#IndvsEng: England’s ‘Little Disease’

England had two collapses, one in the first innings and another in the second, the first at the top order and the second low down during their 246-run defeat in the second Test. But Vizag was not the first instance where England suffered the disease. In the second Test in Bangladesh, they had the same problem after a fine opening stand, falling like nine pins against the spinners. “When they lose one wicket, a panic sets in. They can’t stop it. It is a common trend,” Vaughan said. “Somewhere the mentality has to change and someone has to do something about it.” Former England bowler Jonathan Agnew says the entire collapse was not due to the pitch. 

“However, for as tricky as the surface became - and some deliveries did do a lot - there were too many dismissals in England’s second innings in particular that were not down to the pitch,” he told BBC. The tourists were shown the way initially by Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow in the first innings, then by opening pair Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed in the second. The effects of what Vaughan called the disease were common and usually occurred when panic set in. Four wickets for 29 runs and then four wickets for 30 runs in the first innings, eight wickets for 68 runs on the final day. 

“It ultimately comes down to a batsman’s state of mind. When you get a difficult delivery or the ball misbehaves, it can be very hard to put that out of your thoughts, but that is what the very best do,” said Agnew. 

“The answers to those questions are not straightforward because India is such a difficult place to tour. We knew from the start that playing five matches here straight after two in Bangladesh was going to be difficult in terms of managing morale and keeping spirits high.” 

England do not have to look too far into the past for inspiration. They came from behind to win here four years ago. aAgnew digs deeper into the past, the 1984-85 tour led by David Gower where he was also a part. 

“It was a real success because the togetherness of the team helped us overcame everything that was thrown at us. Indira Gandhi, the prime minister, was assassinated hours after the touring party arrived. The UK’s deputy high commissioner Percy Norris later suffered the same fate, a day after hosting a reception for the England team,” recalls Agnew. 

England stayed out there despite fears the tour would be cancelled, then lost the first Test in Mumbai as Laxman Sivaramakrishnan took 12 wickets. “Yet, England came back to win that series 2-1 and that is the mindset that the class of 2016 has to adopt,” exhorts Agnew.