Some of the field placements and bowling adjustments made by Australian captain Pat Cummins on Day 2 of the ongoing Ashes Test at Old Trafford, Manchester, left former Australian cricketers Ricky Ponting and Mark Waugh confused.
With Zak Crawley blasting a stunning 189 and sending the Australian bowlers to every corner of the stadium, England managed to score an astounding 384 runs for the loss of just four wickets in the day. Cummins appeared to be at a loss for ways to even stop the havoc the hosts had inflicted upon his team.
Regarding Pat Cummins’ decision to start with Josh Hazlewood rather than himself earlier in the assault, Ricky Ponting said the following to Sky Sports Cricket:
It’s a question I’m actually unable to answer. He has taken too much time to involve himself in the assault as well. There has already been enough activity. A few have passed by the bat’s exterior. Edges that didn’t quite stick.
Mark Waugh tweeted his displeasure with the field placements, feeling that they were just too defensive despite the fact that the Australian pacers were making things happen by moving across the field.
Mark Waugh posted on Twitter, “I just can’t understand these Australia field placements on the off side. Between fourth/fifth slip and mid-off, tall, good-paced fast bowlers frequently hit the bat’s splice with no fielders in the vicinity.
Pat Cummins methods are defended by Daniel Vettori
Following the conclusion of play on Day 2. Pat Cummins received support from Daniel Vettori, a former New Zealand captain and assistant coach for Australia. Speaking to the media. Vettori stated why the issue wasn’t Cummins’ fault but rather England’s ability to respond to everything Australia put at them.
In response, he said:
Pat has been outstanding throughout the entire series. He enjoys receiving advice and conversing with others in the group. It was simply one of those practices when we put a lot of pressure on England, and they responded. We simply weren’t able to slow down that run rate enough to prevent them from scoring as many boundaries even with the field configured as it was. He did a fantastic job, in my opinion, across the entire series.
Given the poor outlook for the remainder of the Test, England will likely be extremely aggressive even on Day 3. Australia will be aware that a tie would be sufficient for them to keep the Ashes.
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