Former Australian opener Ed Cowan has torn shreds off England labelling them the worst team to tour Australia in 20 years heading into the Boxing Day Test.
Meanwhile England coach and selector Chris Silverwood has stood by his highly-criticised picks for the first two Ashes Tests, saying he would pick the same teams again.
And Jofra Archer has suffered another injury setback that’s set to rule him out well into 2022.
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‘THIS IS ACTUALLY A WORSE TEAM’
A leading UK cricket writer says he’s “never known an England team quite this hopeless”, labelling Joe Root’s side worse than any of the past four teams that have toured Australia.
In a scathing critique, ESPNcricinfo UK editor Andrew Miller told SENZ Breakfast said the England team – which is 2-0 down in the Ashes series ahead of the Boxing Day Test – is “absolutely appalling”.
“I’ve never known an England team quite this hopeless, to be honest,” he said on SENZ Breakfast.
“I’ve watched England a lot. I was out there in 2006-07 for that whitewash, I watched the 2010 victory, the whitewash in 2013, the four-nil in 2017 – and this is worse than those previous tours.
“We lost nine out of 10 (matches) in our previous two tours and this is actually a worse team.”
Miller said England’s call to place a high priority on the limited-overs format, rather than red-ball cricket, was proving costly in the Test arena.
“Realistically, England made a very, very conscious decision about six years ago … England basically threw everything they’ve got at white-ball cricket, won the World Cup,” Miller said.
“Essentially in the process of getting it right incredibly well, the way they’ve gone about their white-ball cricket in the past six years is amazing and nobody can complain with the return on that front – except, in so doing, they basically left Test cricket go to seed, they left Country cricket go to seed.
“All of the prime months of the English summer are now devoted to white-ball cricket, so none of the best players get to play at the best time of the year.
“We’ve got guys who could be brilliant … (but) it’s basically Root or bust. And if Root is bust, we’re bust. And even if he does well, we’re bust.”
COWAN LABELS ENGLAND WORST TOURING TEAM IN 20 YEARS
Former Australian opener Ed Cowan believes England are the worst touring team to come to Australia in 20 years and what they are dishing up in the Ashes is hurting Test cricket.
Speaking on The ABC Grandstand podcast, Cowan believes there is not enough depth in the England squad to change the course of the series that Australia lead 2-0 heading into the Boxing Day Test.
“This is an absolute expose of English cricket,” Cowan said on The ABC Grandstand Cricket podcast.
“It will actually not matter who they bring in. This is the best of a very average bunch.
“I don’t like hanging crap. Test cricket is bloody hard. There is nowhere to hide.
“I feel for Rory Burns. His technique has been exploited. The pace of the ball. Not so much the movement but the pace and the bounce.
“All their batsman apart from Malan and Root just look technically out of sorts and you can’t fix that in Test cricket.”
Cowan also took issue with the lack of pace and variety in England’s bowling attack, which is led by two fast bowlers in James Anderson and Stuart Broad that are closer to 40 than 30.
“The bowling looks ageing,” Cowan said.
“It looks slow in parts and it looks like it lacks variation so there is nowhere to go.
“It is fair to say I genuinely can’t remember a worse touring squad in the last 20 years. Maybe the Wests Indies in the mid-2000s when they had that awkward transition.
“But this could be a huge blowout.
“It kind of makes you sad because Test cricket needs great contests. It needs a strong England. It needs a strong Australia and it needs a strong Ashes.
“We are not really seeing that at all.
“England have won two Ashes Tests in Australia in the last 15 years. Like this is not knew.
“And beating the crap out of them isn’t fun. It is not good for the game.
“I feel sorry for them. I’m actually starting to feel sorry for the touring team.”
ENGLAND COACH STANDS BY BAFFLING SELECTIONS
England coach Chris Silverwood has defended his selections for the first two Tests despite widespread criticism over his decision.
Silverwood failed to pick Stuart Broad and James Anderson in favourable conditions at the Gabba, before not picking a specialist spinner in Adelaide where there was plenty of turn and bounce.
Nonetheless, Silverwood said on Tuesday that he would pick the same teams again despite England comfortably losing the first two Ashes Tests to Australia.
“There is always going to be divided opinion,” Silverwood told BBC Sport. “You pick a team and not everybody’s going to agree with you.”
Asked if the would pick the same teams again, he said: “To be honest, I would.”
He later added: “I was happy with the skillset we had in the pink-ball Test, so I would pick the same team again.”
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ENGLAND’S ARCHER TO MISS WEST INDIES SERIES AFTER LATEST SETBACK
Already sidelined England fast bowler Jofra Archer is set to miss the tour of the West Indies after undergoing a second elbow operation, it was announced Tuesday.
The Barbados-born quick has been out of international action since March and his absence from England duty will now extend to over a year after it was decided the recurring stress fracture in his right elbow required another operation.
Archer, 26, had the surgery on Saturday and he has now been ruled out by the England and Wales Cricket Board of the three-Test tour of his native West Indies in March — a series officials had hoped would mark his comeback to international cricket.
But it now appears the 2019 World Cup winner will not be back in action until the 2022 English season at the earliest.
“Jofra Archer underwent a second operation on his injured right elbow on Saturday 11 December in London,” said an ECB statement issued Tuesday.
“The procedure addressed the longstanding stress fracture of his right elbow.
“A return to cricket will be determined in time, but Jofra will not be available for any of England’s remaining winter series.”
This announcement will lead to fresh debate over whether Archer, the son of an English father, can bowl again at express pace should he return to professional cricket.
He burst onto the international stage by leading England’s attack during their 2019 World Cup triumph on home soil and the Sussex quick also starred in the subsequent drawn Ashes series against Australia.
Archer had been earmarked to star in the ongoing Ashes campaign in Australia but was ruled out months before the series.
England are currently 2-0 down with three to play following a comprehensive 275-run defeat in the second Test at Adelaide.
Archer, also a leading cricketer in the Twenty20 global franchise circuit, has repeatedly said he wants to enjoy a successful Test career but it remains to be seen if his body will allow him to return to the five-day game.