England vs India: Allan Lamb thinks ‘poor preparation’ hurt Virat Kohli’s men

A number of former players have lashed out at Team India for their preparation ahead of the ongoing Test series against England and this time, it is Allan Lamb. The former England captain and a middle-order batsman feels that it is nothing but “poor preparation” which has left India in a corner in the five-match series. The visitors have lost the first two matches of the series to trail 0-2 and the third Test was starting at Trent Bridge on Saturday, August 18.

Lamb is the latest former player to slam India over the dull performance in the Test series so far. While former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar blamed India’s schedule for the outcome, saying Virat Kohli’s team did not play enough practice games ahead of the crucial series, former England captain Geoffrey Boycott said India deserved the bashing they faced.

Poor preparation

In an exclusive chat with Times of India, Lamb, 64, said: “It’s just a case of poor preparation. England go to Australia and play two First-Class games and then hammered in the first Test. So it’s imperative that the preparation has to be spot on when you are going out of your comfort zone.”

India reached England in June end to play a three-game T20I series followed by a three-game ODI series. They then played a side game against Essex before taking the field for the first Test on August 1. The one-off side game was also reduced from a four-day to a three-day affair. India lost the first test at Edgbaston by 31 runs and were thrashed in the second Test at Lord’s by an innings and 159 runs. Their batsmen, with the sole exception of Virat Kohli, faced massive failure in the two games.

Lamb, who played 79 Tests and 122 ODIs for England between 1982 and 1992, was not impressed with the curtailing of the side game by a day.

“I don’t know why they curtailed the practice game. And make no mistake, ODIs and Test matches don’t work together. The ball, the field setting – everything is different. When you play a Test, you need to spend time at the crease which is not the case in the shorter formats. These things happen with practice,” he said.

India’s game against Essex was reportedly reduced by a day because of playing conditions that didn’t satisfy the Indian team management which feared it could cause trouble for the players. Other sources said it was the heat wave that made India go for a three-day game instead of a four-day one.

When asked whether India did the right thing by taking three days off after the second Test got over, Lamb said the opportunity was lost by not playing enough matches against the County sides. “There’s no point having naughty boy nets,” he said.

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