“England are going to be absolutely battered and bruised” - Andrew Strauss reacts to Lord’s defeat

Former England captain Andrew Strauss is worried that the manner in which the hosts lost the Lord’s Test to India does not bode well for their chances in the upcoming matches.

England went into the final day sniffing victory. However, a stunning 89-run unbeaten partnership between Mohammad Shami (56*) and Jasprit Bumrah (34*) swung the momentum in the visitors' favor. India’s pacers then ran through England’s fragile batting in just 51.5 overs.

In his column for Sky Sports, Strauss lamented England’s inability to build on their advantage.

"They were favourites this morning but let things slip before lunch and then had another top-order collapse. Those early wickets put huge pressure on the middle order and India just had enough overs to bowl them out. It was feisty.”

Not the finish we wanted to a classic Test match.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 | #RedForRuth

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 16, 2021

Strauss credited India for the fight back and acknowledged that Virat Kohli’s side were deserving winners.

"Every series with India, and particularly (Virat) Kohli, is feisty and as the match was on the line you expected nothing else. It has been five brilliant days of Test cricket. India were exceptional and there were times when England looked like they were going to get out of jail but, in the end, you have to say that India deserved it, they did enough to win. England are going to be absolutely battered and bruised as a result of that. India thoroughly deserve to be one up."

After his heroics with the bat, Bumrah claimed three wickets while Mohammed Siraj had figures of 4/32.

Lot of problems for England, time to bring Sibley out of firing line: Strauss

When you work hard results show on the field. A proud moment for me personally to deliver with the bat for 🇮🇳. Loved my partnership with Bumrah🙌🏾 #TeamIndia #mshami11 pic.twitter.com/5c1zvZaUJb

— Mohammad Shami (@MdShami11) August 16, 2021

England got off to a horrific start in the chase, losing both their openers for a duck. According to Strauss, the hosts will have to make at least one change at the top. Dom Sibley, who is averaging below 15 in the series, might have to make way for someone else. Strauss reckoned:

"At some stage if you keep being two or three down for nothing, it's going to come back to haunt you. Yes, they were two good balls to get rid of Burns and Sibley but, of course, then Joe Root is under pressure, (Haseeb) Hameed is under pressure and then Jonny Bairstow and the middle order as well. You just can't keep doing that time after time.”

The former England captain added:

"I think it might be time to bring Sibley out of the firing line. He has looked out of touch. I think Ollie Pope is probably going to come back in, who has been in and around the squad, but is it right for him to be batting in the top three? It is not an easy solution. There are a lot of problems for England, no doubt about that. If they had got away with it again, we might have been able to paper over the cracks but not anymore."

Lord's done 🤝🏻Over to Leeds ✅#TeamIndia 🇮🇳 | #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/VzWDJVB1Qr

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 16, 2021

The third Test will be played in Headingley, Leeds from August 25.