Former England cricket team skipper Michael Vaughan was extremely critical of the Ollie Pope-led side after their stunning loss against Sri Lanka in the third Test match on Monday. England were completely outplayed by an in-form Sri Lanka side that won their first Test match on English soil in more than 10 years. Vaughan went on to say that England disrespected Test cricket and Sri Lanka with how they decided to approach the match. He further said that England did not go with their usual Bazball style of play after winning the first two Tests of the series and Sri Lanka took advantage of the lapse.
“I felt that they disrespected Test cricket and disrespected Sri Lanka in the third Test by being over-aggressive with both bat and in their field placings,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
“England have made a bit of a habit of becoming a bit complacent after a good period, I think of the start of the Ashes, or earlier this year in Rajkot and I hope it serves as a wake-up call for the tougher Tests that lie in wait in 2025,” he added.
Vaughan also added that this is not the kind of cricket that will help England win matches against tough oppositions like Australia and India.
“There is no way they will get away with playing like this against India or Australia,” Vaughan said.
Pathum Nissanka‘s superb unbeaten century guided Sri Lanka to an ultimately commanding eight-wicket win at The Oval on Monday as they ended a decade-long wait for a Test-match victory in England.
Sri Lanka, set a target of 219, and reached that total for the loss of two wickets before lunch on the fourth day, with Nissanka 127 not out and Angelo Mathews 32 not out in an unbroken stand of 111.
Victory gave Sri Lanka just a fourth Test win in England and first since a 100-run success at Headingley back in 2014.
England, however, took this three-match series 2-1 after wins at Old Trafford (five wickets) and Lord’s (190 runs).
But defeat meant England, who whitewashed the West Indies 3-0 earlier in the season, failed to achieve a first home campaign clean sweep since 2004, when Michael Vaughan oversaw seven successive wins.
(With AFP inputs)
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