Alastair Cook slams England batting after loss to New Zealand
Updated On: 14 June, 2021 08:45 AM IST | Birmingham | AFP
Tailender Olly Stone was out to the very first ball of Sunday`s fourth day but by then the damage had long since been done, with England resuming on their overnight 122-9. That actually represented a recovery after they had subsided to 76-7 in their second innings inside 27 overs on Saturday.
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Alastair Cook. Pic/AFP
England great Alastair Cook delivered a stinging rebuke to the current team`s batsmen by saying they "can`t handle" the pressure of Test cricket as they suffered a humiliating series loss to New Zealand at Edgbaston on Sunday. New Zealand won a two-match contest 1-0, taking just 11 overs and 52 minutes` playing time on the fourth day to complete a convincing eight-wicket win in the second Test after being set a meagre target of 38. Tailender Olly Stone was out to the very first ball of Sunday`s fourth day but by then the damage had long since been done, with England resuming on their overnight 122-9. That actually represented a recovery after they had subsided to 76-7 in their second innings inside 27 overs on Saturday.
Although Joe Root, Cook`s successor as England captain, boasts an impressive Test average of 48.68, the next best in his side belongs to opener Rory Burns, with 33.23 -- a worrying sign ahead of their bid to regain the Ashes in Australia later this year. Meanwhile, the form of batsmen Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope remains a concern, not least to Essex opener Cook, who retired from Test duty in 2018 as England`s leading scorer with 12,472 runs at 45.35 including 33 hundreds. "From what I`ve seen of this batting line-up, when the pressure comes on, the intensity of Test cricket, the scrutiny of it, they can`t handle it," said Cook while commentating for BBC Radio`s Test Match Special on Sunday. "They have quirky techniques, but they`ve scored a lot of runs in county cricket and at times scored Test runs. "When the pressure comes they are not handling the mental pressure that you need to do," he added. "It is a massive area of concern for me."
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