Cricket legend Ian Botham has said England must put their batting collapses behind them, when they take on Pakistan in the fourth Test from Thursday at Lord's.
Cricket legend Ian Botham has said England must put their batting collapses behind them, when they take on Pakistan in the fourth Test from Thursday at Lord's.
"England have got stability in selection for the fourth Test running - now I want to see the batsmen offer the same in the middle order. If we lose five wickets in a session out in Australia, nine times out of 10 that Test match will be a gone," The Mirror quoted Botham as saying.
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u00a0"England have to nip this weakness in the bud and deliver a complete batting display that will give them heart and confidence, and send a final message Down Under that 20 wickets will be hard to come by for Mitchell Johnson and Co," he added.
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Botham further said he expects a good show from England at Lord's.
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"The selectors might have had one question answered emphatically by Alastair Cook, but I'm afraid there are one or two more being asked of the rest," said Botham.
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"Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and to an extent, Eoin Morgan, all need a score under their belts - not to cement their place in the side, but to win a match for England and show what they are picked for," he added.
England coach Andy Flower has said both Pietersen and Collingwood have high standards, but are not quite living up to it at the moment.
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