Just lack of intent and game awareness, Justin Langer blasts Australia after Headingley loss
Australia coach Justin Langer lashed out at skipper Tim Paine after losing the third Ashes Test in Edgbaston for his lack of intent which cost them the game. England all-rounder Ben Stokes scored a valiant unbeaten 135 to take home his side by a wicket as Australia missed out on an easy win.
Australia were cruising to a victory in Edgbaston during the third Ashes Test having reduced England to 286 for 9 but England’s World Cup hero Ben Stokes had other plans and Aussie’s sloppiness in the field including a messed up review handed the hosts the game. Stokes went on to score an unbeaten 135 as he stitched a very important 71-run partnership with last man Jack Leach to take his side home.
Meanwhile, Australia coach Justin Langer was fuming in the dressing room over skipper Tim Paine’s sloppy field settings in the middle which allowed Stokes a single on the last ball of the over and kept the new man Leach off the strike. This meant Aussie missed a go at Leach early in his innings with the likes of Pat Cummins and Robert Pattinson in red hot form.
"Bring them all in..you have to bring everyone in, surely! Everyone. If it’s a four so what? You want to ball as many overs as u can to the number 11. I would rather have Ben stokes hit six off that ball and we still get six balls to leach," India Today quoted Langer just before the ball.
After the match, Langer called a team meeting and lashed out at his skipper reviewing the day’s play. Langer accused Paine of lacking intent and game awareness which cost them a must-win game.
“Opportunity, in my opinion, 71 to go, last ball of the over , there is no way there can be a run there. We would have got 6 balls at Leach, and we have gotta squeeze him, squeeze in on him. We can’t give an easy run like that. He had faced 220 balls and we have got Leach who comes in, we want Pattinson to have 6 balls at Leach, Surely. The opportunity missed there is that we let him a single. That is just intent. That is just some game awareness which we talk about.”