“Would they bat like that against India and Australia?” – Michael Vaughan questions England’s aggression after Day 2 of ENG vs SL 2024 3rd Test

Former England captain Michael Vaughan called out England’s aggression after the second day of the third Test match against Sri Lanka at Kennington Oval on Saturday. The hosts posted 325 runs on the board in the first innings after Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva decided to bowl first.

Stand-in captain Ollie Pope returned back to form, scoring a magnum opus knock of 154 runs off 156 balls. Moreover, England opener Ben Duckett scored an attacking knock of 86 runs off 79 balls. But none of the other English batters could even breach the 20-run mark.

England had ended the opening day in a commanding position at 221-3 but they veered off the track on the second day.

Speaking on Test Match Special podcast, Vaughan said, “It just felt like the end of term. With the bat in hand, they were very expansive. Would they bat like that against India and Australia? They wouldn’t. They came out and set the field with lots of slips and didn’t have a fine leg. It was like when you played school cricket and played a school you knew you were better than. England haven’t had many bad days this summer. I still expect them to get over the line.”

Meanwhile, England had Sri Lanka on the mat at 92-5 but unbeaten half-centuries from skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (64) and in-form Kamindu Mendis (54) saw the visitors finish strongly at 211-5. Vaughan wants England to be careful with their approach and not be complacent.

“England delight me a lot in the way they play. I like that they do things completely differently. But I sometimes watch and think, ‘Be careful because this game has a way of biting you.’ Don’t take the mickey out of the game. Be very, very careful. There are cricketing gods up there and in a year’s time, there are tougher challenges,” Vaughan said on the same podcast.

“I would ask England, ‘Were you on it all day like you would be against India and Australia?’ If they look themselves in the mirror and say they were, I would say they are lying. They weren’t on it today,” he added.

England has already taken an impregnable lead of 2-0 in the series.