“It was incredibly dull, but I liked it” - Nasser Hussain reviews England’s short ball barrage on Day 4 of Lord’s Test

Former England captain Nasser Hussain was impressed with the hosts’ short ball barrage relentlessly directed at Australia’s batters on Day 4 of the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s on Saturday, July 1. While he described the action during this phase of play as incredibly dull, Hussain asserted that he liked England’s tactics.

England went on a short ball spree on Day 4 of the Lord’s Test and bounced out most of the Aussie batters, including Usman Khawaja (77) and Steve Smith (34). Resuming their second innings on 130/2, the Aussies were caught off guard by England’s ploy and were bowled out for 279 as Stuart Broad starred with 4/65.

In his column for The Daily Mail, Hussain shared his views on the hosts’ Day 4 approach and commented:

“So, was England’s approach in the field contrary to their vow to entertain? Well, at times it was incredibly dull on Saturday because spectators knew what ball was going to be delivered and where the batters were going to hit it.

“It was a mundane policy, yes, but I liked it because it took a hell of a lot of effort and it was successful for England, at least until it was their turn to bat again. As I said before a ball was bowled in this Test, England have to think about winning. The entertainment factor follows on from that,” he added.

The 55-year-old praised England’s thinking and stated that the session of almost non-stop short-pitched bowling on Saturday afternoon was unlike anything he had ever seen before in Test cricket.

Hussain continued:

“Together with the morning it was an unbelievable passage of play. At times it was farcical. It was certainly surreal. Ninety eight per cent of all deliveries in the middle session of the fourth day at Lord’s were short and we went two hours before a single ball was pitched up.

“Not only did it lead to wickets for England but it also stopped the flow of runs for Australia and I liked the fact Ben Stokes and his side were so committed to the tactic,” he observed.

Australia lost their last five wickets on Saturday for the addition of merely 40 runs.

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“To carry on the way he did was some effort” - Hussain praises Stokes

In his column, Hussain went on to praise skipper Stokes for leading by example and bowling 12 overs despite well-documented issues with his knees.

He wrote:

“When Stokes became captain of this England side he said he would never ask anybody to do something he would not be prepared to do himself and he showed that again on Saturday with that 12 over spell. He seemed to be hobbling by the end of his first over so to carry on the way he did was some effort.”

Stokes conceded only 26 runs in his 12 overs while claiming the wicket of Josh Hazlewood (1).

The former England captain also predicted “an awful lot more short-pitched bowling in the three remaining Ashes Tests”.

According to Hussain, though, whether the bowlers can be as effective at Headingley, Old Trafford, and the Oval remains to be seen.