England have picked a very predictable Ashes squad and avoided taking any risk: Nasser Hussain
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has lamented the predictability of the Ashes squad announced on Saturday. England have named the strongest available 17-man squad for the Ashes tour, set to begin on the 8th of December at the Gabba.
However, Nasser Hussain feels the visitors should have gambled on one or two candidates, considering Ben Stokes will miss the series. The cricketer-turned-commentator thinks Saqib Mahmood and Matt Parkinson are the two surprise omissions.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
The squad to go and bring the Ashes urn home from Australia 🏴🇦🇺
#Ashes https://t.co/Gye20V3xJD
Nasser Hussain believes Saqib Mahmood would have provided the edge with his skiddy reverse swing. Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail:
"England have picked a very predictable Ashes squad, avoiding selecting any uncapped players and refusing to take any kind of risk. The two surprises for me were overlooking Saqib Mahmood and Matt Parkinson. Saqib would have given a different element to the attack in Australian conditions with his skiddy reverse swing, in the absence of the pace of Jofra Archer and Olly Stone."
Additionally, Hussain preferred to take a leggie in Matt Parkinson or Mason Crane over Dom Bess' left-arm spin as it offers an attacking option.
"And I would have gone for Parkinson’s leg-spin instead of Dom Bess. I would have liked a bit of wrist spin available to me as captain — if not Parkinson, then Mason Crane."
The only genuine pace bowler coach Chris Silverwood has chosen is Mark Wood, capable of hitting speeds of over 90 mph. However, the tourists have the experienced duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson. No first-choice player has withdrawn from the tour.
Livingstone is someone who could attack the opposition from his natural middle-order position: Nasser Hussain
Hussain also lamented not considering Liam Livingstone. The former English captain believes Livingstone can be a substitute for Kevin Pietersen and Stokes, owing to his attacking gameplay. The 53-year old remains worried about England's balance without Stokes and thinks there will be little scope for a specialist spinner. He added:
"I’d also have taken a punt on Liam Livingstone, an in-your-face, confident cricketer in the mould of Kevin Pietersen and Ben Stokes. He’s someone who could take the attack to the opposition from his natural, middle-order position. The absence of Stokes is the biggest concern. It gives England a massive selection headache. Without him, it will be a nightmare trying to balance the side and I envisage England going into matches with an all-seam attack backed up by Root’s off-spin."
Despite choosing a full-strength squad, the Three Lions have a daunting task of regaining the urn in Australia. England haven't won a Test on Australian soil since 2011 and must play out of their skin to beat Tim Paine and co.