“Where was the spark? Where was the urgency?” - Nasser Hussain slams England for "lethargic" effort on Day 1 of Lord’s Test

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has hit out at Ben Stokes and Co., describing their performance on Day 1 of the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s on Wednesday as lethargic.

According to Hussain, after winning the toss and bowling first under overcast conditions, England appeared set to get back into the series but lacked intensity on the field.

Australia ended Day 1 of the Lord’s Test on a healthy 339/5. Steve Smith was unbeaten on 85 at stumps, while Travis Head (77 off 73) and David Warner (66) also scored impressive half-centuries.

Writing in his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain questioned England’s lack of intent with the ball and opined:

“They were subdued despite winning the toss and there was a real lack of intensity to their bowling attack - the speeds of each of the five seam bowlers was down and they didn't bowl bouncers to change things up - while the fielding was sloppy and they missed catches.

“Where was the spark? Where was the urgency? When the Just Stop Oil protest happened, there was a lot of chat and then, when it rained they strolled off and were still upstairs when the Australian batters were waiting on the steps at the bottom of the pavilion.

In those drizzly conditions, if the umpires call you back on, you want to be rushing on straight away as a fielding team, bowling as much as possible,” he added.

Hussain hinted that the two-wicket defeat in Birmingham might have taken a toll on the hosts. He added:

“There was plenty of movement through the air but once again we saw a lack of zip in the surface, epitomized when Stuart Broad's first ball dribbled through to Jonny Bairstow after bouncing twice. Yet Stokes was slow to react to that in his field settings… He kept conventional fields as conditions dictated but it needed to be two slips and a gully rather than three slips.”

Apart from failing to make an impact with the ball, England were also poor in the field, dropping two crucial catches. Further, Ollie Robinson was guilty of bowling six no-balls and skipper Stokes three.

---

“Josh Tongue was the pick of the bowlers” - Hussain praises England pacer

Reflecting on the positives, Hussain praised pacer Josh Tongue, describing him as the pick of the bowlers. He, however, was quick to add that it was a rare positive for England on what was an otherwise forgettable day.

The former England captain opined:

“Josh Tongue was the pick of the bowlers and it was a brave selection to play him on a green top when they might as easily have picked Chris Woakes, a good all-round cricketer with a fine record on this ground. Tongue's dismissal of David Warner from around the wicket was a fine piece of bowling. But it was a rare positive in what was generally a lack of intensity from England.”

Concluding his thoughts on Day 1 of the second Ashes Test, Hussain pointed out that the surface is likely to suit Australian fast bowlers a lot more since they are quicker than England’s pacers.

He added:

“This was not a day for a team getting to 300 only three wickets down, as the Australians did before Joe Root's golden arm pulled things back a bit to leave them five down at the close.”

Root dismissed Head and Cameron Green (0) in one over to give England something to cheer about in the last session.