Michael Hussey suggests 1 change for Australia, 4 for England for 3rd Ashes 2021 Test
Michael Hussey has advised a few changes for both Australia and England after the hosts doubled their lead in the five-match series with a 275-run win in Adelaide.
For Australia, Hussey backed struggling opener Marcus Harris to get another opportunity ahead of the in-form Usman Khawaja at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The former batter said the only obvious change would be bringing back skipper Pat Cummins for Michael Neser. On "Cricbuzz Chatter," Hussey said:
"It’s a tough call. I think I would back Harris again. You know, he looked OK in the second innings here… Still enormous pressure on him and I am sure they’ll have that discussion behind closed doors. But he’s going to Melbourne, his home ground, he knows the conditions there well. When the team’s winning you can carry a player a bit longer."
He added:
"Just one change for me, Pat Cummins obviously comes in and Michael Neser will have to step out. Not that Michael Neser didn’t do a good job but he was the last man in and so got to be the first man out."
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just give these England cricketers a bit of slack.
An #Ashes tour is incredibly tough & these are not normal times right now.
Their batting is horrendous, I know, but go easy please! 🙏🏽
Cummins missed out in Adelaide after being confirmed as a contact for a COVID-positive patient. He's available for the MCG Test and so is Josh Hazlewood, who didn't play the pink-ball encounter due to a side strain. It'll be interesting to see if Hazlewood features in the third Test.
Zak Crawley can come open at the MCG: Michael Hussey
👀
#AUSvENG #Ashes https://t.co/Nr0VDTiIOz
Speaking about Joe Root's men, Hussey said they should leave out one of Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed for the MCG Test.
The former batter feels Burns' 34 in the second innings in Adelaide and Hameed's twin low scores makes the latter the more likely to get the ax. Hussey suggested 15-Test old Zak Crawley as a substitute and said:
"The openers aren’t getting the job done so I think they have to make one change there… I think Burns actually looked pretty good in the second innings here. Is that good enough to keep his place? Hameed’s hung in there and he’s done OK but he hasn’t been able to go on and score that big score… Perhaps someone like Zak Crawley can come into that position, he’s tall, he’s dominant and talking to Shane Warne, he says his game is suited to Australian conditions."
Hussey also proposed bringing in Jonny Bairstow for Ollie Pope in the English middle order. He explained:
"I’ll also be looking at a change in the middle order. Let’s chat about Ollie Pope. Do you bring in someone with a bit more experience like Bairstow to come in and bat in the middle order there? Perhaps that’s something they can look at as well."
Hussey concluded by asking the visitors to get back left-arm spinner Jack Leach and pacer Mark Wood to add more variety to the attack. This could come at the expense of Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson, both of whom had a middling Test at the Adelaide Oval. Hussey said:
"And then the attack – you got to get the balance right, get a bit more variety in that attack. I really hope they go back to Leach. They really need a front-line spinner there. I think they need some pace with Mark Wood back as well... I’d be going for one of Anderson and Broad, definitely Wood, definitely Leach and then you’ve got Stokes in there as well."
The MCG Test will commence at 5:00 AM IST on December 26.