loading
loading
'Out of control' - Cook questions England tactics - Published England had "no plan" and were "out of control" in the face of Razaullah's stunning hitting on the third day of the final Test against Pakistan, according to former captain Alastair Cook. Razaullah, the 21-year-old batting at number nine on Test debut, clobbered 81 from 63 balls at Edgbaston. He shared a ninth-wicket partnership of 121 with Muhammad Abbas to drag the third Test into an unlikely fourth day, with England set 130 for victory. Though the hosts are heavy favourites to earn a 3-0 clean sweep, the carnage of the final session was an alarming spell as Joe Root begins his second spell as captain. Root's tactics were often criticised in his first spell as skipper and there were further questions of the Yorkshireman when he stood in for former captain Ben Stokes earlier this summer. "You can get done by the tail - it's very hard when people have the license and ability to hit sixes," Cook told Test Match Special. "What I saw was no plan, it got out of control. "That's when you need the backroom staff and coaches to step up. I would loved to have seen a message and some real leadership from the coaches." - Razaullah introduces himself as Pakistan thrive in chaos - Published6 hours ago - England need 130 after thrilling Razaullah hitting - Published8 hours ago England are currently led by interim head coach Marcus Trescothick, with New Zealander Stephen Fleming due to take on the role from December's tour of South Africa. Trescothick is assisted by bowling coach Tim Southee, who was seen on the boundary rope at times during the partnership. England's tactics were curious throughout the Razaullah-Abbas partnership. The seamers often stuck to a short-ball plan, with fielders back on the boundary. When their pace bowlers tried to hit the stumps, they could not find the target. More bizarre was Root giving the second new-ball to part-time off-spinner Dan Lawrence, who had barely bowled in the series to that point. In doing so, Root bowled Lawrence in front of seamer Ollie Robinson, who has had a sensational summer as England's attack leader. Jonathan Agnew, the former England fast bowler and the BBC's chief cricket commentator, called the tactics "appalling". "You cannot and should not bowl like that to tailenders as soon as they come in," he said. "You have to set the tone when you're bowling against tailenders. Yes, you bowl aggressively, but in a controlled way. They are numbers nine and 10 for a reason. It was bitterly disappointing. "Dan Lawrence is a part-time off-spinner and he took the second new-ball. If you're looking for any aspect of the day that is utterly bonkers, that is it." Razaullah's thrilling knock included nine sixes, tying the record for the most maximums in an innings by a batter on Test debut. He also equalled Stokes' record for the most sixes in a Test played in England. There were times when Root looked devoid of ideas, while the energy was sapped from his team. Jofra Archer cut a frustrated figure when Razaullah hit him for successive straight sixes and at one point Gus Atkinson was asked to bowl bouncers with eight fielders on the boundary. "We shouldn't be surprised by England, they've delivered tactically like this on a regular basis," said ex-England captain Michael Vaughan. "I think they'll win this game but they can't keep making mistakes like that. The basics of Test cricket generally work and that's to hit the top of the stumps. It's a bit of a warning sign that this attack is very good but they aren't the finished article just yet. "Who are the characters in the team who are going got grab a hold of everyone and say, 'right, I'm going to make a moment'. I didn't see it from anyone today." At one stage Root left the field for an opportunity to consult with the England backroom staff, although it did little to alter the course of the evening. Eventually, Abbas poked the pace of Josh Tongue to point before Razaullah was stumped off Lawrence from the final ball of the day to leave Pakistan 453 all out. "I'm disappointed, of course," said Trescothick. "We were in a position where they were eight down and the scores were level. We were hoping to go through them pretty quickly. "We tried many different things. You have variations of plans. We bowled the short ball for a period of time, then length for a period of time, then a bit of spin. You're always chopping and changing, with various ideas. "You'd always like to think you can do it better and you analyse it afterwards saying, 'right, was there an area or tactic we missed to get it right?' You hope in those situations when you bowl it in the right place, which we did on many occasions, that you get the nick or bowl them. Fair play, they played pretty well." Related topics - Published28 August
document fetched 2026-09-12 02:57 · canonical https://bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/c1kxw9dn29ko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss