England need to be careful with their sweep shots against India: England assistant coach Graham Thorpe

England will be up against India for the first Test match of the four-match series on February 5 in Chennai. Seeing India’s latest heroics in Australia, each and every nation would be preparing their level best to face them in near future. In the same light, England’s assistant coach Graham Thorpe has some words of advice for his players and stated though sweep shot is a great tactic against spinners, players should not just start sweeping at the sight of spinners.

It is a known fact that India have often subjected the touring nations to a trial by spin, and batsmen who can ace sweep shots have fared well in front of them. Turning tracks have been said to push the batsmen who know the art of sweeping, but even that must be used carefully as per England’s assistant coach. Thorpe called them “handy shots” but warned players to put them to intelligent use.

“Sometimes the surface might not turn straightaway in India. Sometimes the game can stretch out, and they might start to turn on day three or beyond day three.

“Understanding when and how to operate with the sweep shot is important to be able to manoeuvre the field, put fielders in places where maybe the bowler really doesn’t want them, which then gives you another opportunity to rotate the strike,” said Thorpe in a video conference from Chennai as quoted by India Today.

England team need to be careful against Indian pacers too: Thorpe

England’s skipper Joe Root who was already in red hot form in the Test matches against Sri Lanka has been backed by his assistant coach too. Thorpe stated that Root knows how to get himself in a good position, and the England team doesn’t need to look beyond him on how to play the shot. In the same context, he also warned his team about India’s pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah. He stated that India is equipped enough in both sections of bowling.

“The thing about the Indian bowling attack is that it’s not just about spin. Their seam attack is also strong,” he added.