Ashes 2023: England Did Expose Some Cracks, Says Michael Vaughan As He Points Out Australia's Vulnerabilities

The Ashes: Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that Ben Stokes-side exposed some weaknesses in Australia's batting lineup during the second Ashes Test at Lord's.

He specifically pointed to visitors' vulnerability to short-pitched bowling, which the hosts exploited to great effect in the match.

Australia had a tough time dealing with short balls in the second innings of the Lord's Test. Even batters like Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith got out while trying to hit short balls for boundaries, using shots like hooks, pulls, and fends.

In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan stated that England showed that Australia has some weaknesses, but he was disappointed that England didn't bat long enough in the first innings to put the game out of reach for the visitors.

"At Lord’s, England did expose some cracks in the Australians. Their short-pitched bowling tactics exposed some real vulnerabilities. But ultimately to only bat 76.2 overs in the first innings is what’s created the problems for England. With England 188-1 at Lord’s in the first innings, a sunny day and good batting conditions and Nathan Lyon injured, England had a real chance to bat big."

"They should have been thinking – let’s bat 120, 130 overs here, get lots of overs into their seamers. It actually cost them in the second innings too. Had England batted longer in the first innings, Australia’s seamers wouldn’t have been as fresh in the second innings and it would have been much harder for them."

Vaughan also pointed out that England have been equally sloppy on the field as they dropped a number of catches and gave away too many extras. He further said that the host cannot afford to be so generous against a team as good as Australia

"It's not just the sloppiness with the bat. There’s also been too many dropped catches and sloppiness in the field. Australia scored 74 extras this Test match – that’s far too many. You can’t afford to be so generous against a team as good as Australia," he said.

England slumped to their second defeat in the ongoing Ashes after suffering a 43-run loss despite captain Ben Stokes' stunning 155-run in the second Test at Lord's on Sunday and fell 0-2 in the five-match series.

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The hosts will look to avenge their losses with the third Test of the series set to get underway on July 7 at Headingley in Leeds.