After Australia won the Ashes by virtue of a wet Day 5 of the fourth Test at Manchester. Former England bowler Steve Harmison dismissed the notion of a reserve day in Test cricket.
By taking a 275-run lead in the first innings and putting Australia on the ground at 214/5 in their second essay at stumps on Day 4. England put themselves in a strong position to tie the series. The match, however, ended in a draw since the last day’s play was canceled due to severe rain.
Harmison criticized the proposals for a reserve day in Test cricket when speaking on talkSPORT’s Following On Cricket Podcast.
“Honestly, some of the information that has come out and some of the people who have said that, “I think we should have a reserve day” are beyond my comprehension. An Ashes series consists of five test matches, and the game lasts five days. Two rainy days in Manchester didn’t lead England to lose the Ashes, he insisted.
The 44-year-old claimed that the Ashes loss was primarily down to the hosts’ errors in the first two Tests.
He continued, “England lost the Ashes because they messed up what happened in Test Matches One and Two with blunders they committed.
In the first two games at Edgbaston and Lord’s, England missed numerous opportunities and lost by two wickets and 43 runs. respectively.
The fourth Test’s washout on Day 5 and only 30 overs on Day 4 allowed Australia to win the Ashes for the third time in a row.
“This is crazy, we want to make it six now.” Steve Harmison
The same England side lead by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes requested four-day Test matches when they defeated opponents with their Bazball strategy according to Steve Harmision.
Under the McCullum-Stokes combo England had won 11 of their first 13 Test matches before the current Ashes series. using a high-risk, high-reward batting strategy.
“I think it’s ludicrous to say that there should be a reserve day in cricket, not even for the Ashes. This Test match arena’s doors were blown off not too long ago by (coach) Brendon McCullum and (captain) Ben Stokes, and within three or four Test matches, requests for four-day Test matches began to come in. Now we want to extend it to six days, which is absurd, according to Harmison.
The veteran bowler added that when the hosts lose an Ashes series, they keep seeking for outside causes.
“We lose the Ashes and it’s county cricket’s fault, we lose the Ashes and it’s the Duke ball or the Kookaburra ball’s fault, and now we’re extending Test matches because we had two days of rain,” Harmison said.
England has the proud heritage of not losing a home Ashes series since 2001 to protect in the last Test. Despite the dreams of winning the Ashes urn being dashed. On Thursday, July 27. The Oval will host the start of the thrilling 2023 series between the two most venerable foes in cricket.
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