"England have to pick the team based on what’s in front of them" - Michael Vaughan on visitors' selection strategy for second Ashes Test
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has cited the importance of right team selection for the second Ashes Test in Adelaide. Vaughan believes England could suffer the same fate that befell them in their last two Ashes tours if they don't select the right personnel.
The tourists made many selection errors in the first Test at the Gabba, which they lost by nine wickets. England faced significant flak for not picking James Anderson and Stuart Broad, while opting for a left-arm spinner, Jack Leach. Hence, they are likely to make at least two changes for the second Test - a pink ball affair.
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Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan feels England have no room for selection errors in the pink ball Test in Adelaide. Vaughan slammed the visitors for thinking too much into the other Tests without focussing on the immediate game before them. He said:
"It's important that England get the selection right. It looked like they almost went in with a preconceived plan in Brisbane - at Adelaide, they have to pick the team based on what’s in front of them."
"And they can’t think about Melbourne, Sydney and Perth or any sort of preplanning. Worry about those Tests later. They absolutely have to win this week. If they don’t do that, it could be 2017-18 all over again."
Vaughan added:
"If you bring in Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, it means Chris Woakes doesn’t have to play. One of Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood will definitely play."
"The problem is, after how badly the batting went in the first Test, I can’t have a Test team with Ollie Robinson strolling out at number eight in Australia. So it’s not easy just to pick Anderson, Broad, Robinson and Wood together."
The 47-year old held England's shaky batting unit not scoring enough runs for bringing their spinner into player. Vaughan also lamented the lack of a competent spinner like Graeme Swann, who performed well in the 2010-11 Ashes series. He observed:
"Do you play a spinner? I never like to see five seamers - I think it’s too many. But if it doesn’t look like spin is going to play a big role, England could leave out Jack Leach. The fact England’s batting is so bad is affecting the spinner."
"They aren’t getting the big scores that take the Test into days four and five and give the captain some runs to play with, as they did with Graeme Swann in the 2010-11 Ashes. If you’re getting bowled out for 147 on day one, then the spinner has no chance."
Swann played a significant role in England's triumph in Australia a decade ago. The off-spinner claimed 15 wickets in five Tests, including a match-winning haul of 41.1-12-91-5 in Adelaide.
"Rory Burns, this week, will know he needs a score" - Michael Vaughan
Michael Vaughan also noted the pressure opener Rory Burns finds himself under, underlining a plethora of his shortcomings. After scores of 0 and 13 and a dropped catch off David Warner, Vaughan feels the left-hander is treading on thin ice, saying:
"There’s a lot of chat about Rory Burns at the moment. The problem with Burns is that technique is always going to be questionable. Buns has had a lot of problems - the fourth-stump line, the short ball, spin bowling and now that leg-stump line."
"He has generally managed to come through, but there’s only so many times you can go into the well. Not only did he not get many runs, but he dropped a dolly in the slips off David Warner. Burns, this week, will know that he needs a score."
Vaughan added that Ollie Pope is another worry, especially his shot selection, saying:
"But it’s not just Burns. Ollie Pope’s a worry for me - lovely, beautiful player. He looked good in the first innings, but it was a really basic error in the second innings, trying to cut a ball that was too straight at the start of his innings."
England made only 444 runs at the Gabba in two innings compared to Australia's 425 in one.
Disappointment overnight as we lost the first Ashes Test.
Scorecard: ms.spr.ly/6010ZDmxA
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The second Test begins in Adelaide on the 16th of December.