Benedict charts England's recent batting meltdowns in Test cricket
Friday 23 August 2019 22:38, UK
As the famous 1932 song goes: "You're getting to be a habit with me" and so it goes with batting collapses and England.
The latest batting meltdown came at Headingley on Friday as England were skittled by Australia for 67 - their 12th-lowest total in Tests and eighth-worst Ashes score.
Collapses of this nature are nothing new for England, with the team having succumbed all too frequently over the last three years, including when they were rolled for 85 by Ireland at Lord's in July...
This was probably the most shocking of the lot. England had gained a first-innings lead of 24 after inflicting a similar style collapse on Bangladesh - who tumbled from 171-1 to 220 all out in their first innings. It all meant that England needed 273 to win on a turning pitch.
They started off well with Alastair Cook and Ben Duckett sitting pretty at tea with England 100 without loss. However, when Duckett was dismissed by the first delivery of the evening session, the wheels came off in spectacular fashion. Having not lost a wicket in their first 23 overs, the next 22.3 overs saw them lost all 10 for the addition of just 64 runs, with Mehedy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan scripting a famous first Test victory for Bangladesh over England
Surely no Test tour could have started so spectacularly badly as this one! Ironically it could have been even worse. Put into bat in Auckland's first day-night Test, they threatened to make the lowest Test score in history as they subsided to 23-8 and then 27-9. It was only thanks to Craig Overton, who made an unbeaten 33 batting at number nine that they edged past their lowest ever Test total of 45.
Trent Boult and Tim Southee bowled unchanged throughout the 20.4-over innings, and just like that, the series was decided. Thanks to the weather, England managed to force the match into a fifth day, but their fate had been sealed and New Zealand ended up winning the series 1-0.
England had started brightly in response to India's first innings of 329 when they took lunch on the second day on 46-0 from just nine overs with Cook and Keaton Jennings at the crease. However, when Ishant Sharma induced a thin edge from Cook in the third over after lunch, it was a case of déjà vu all over again.
All of England's top seven batsmen made it to double-figures but none were able to progress beyond Jos Buttler's 39 as Hardik Pandya proved to be the unlikely destroyer. He cut a swathe through the middle and lower order, taking five wickets in the space of 29 deliveries and India ended up with a comfortable first-innings lead. England fared better in their second innings, which was highlighted by Buttler's maiden Test ton, but nonetheless went down to a heavy defeat.
Maybe it was not a full 10 wickets in a session, but it was a pretty remarkable collapse nonetheless. Keaton Jennings had gone early, slicing a drive to gully, but even as lunch was taken, there was little anticipation of the carnage to follow. But what carnage it was!
This time Kemar Roach was the destroyer-in-chief, taking five wickets for just four runs in 27 balls, and he was well-supported by the other three seamers as England collapsed to the lowest total in the 54 Test matches to have been played at the Kensington Oval. It was a feeble batting effort at the ground on the last tour which cost them victory in the series, and could it be the same this time?
Ireland's first Test at the Home of Cricket was always going to be special - but they can't have imagined this as Tim Murtagh (5-13) and Mark Adair (3-32) shredded England in 23.4 overs! Jason Roy (5) fell early on his long-form debut, while Joe Root's charges then wilted from 36-1 once Joe Denly was out for 23.
The hosts lost six wickets for seven runs, with the last four of those going down for one run, with Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes dispatched for ducks, during which time Murtagh - on his home ground - completed a stunning five-for.
Sam Curran (18) and Olly Stone (19) made double figures from 43-7, as England moved past their lowest-ever Test score of 45, but Ireland still ensured three figures would elude the shell-shocked hosts.
On a sunny day in Leeds, Australia's fiery pace attack dismantled England's batting line-up within a session and 28 minutes as Josh Hazlewood (5-30), Pat Cummins (3-28) and James Pattinson (2-9) torpedoed the hosts in 27.5 overs.
Denly (12) was the only batsman to make double figures as David Warner took four fine catches at first slip, with Roy (9) the first to fall, edging behind as he attempted to drive Hazlewood.
Hazlewood also had Root caught by Warner for a two-ball duck, removed Bairstow (4) in identical fashion, saw Jos Buttler (5) drive him straight to Usman Khawaja at short cover and then bowled Jack Leach (1) to complete his five-for. It was England's lowest-ever total at Headingley and gifted Australia the perfect opportunity retain the Ashes.
