Shots have already been fired before the Ashes summer in Australia but England have already turned on themselves before a ball has been bowled.
England have named a 17-man squad to face Australia in the Ashes this summer, but the squad reveal has not gone down well in England.
While the side will once again be led by in-form skipper Joe Root, who is currently first in the ICC Test batting rankings, and Aussie tormentors Stuart Broad and James Anderson, the squad also features 10 players who have not played a Test on Aussie soil.
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England have had to deal with some injury concerns as superstar all-rounder Ben Stokes, who underwent finger surgery earlier this week, will miss a second consecutive Ashes tour, while speedster Jofra Archer also won’t feature in the marquee series due to an elbow injury and all-rounder Sam Curran was ruled out after being diagnosed with a back stress fracture.
Despite the losses, England were able to name a near full-strength squad for the tour after the series was given the go-ahead following fears it would be cancelled due to concerns over tough Covid-19 quarantine guidelines in Australia.
But while England will have as strong a squad as it can muster for the series, English media have had a lukewarm reaction to the squad.
Only Root averages more than 40 in Test matches and only Mark Wood can bowl at speeds above 145km/h, which will be vital on Australia’s quick and bouncy pitches.
Despite averaging 11.14 in Test cricket this year, young gun Zak Crawley has been included in the squad.
The Telegraph’s chief cricket correspondent Nick Hoult wrote that England cannot deny the weakness of the squad on paper.
“Almost every England team arrives in Australia to be welcomed by headlines describing them as the most useless bunch of losers ever to set foot in the country,” Hoult wrote. “This time there is no hiding from their weaknesses and lack of depth.
“They have only one world class Test player in Root, have picked a line-up of 80-85mph (128-136km/h) right arm over English seamers and two spinners (Dom Bess and Jack Leach) not deemed good enough to play last summer.”
Root has been a dominant force this year in Test match cricket, playing 12 matches and scoring 1455 runs at an average of 66.13, including six centuries.
But he’s never tallied a hundred in Australia and Hoult said that Root would need to get England off to a great start in Brisbane to sow some belief in the England side.
Jewish News UK’s online editor Jack Mendel tweeted of the news that the squad was “Thoroughly mediocre”.
“I am scared of the onslaught Marnus and Steve will inevitably embark on, on Aussie flat tracks,” he added.
It’s not like England haven’t come to Australia before and stunned the locals, with the 2010-11 series still relatively fresh in the minds of Australian cricket fans.
Australia have also got question marks over the lack of match experience this season, having not played a Test since last summer’s series loss to India.
The Guardian’s Emma John was slightly more positive, giving England some hope despite admitting that there was a “premonition of doom” as the Poms haven’t necessarily set the world alight in the Test match format and currently sit fourth in the rankings.
She added that England could follow India’s template, as the victorious side used 20-players in the four-Test series last summer.
“Whether Australia’s lack of Test cricket in 10 months proves a problem of preparation, or a refreshing break that will benefit their players, is one final question,” she wrote. “England’s packed international schedule has been deservedly criticised, but it cannot be denied that they have unparalleled experience of playing under (and living in) harsh Covid restrictions. (England coach Chris) Silverwood calls them “battle-hardened”. We shall see.”
In The Times, former England skipper Michael Atherton called England’s squad “uninspiring” but also pointed to Australia’s weaknesses.
“It is not the strongest squad England have taken to Australia — nor is it the weakest,” Atherton wrote.
“Australia might be so described as well, strong as they are in bowling but less so in batting. Any doubts over England’s prospects are tempered to some extent by the doubts in Australia’s camp, where much rests on the form of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, and the fitness of the main three fast bowlers: Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.”
Speaking on SEN, Michael Vaughan believed that England’s weakness comes from its bowling stocks.
“I don’t think England have an attack that’ll blow Australia away,” Vaughan said. “I don’t think they have that skill level, pace, or expertise of spin in their armoury, but if they get good runs they certainly have an attack that can wear the Australians down and potentially force the issue by building dots and bowling maidens.”
He also questioned Australia’s batters outside Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne and said that he believes Australia are beatable.
“I do look at this Australian side and think, ‘Wait a minute. They are obviously on home soil, they’re a talented bunch, but they can certainly be beaten’,” Vaughan said.
“We saw that with India last year, that last Test in particular at the Gabba, where the Indians were pretty much a second string team and chased down that score on the last day.
“This Australian side can be beaten, it’s just whether England can find the confidence and the belief in themselves to try and do it.”
Former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy said on his SEN show Pat and Heals that the England side had plenty of weaknesses at the top of the order.
“Joe Root has catapulted himself back into maybe the best batsman in the world,” Healy said.
“His form in those tough Tests (in 2021) has been incredible, he’s really desperate to play better than he has in Australia in the past, he’s yet to get a century over here … he’s number one.
“They’ve got to get more out of (Rory) Burns, (Zak) Crawley, (Dawid) Malan and (Haseeb) Hameed if they play, whichever ones of those play.
“Rory Burns being that really weird back lift, left-hander that opens the batting, but he can make runs and occupy the crease.
“One thing I don’t think they do well enough is use (Jonny) Bairstow and (Jos) Buttler with the bat enough, they tend to bat them too low for me,” Healy said.
“They don’t use them enough, get them up ahead and right in amongst Crawley, Malan and Hameed or instead of them, really get the best out of their abilities.”
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