(Reuters) – England will suffer a series whitewash against India unless their batting improves dramatically from the first test win over Bangladesh, former captain Michael Vaughan has said.
England relied on their bowling and an in-form Ben Stokes to bail them out against Bangladesh and claim a 22-run victory on the final morning in Chittagong on Monday. “If they perform like they did against Bangladesh, it’ll be 5-0,” Vaughan told the BBC.
Stokes steadied England’s second innings after the top order collapsed on day three and Vaughan said England cannot afford to put themselves in a similar situation against the world’s top-ranked test side. “It doesn’t matter who goes first. England for such a long time are always 30 or 40 for three. If they’re 30 or 40 for three against India they’ll get blown away,” he added.
“Yes, you celebrate a win, but hopefully England, in the background, are being honest with themselves that they can play better.”
The second and final test against Bangladesh starts on Friday in Dhaka.
England play India in the first of five tests from Nov. 9.
