Ashes 2023: Ian Chappell lashes out at England batters for "wild and woolly shot-making"

Former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell slammed the England batters for their shot selection in the first innings of the ongoing Ashes Test at Lord's. The hosts played some questionable shots and conceded a 91-run lead to the Aussies, despite once being in a fantastic position at 188/1.

Chappell shed light on how the England batters need to take more responsibility and not brush the failure in their first innings under the carpet by saying that it is all down to the attacking brand of cricket that they play.

In his column for ESPNCricinfo, here's what Ian Chappell wrote about England's batting in the Lord's Test:

"It's all well and good for England to say 'That's the way we play', but when wild and woolly shot-making like in the first innings at Lord's is on display, it's time for the batters to answer some serious questions."

Chappell also claimed that the hosts gifted their wickets to Australia and the latter were not going to leave the chance of dominating the game. He added:

"Trying to win from the first ball is admirable, but gifting your wicket to the opposition with reckless shot-making is not a tactic designed to beat good sides. Australia under Cummins are a good side."

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England will have trouble halting the slide: Ian Chappell

Ian Chappell feels Australia have the measure of England now and that this might give the latter some tough memories of their 0-4 drubbing in the previous Ashes down under.

On this, Chappell stated:

"Australia are growing in strength, while England are starting to question themselves, and this is a recipe for a disaster for the home side. They suffered an ignominious 4-0 hammering in Australia, and now the ugly scars are re-emerging; they'll have trouble halting the slide."

England's hope of a comeback depends heavily on Ben Stokes and Ben Duckett's partnership on Day 5.