England are boring, says Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has branded England as boring after the drawn second Test against India.

Gavaskar said the touring side should have attacked, having set India an improbable victory target of 374 late on the fourth day in the Ahmedabad Test.

"On a slowish pitch with a sluggish outfield, even (Sachin) Tendulkar at his best would not have been able to take India to victory," Gavaskar wrote in his column in the Hindustan Times daily.

"It was England who are one down in the series and they needed to take the initiative to level the series.

"Instead...it looked as if they were trying to avoid going two down in the series."

England, having lost the first Test by 10 wickets, looked well-placed to pull off an unlikely win but delayed their declaration. India dug in to salvage a dull draw on Saturday.

Gavaskar added: "If anybody has made the game boring over the years it is solely England with its misplaced theories and notions about the game."

He added: "The problem with English cricket is too many theories and the fact that they have come to India with a party of over 20, including around 10 officials, shows that all those officials...have not served any purpose."

"It is just an employment scheme masquerading as a tactical team.

"No wonder the flair of players like Ian Botham, David Gower to name two, have no place in England's cricketing thinking.

"They did not play strictly by the coaching book, but have a look at the victories they brought England with their approach and attitude."

BORING

Gavaskar said England's over-defensive tactics on the final day allowed the batsmen to play without pressure and spend valuable time in the middle.

"The final session of the match was pretty much like a county game in England, with players going through the motion and the crowds resorting to their own versions of entertaining themselves," he added.

"No wonder, they hardly ever attract crowds and have to take their own to fill up stadiums overseas," he said, referring to the 'Barmy army', a group of English fans which follows the team overseas.

After the draw, England skipper Nasser Hussain said he was discouraged from making an early declaration because the barren pitch still looked good for batting.

His counterpart Saurav Ganguly said he did not take up the challenge of a chase because the target was huge and Hussain went back on the defensive whenever the batsmen scored quick runs.

The third and final Test begins in Bangalore on Wednesday.

England's tour of India : Complete coverage

Mail Cricket Editor