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Ashes 2017-18: James Vince aware of shortcomings, says Farbrace

JamesVincecropped
England batsman James Vince

James Vince knows he has not done enough to prove himself during the Ashes tour and must score centuries if he is to have an England future, says assistant coach Paul Farbrace.

Vince was a surprise inclusion in the squad to face Australia, but made a classy 83 in his first Test innings for over a year at the Gabba.

The elegant 26-year-old also scored a half-century at the WACA, but has failed time and time again after showing such promise.

Vince's vulnerability outside the off stump has been exposed by the Australia bowlers, Pat Cummins ending the number three's final innings of the tour on Sunday by drawing a false stroke which offered Steve Smith the chance to snaffle a slip catch.

Farbrace said Vince is aware that he has fallen short after another punishing day of the final Test at the SCG, where England closed on 93-4 - trailing by 210 and facing a 4-0 defeat.

"There's no doubt that James Vince needs to score more runs if he's going to play international cricket for England. He knows that," Farbrace said.

"Of course 25 isn't an average that any top-order batsman wants. He's shown some decent starts, he's showing some glimpses, and we all think 'crikey, this could be the innings'. But there comes a time when 'this could be the innings' has to stop and he has to score hundreds.

"If he'd got 150 in the first innings at Brisbane rather than getting 83 it might have been a completely different tour. You can't look back like that. The blunt answer is he knows he has to score more runs if he's going to have a future with England."

Farbrace said England must be "brutally honest" when they hold an inquest into their failure to retain the urn.

"There's an awful lot of other things that we've got to get right," Farbrace said. "Various people are going to have to sit down and look at a lot of things. We're always looking at how we can improve.

"But the key is how honest you are with the conversations you have. Sometimes those tough conversations have to be brutally honest."

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