What next for England after dismal loss?
- 9 Mar 08, 11:10 AM
Michael Vaughan described this performance (I won't call it an effort) as unacceptable, but he was being polite. Actually, to slip to 77 for 9 was inept, and this was illustrated by the fact that Monty Panesar, the number 11, was then able to hang around quite comfortably for three quarters of an hour before defeat was sealed.
There were no excuses from Vaughan because there aren’t any to give. He disagreed with my view that England lacked energy throughout the game – but I will stick to my opinion. Something was lacking throughout, and I firmly believe that England took an early view that this was a slow, flat pitch – ‘a road’ – and once New Zealand’s batsmen made a good start, that the match would be a draw and they could move on to Wellington.
Vaughan did pay tribute to New Zealand’s tenacity – they kept coming at England throughout the game with bat and ball which only went to show what could be achieved with a more positive and bullish approach.
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