England crash to heavy loss that exposes Bazball flaws

England crashed to a 336-run defeat in the second Test against India as they were unable to dig deep enough to steal a draw at Edgbaston. For the first time in three years of the “Bazball” era, England accepted that a stalemate was the best they could hope for, attempting to frustrate the tourists on the final day rather than hunt an astronomical target of 608.

- RORY DOLLARD

However, a team who have made their name as thrill-seeking fourth-innings chasers were not built to produce a daylong rearguard and were bowled out for 271 with 27 overs still in front of them.

Jamie Smith was their best performer in front of a heavily pro-India crowd, following up a career-best 184 not out in the first innings with 88 in the second, but even he was unable to knuckle down for the long haul. He was caught on the boundary attempting to pull a third consecutive six, going down with a flourish rather than a fight.

England’s fate had been mostly sealed in the first session, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook both dismissed in the first half-hour to leave the hosts 83-5 and Ben Stokes lbw to the last ball before lunch. Akash Deep took the plaudits with 6-99 to complete a 10-wicket match and India will be licking their lips at the prospect of pairing him with Jasprit Bumrah at Lord’s in next week’s third Test.