Cricket
Michael Vaughan also expressed his desire to see THIS player in the Test squad to bat at the top order.
Updated : Aug 18, 2021, 12:52 PM IST | Edited by : Karen Noronha
England Test team was riding on the back of the skipper Joe Root and bowler James Anderson who was doing most of the heavy lifting for the team.
In fact, when it came to batting, the England openers - Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley - hardly contributed to the scoreboard. The top three English batters have been under fire since the start of this year especially after they already dropped Zak Crawley from the XI after his string of low scores.
Haseeb Hameed was brought back into the squad after almost five years, but even he looked tentative as he made a golden duck in the first innings and a patient 45-ball 9 in the second.
With so much happening in the England squad, former cricketer Michael Vaughan has stated changes to be made to the team before going into the third Test against India. Vaughan has criticised the opening pair but back Haseeb to be pushed up the order to open.
Despite not mentioning who should be dropped first, Vaughan suggested Dawid Malan should be brought in. The cricket had previously played 15 Tests and made 724 runs at an average of 27.
"I want a bit more substance and experience. I want to see Dawid Malan at three. England cannot keep going with the Rory Burns-Dom Sibley opening partnership after 10 ducks this year. It is the definition of insanity. It just does not work," Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
Vaughan further added that this will be the last three test matches for England before Ashes in December.
"In total, 37 percent of their partnerships this year have not gone past the second over. That is staggering. You can’t carry on with that and England knows it. I would give Hameed his rightful spot to open and throw in Malan. England now needs a little bit of substance. They have three games against India then straight into an Ashes series," Vaughan wrote.