It was history in the making at Edgbaston as Pat Cummins led Australia to a remarkable victory in the first Test of the Ashes, extending their dominion from the last year of the tournament and now from the WTC final where they beat India hands down. There were obvious reasons during the course of the match to believe that England would walk away with the bragging rights but it all went south for the hosts in the dying embers of the battle.
What exactly did go wrong for England who had everything in control? Well a lot of things. It wasn’t just Pat Cummins winning it for Australia but England had multiple pointers going against them and this was their own doing. With all said and done, here are three reasons why England lost the first Ashes Test.
3 reasons Why England Lost The First Ashes Test
#1 Arrogance in the façade of Bazball
Bazball is all cool but it isn’t the last word in a format that has seen so many shenanigans taking birth and dying even before they would learn to talk. A format that has been ruling since the start of the sport has brought down the kings and the Gods to their knees and England thought that their new concept of Bazball would brave a team who have recently conquered the world easily enough. They got complacent and arrogant. By the time they declared, it was to be honest a downright poor decision because ideally the kind of batting conditions that the Australian batters thrive in, it is right there in England. Declaring at 393 and probably an additional burst of 20 odd runs could have made a lot of difference. Who knows better than this from England now?
#2 Bazball backfired
Ideally when you are up against Australia, at times, you got to remain conventional, particularly against Australia’s fast bowling quartet who are brutal and would leave you gasping for breath. You may be a fan of many balls but unless your groundwork is done, you would not succeed. It seems that England’s groundwork was never done. Australia just believed till the very end, they read the game nice and finem and eventually their captain led the show for them instead of just flowing away in the emotions that ran riots in the English camp.
#3 Lack of the killer instinct
With eight wickets down and more than 50 runs to defend, it is a canter for any team in the world. This is where the axe comes down harder. India has already proven it before against England when Mohammed Siraj would return to clean up the English resistance that saw India clinching a remarkable victory at the Lord’s. Just big starts won’t get you anywhere. It is the finishing that mattered. It seemed that England once again took Australia lightly and under the very breaths of Ben Stokes, the man who dropped a crucial catch allowed Australia to run away with what was a remarkable win.
