'He used to bat like Geoffrey Boycott but now he has started to attack': Michael Vaughan on England player

Former England captain Michael Vaughan explained how he’s amazed at the ability of several England players quickly adapting into the philosophy instilled by new captain and Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. England sauntered to a 7-wicket win while chasing a record target of 378 by India, thanks to dual hundreds from men-in-form Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, but they also had strong contributions at the top from Zak Crawley and Alex Lees, who scored his second Test half-century and was looking solid at the crease until he was run out.

Vaughan, speaking on Cricbuzz with Harsha Bhogle, was asked how England have found success with this new style of play, and why India were so unsuccessful with the ball during the run-chase. Vaughan attributed it largely to the willingness of every player to buy into McCullum’s style, regardless of how they played before that.

“You make some good points about this fearless way of playing. You play against any sporting team that doesn’t care about losing — they are hard to play against. It’s a nightmare, cause this mentality keeps coming at you, players keep being aggressive,” said Vaughan.

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The former England captain said players like Alex Lees were batting like Geoffrey Boycott but now they have begun to attack. “Players like Alex Lees, who only 6 weeks ago was batting like Geoffrey Boycott — I’m not having a go at Geoffrey but he wanted to bat for long periods of time and work their magic over many, many hours of batting for a 100.”

Boycott was seen as the typical English batter, weathering the new ball and spending time at the crease to take advantage when odds were in his favour. However, under McCullum, England Test cricket seems to be taking a step away from that, choosing to be aggressive early and pile the pressure onto the bowlers from the word go.

“Alex Lees has come out batting aggressively, he’s only averaging 24 but you can see the mentality change in him,” said Vaughan. Lees made his debut on England’s tour of West Indies, and was seen as a circumspect batter who took his time to get going. In the fourth innings at Edgbaston, he was batting just above run-a-ball for much of his innings, and was run out when he was batting on 56 off 65. It was an innings where he was willing to step out of his crease against the pacers, and reverse sweep spinner Ravindra Jadeja.

India’s error during the run-chase

India set England a target of 378, but it could have been much more: on the morning of Day 4, the Indian batters all folded one by one. What was looking like potentially a lead of 450+ fell short. The momentum was with England, and when openers Crawley and Lees attacked, India went defensive and didn’t have answers, as the pair put up a 107-run stand.

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“You can see it change across the whole side and when you see a side play like that, it’s very difficult,” said Vaughan. “You’re arriving everyday and you’re looking at an opposing team and the opposing balcony, where they’re all smiling, all laughing, all got their shades on. Slapping each other on the back of their heads, saying go out there an have some fun, have fun, doesn’t matter if you get out doing so.” Lees and Crawley’s fearlessness would stand England in good stead, and although they went from 107-0 to 109-3, they had done the work to put India in a defensive position, which was taken full advantage of by Bairstow and Root.

“It’s a very hard mentality to play against, and you’re right, I think India probably feared that, probably spread too soon,” continued Vaughan. “Started to worry about the boundaries rather than thinking right, we’ve got to get them out. If I’m playing against England now, I’m purely thinking about getting them out. The runs are going to flow, that’s the kind of cricket they’re going to play.” Root and Bairstow put up a 269-run partnership, with both batters striking at 78 and 82 respectively. They never lifted their foot from the pedal, and in fact ended the innings at a sprint, chasing down 119 within 20 overs of the fifth morning.

“So you have to think as a team, okay, we’re just going to get 10 wickets in the first innings, we’re going to get 10 wickets in the second innings. Where’s the ball going to go in the air, just put fielders in those positions, and take England on at their own game.” India kept England down to 284 in the first innings for a big lead, but a Bairstow century and India’s inability to extend their lead on day 4 meant that England were always in the hunt. This was England’s highest ever successful run chase in Test cricket, but they made it look very simple at the end.

“With the bat in hand not many teams can play in this expansive way, so you’re playing in your fashion in terms of batting,” continued Vaughan. “But with ball in hand, the way to think against England is wickets. Just get them out. Don’t spread the field and allow them to pick easy singles. That good ball, that can’t be going for a single, you have got to put the squeeze on them.”