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Michael Vaughan has given up hope on England’s win in the Edgbaston Test and has advised Ben Stokes’ England to aim for a draw.
Michael Vaughan believes England can’t win the 2nd Test vs India (AP Photo)
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that Ben Stokes and Co. can’t come to the fifth day of the Edgbaston Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy ‘even thinking about winning’. He has advised them to accept that a draw is the best possible result for them and give up their front-footed mantra to try and bat the entirety of Sunday, with the aim to still lead the series 1-0 before the third Test at Lord’s.
Under Ben Stokes’ captaincy, England have never willingly accepted a draw. Their only one came in a washed-out 2023 Ashes game against Australia at Old Trafford. As recently as Friday, vice-captain Harry Brook had declared that ‘everybody in the world’ knew that England would go for the chase, no matter the target. India have put them in a situation to reconsider those beliefs by setting 608 to win and reducing them to 72/3 at Stumps.
Vaughan was asked on Test Match Special if England should finally consider a draw as a possibility.
“Well, they have to, they can’t win this game,” the ex-captain replied bluntly. “India have completely dominated the Test with brilliant skill, great discipline. It’s exactly what I want to see from England tomorrow. In a funny kind of way, this day has been coming where BazBallers can’t arrive on day five and even think about winning. Have they got the ticker, the skillset and the determination to try and get a draw?”
“The next best thing from winning a Test match is getting a draw. If they just kind of give it away and decide, you know, ‘That’s the way that we play. We’re always on the front foot, playing aggressively,’ they’ll get bowled out quickly tomorrow. Have they got the skillset and the mindset to try and bat the full day and get on the bus to Lord’s with a draw? We’ll wait and see.”
At the end of the fourth day, assistant coach Marcus Trescothick was also asked whether his team would be fine with a draw, despite their players professing otherwise. He said the team wasn’t ‘stupid’ and would be happy with a draw, while adding that media had made their players look like they don’t care about draws.
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