Last Updated on 1 hour ago by Charbel Coorey
England’s first series after their 4-1 Ashes loss has ended in defeat. After deciding to continue with the same management following the debacle down under, it was more of the same as England crumbled to a 160-run defeat against a professional and well-drilled New Zealand outfit at Trent Bridge.
Ben Stokes’s retirement dominated headlines during and after day four, but England’s shortcomings were horribly exposed once again. It is fitting that the grit and determination shown by Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra may just prove to be the final nail in the Bazball coffin.
England fans were particularly incensed on the fourth evening. After Mitchell and Ravindra showed the way, England played with utter recklessness in their chase of 373, with New Zealand fielders laughing and asking “what are they doing?” after Harry Brook threw his wicket away in a shambolic, chaotic innings.
New Zealand, however, were excellent. They were without Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Glenn Phillips in this Test, and also had a few injury problems in their pace attack during the match. They rallied as a team to win the series.
Mitchell in particular was outstanding, digging deep, taking his time and ensuring the pitch wore out more. He copped many a blow to the body, but just as quickly as the ball rose off the deck, Mitchell refocused on the next delivery. He finished with an unbeaten 100 off 241 balls in one of the finest Test centuries in recent times.
England, on the other hand, were not interested in displaying even a fraction of that fight. After taking a 1-0 series lead at Lord’s, it all went downhill for England on and off the field, with a 2-1 series loss the final result.
England fans slam team for 2-1 series loss against New Zealand, with calls for Brendon McCullum and Rob Key to resign
Kevin Pietersen led the chorus of discontent on social media. The former England batsman said others in the management should have gone before Stokes.
“Ben Stokes should NOT have been the first to go. And, in the next little while, he WON’T be the last,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Here are some of the reactions.
The result will only increase the pressure on McCullum and Key. Fans and pundits have regularly questioned why they stayed in their roles following the Ashes defeat, where the lack of attention to detail was brutally exposed.
Next up for England is a three-ODI, five-match T20I duel against India starting on July 1. England’s next Test series will be against Pakistan starting August 19 at Headingley. It will be interesting to see who the captain will be now that Stokes has retired.
