Test greats slam Root's 'ridiculous' tactics

Former England captains Michael Atherton and Michael Vaughan have been left perplexed by some random field placements on day two at Lord’s, with Atherton labelling Joe Root’s decision to post himself at short-leg "utterly ridiculous".

England finished day two of the first Test at Lord’s trailing Pakistan by 166 runs as Root chopped and changed his field in a desperate search for wickets.

At one point in the first session, Root donned a helmet and stationed himself at short-leg as speedster Mark Wood operated round the wicket targeting the bodies of Pakistan’s top order.

Atherton was gobsmacked at the skipper’s decision to put himself in the firing line so close to the batsman.

"I think that’s a ridiculous place to captain from," Atherton said on Sky Sports commentary. "Utterly ridiculous. 

"You captain well from first slip. You captain well from mid-off or mid-on where you’ve got a nice view of the game. Under the lid at short leg is no place for a captain to be. 

"England have a had a problem in that situation because Mark Stoneman, who did it in the winter, is not very good there. 

"But I don’t care if Mark Stoneman is not very good, find someone else to do it. 

"The captain should not be at short leg. You can’t see the game. All you’ve got a view of is the batsman’s backside."

While Atherton’s criticism was exclusively aimed at Root, Vaughan laid the blame on coach Trevor Bayliss.

England put down five chances in the field on Friday and Vaughan says the interchanging field settings and strategic impatience stems from a lack of guidance from the hosts’ Australian mentor.

"They just look like a side … (that) need oiling," Vaughan said on BBC’s Test Match Special after play.

"They’re not well coached. This Test match team is not well coached. The cordon changes every other over.

"It’s a little bit like the schoolboy teams. You get in a position on the park that you fancy and you just stay in it. 

"There was a time when the second new ball was taken – Ben Stokes took it from the Pavilion End – Jimmy Anderson was at third slip. 

"Stuart Broad partners Ben Stokes with the second new ball and they’ve got four slips. Jimmy Anderson is not one of the four slips. 

"You’ve got Joe Root who has a go at short leg, then Alastair Cook has the helmet on. 

"Mark Stoneman, whether they think he’s useless in there or he’s got some kind of injury, we’ve not heard of an injury so they must think he can’t catch. 

"You’ve got Dominic Bess who could go under the lid. A youngster, somebody vibrant."

Day three resumes with England needing just one more wicket to bat again after Pakistan batsman Babar Azam retired hurt with a broken arm, an injury that has seen him ruled out for the remainder of the series.