England Cricket Fans Unhappy Over Selection for Warm-Up Game
England cricket fans are unhappy about the team for Saturday’s warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI, according to twitter comments.
Moeen Ali was the only player selected from the team who played the second test in Adelaide, as the other players are made up of England Lions players.
They include Yorkshire’s Gary Balance.
The white-ball squad, announced yesterday, includes a strong Yorkshire contingent, with Jonny Bairstow, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, David Willey and Liam Plunkett making the cut.
England scored 227 and 233 in their first and second innings in Adelaide, and lost the 2nd Test match by 120 runs on the final day.
Moeen Ali Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire)
Gary Ballance (Yorkshire)
Mason Crane (Hampshire)
Tom Curran (Surrey)
Ben Duckett (Northamptonshire) Ben Foakes+ (Surrey)
Keaton Jennings (Lancs)
Dan Lawrence (Essex)
Jack Leach (Somerset)
Liam Livingstone (Lancs)
Mark Wood (Durham)— Test Match Special (@bbctms) December 7, 2017
A number of comments showed outrage at the batsmen being rested rather than given match practice before the third and deciding Test match in Perth on 14 December.
Two Australian batsmen, captain Steven Smith and middle-order batsman Shaun Marsh have scored hundreds so far this series, no England player has managed to reach this milestone. James Vince top-scored for England with 83 made in the first match at Brisbane.
Surely our Test batters would benefit having experience on the Perth wicket. Yes agree that the bowlers should rest up. Chance for Wood, Leach and Foakes to make a statement. #Ashes
— Nick Bennett (@NickBennett58) December 7, 2017
This is a joke,do the @ECB_cricket think @englandcricket are 2-0 up in the Ashes.Our batsman are in the no nick at all and they get rested before the 3rd Test which is a must win game!
— Will Edwards (@WilburE300) December 7, 2017
Questions have also been raised about team selection for the next match, as suggestions ranged from Mark Wood to the more unlikely prospect of Ben Foakes as wicket-keeper and Bairstow as batsman.
General consensus shows, according to cricket fans, the team for Perth is by no means set.
This is such a big chance for these players. If they perform well then why not swap them into the Ashes squad and play them! If we are going to lose the Ashes we might as well give other players a chance to prove themselves
— Mae 🏏 (@MaeSimkin) December 7, 2017
England fans will look towards the warm-up game to offer a potential solution to the current Test form, and it offers young players an opportunity to impress the selectors before the concluding Test matches.
These comments came after the controversial announcement which included Ben Stokes and Alex Hales in England’s team for the upcoming One Day International series, after the conclusion of the Test series.