Michael Vaughan Slams Australia’s Batting In 5th Ashes Test: ‘Worst…’

Despite being 2-1 ahead in the 5-match Ashesh series, Australian batsmen looked extremely cautious, especially in the first session, scoring just 54 runs.

After 47 overs, Australia were 96 for 2, and 21 of these runs came off byes and leg byes.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was not too impressed with the way the Australian team batted in the final Ashes Test at The Oval. He labeled it as the "worst" he had ever seen from the tourists. Despite their lead in the series with a 2-1 score, Australia's batting was extremely cautious, especially in the first session. Australia resumed the day on 61-1 and could only manage 54 runs in the first session. Vaughan, speaking on Test Match Special, was surprised by their uncharacteristic lack of aggression since Australian teams of the past have always looked to score runs and be more proactive and aggressive.

After 47 overs, Australia were 96 for 2, and 21 of these runs came off byes and leg byes. Only 75 runs had come off the bat.

“They have just sat in to bat a long period of time without remembering you have to put a bit of pressure on the bowlers,” Vaughan said. “This morning I thought it was the worst I've ever seen Australia bat in my time watching them. They never play like that.”

Marnus Labuschagne struggled to get going on Day 2 as he crawled his way to 9 runs off 82 deliveries. Even Australia opener Usman Khawaja played a slow innings, taking 157 balls to accumulate 47 runs during a partnership that could only yield 42 runs in 26 overs.

Vaughan expressed his dismay at Australia’s passive approach, emphasising that they failed to put pressure on the bowlers and kept batting on without ever trying to seize the moments. In contrast, he noted England's aggressive style of play — England were bowled out for 283 on the first day in just 54.4 overs.

Todd Murphy played a handy knock of 34 as Australia edged just ahead at stumps on Day 2.