England fast-bowling consultant Tim Southee defended skipper Ben Stokes’ decision to bowl first on a dry Headingley wicket, saying they expected the pitch to be conducive for bowlers in the opening session, but were undone by the young and talented Indian batters.
England’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss in the first Test of the five-match series backfired as skipper Shubman Gill (127 not out) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (101) made merry on a dry surface to power India to 359 for 3 on the opening day on Friday.
England captain Stokes’ decision came in for sharp criticism from former skipper Michael Vaughan, who said he didn’t find any logic in the move.
“With the colour of the wicket yesterday, and a little bit of moisture left in it if there was a little bit of help in it, it was probably going to be this morning. That was the thinking behind the decision,” Southee said in the post-stumps press conference.
“You look at the surface and make the decision on what you think will give you the best chance. Not all the time do you get it right.” The former New Zealand fast bowler, however, gave full credit to Indian batters for negotiating the conditions and proving England’s decision wrong.
“But credit to the Indian openers. They negotiated the first hour well. KL Rahul left well and (Yashasvi) Jaiswal played his hand too,” Southee said.
“They (India) played a couple of great hands. And (Shubman) Gill’s knock was especially impressive given the circumstances.
“They may not have played a lot of cricket coming in, but they’re certainly talented,” he added.
The inexperienced England bowling attack was taken to task by the visitors, barring skipper Stokes who returned figures of 2 for 43 from his 16 overs.
“He’s (Stokes) in great shape, bowling as well as I’ve seen him in a while. He was eager, threatening, and broke through when we needed it,” Southee said.
Despite being on the backfoot at the end of the opening day, England are still hopeful of making a strong comeback in the match.
“There’s a lot of belief in this side. We’ve done amazing things before. It’s Day 1. There’s a long way to go,” Southee said.
