Michael Vaughan has given a damning assessment of England's performances in Test match cricket in recent years, insisting they have "consistently got things wrong".
England are coming off the back of a woeful 2021 which saw them equal the record for most defeats and most ducks in a year. Joe Root's side lost a total of nine Test matches, equalling a record held by Bangladesh, and suffered 54 ducks, a record they also set in 1998.
Following their humiliating 4-0 defeat by Australia in the Ashes this winter, England begun a 'red-ball reset' which started with their ongoing Test series against the West Indies. However, after they began poorly with the ball on day two of the final Test in Grenada, Vaughan was critical of England, saying they "need to adapt quicker" if they want to "become a good team".
Speaking on BT Sport, Vaughan said: "You're looking at a team that has consistently got things wrong over the last few years, whether that be selection or at the toss. They always seem to take an hour or an hour and a half to assess the conditions.
"You want to be ahead of the game. England are still very much in this Test match, if not a little ahead but to become a good team, they need to adapt quicker."
England bowled poorly in the first hour on day two, before adapting their plans and starting to take some wickets. "One of the interesting things we’ve learned – England are trying to fact-find on this tour – is it makes no sense to me that Craig Overton should take the new ball over Saqib Mahmood," ex-England batter Mark Butcher told BT Sport.
"Give the ball to the guy who has got more skill with inswing, outswing and who has more pace through the air. That then allows Overton to perform the role he is doing so well at the moment, using his height and physical size to run in and whack the middle of the pitch hard.
"I hope this doesn’t come across too harsh, but I’ve never seen a more friendly opening spell than the one from Woakes and Overton with that new ball. It was like watching under-17s cricket for a little while.
"But as soon as England got their teeth into the contest and started playing West Indian-style cricket, things started to happen for them."
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