still well and truly in the game. But they will rue the fact that they keep missing golden opportunities to grind the opposition into dust — this must be frustrating for the coaches as well as the players. Time and again, this batting line-up has been inept at preventing a collapse. Before the match, Buttler was assigned vice captaincy and perhaps he should also be given the responsibility of avoiding such collapses. Or perhaps it should be Stokes, now a 42-Test veteran. Whether it is one person or a team effort, England need to find a solution, they can no longer keep saying it is a new team in transition. It is about time the next generation learns the art of being hard-nosed, brutal and ruthless.