Joe Root hits back at Michael Vaughan for coming down harsh on the England team

Current England skipper Joe Root has hit back at former England international Michael Vaughan by terming his criticism of the England side as unfair and personal. Michael Vaughan slammed the England team’s approach towards the game of cricket after they lost the second Test match against South Africa by a colossal margin of 340 runs.

Michael Vaughan blamed the present England team for their inability to read the game. He said that the team is lacking in the same area for two and half years. “It has been the story of the Test team for two and a half years. They don’t seem to be able to read the situation – they have this gung-ho approach.”

Vaughan added that the team does not have a plan B apart from trying to dispatch the ball to the boundary. “For such a long period of time they have played as if the only way to approach it is to hit the ball to the boundary. You have to be able to wear the opposition down,” said the retired cricketer to BBC Radio 5 live on Wednesday.

Vaughan went on to add that the struggling England side showed an immense lack of respect towards the game and how it should be played. “Jonny Bairstow came out at number five batting on roller-blades, trying to smash everything to the boundary. I don’t think they respected the way Test cricket needed to be played.” said Vaughan.

According to Vaughan, who is an active commentator now, the team is full of talents and has the potential to be the best in the world. Having said that, Vaughan pointed out that talent needs to be paired with smart brains in order to succeed and England is falling behind on that part.

“I’m passionate about the England team and I get frustrated when I see a team with so much talent. I don’t think they’ve got the make-up of the side right. The batting has been a weakness for a while now. The talent is there and there is all the potential to be a brilliant team, but you don’t become a brilliant team without the brains and being smart.” said Vaughan.

What Root said:

However, Joe Root has replied to Vaughan’s comments saying that it was the former international’s job to be biased. “It’s his job, isn’t it, to be opinionated and say what he thinks. At the time I was very disappointed with the way we played and caught a little bit off guard with the question.”

“It felt a bit personal at the time, but on reflection you have to understand people have an obligation to do their job and say how they feel they see it,” Root added.