Former England skipper Michael Vaughan while talking about the balance of power in the English cricket system said that Test skipper Joe Root should also get to pick his best players irrespective of the rotation policy, just like limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan gets to pick the team of his choice even if it comes at the expense of the Test side.
England’s rotation policy came under severe criticism after they were thrashed by Team India in the recently concluded Test series.
Under the policy, the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali missed different games in the Test series.
However, the upcoming white-ball leg of eight matches, five T20Is, and three ODIs, is expected to see almost a full-strength England side take the field.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, former England skipper Michael Vaughan said that leadership power in English cricket lies with Eoin Morgan and not Joe Root and added that he fails to understand why the Test side has been weakened while the T20I side is at full strength.
“It is very clear where the leadership power lies in English cricket – it is with Eoin Morgan and not Joe Root. I am pretty sure that Morgan went to the selectors and Ashley Giles and said he wanted his best team at all times this year in Twenty20, so he could build for the World Cup in India in October. He has his wish.
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“I understand rotation. Nobody argues against the fact players need breaks from Covid bubbles but the frustration for me as a lover of the game’s longest format is why has our Test team been weakened this winter, yet the Twenty20 side is at full strength?” Michael Vaughan wrote in his column for Telegraph.
Vaughan said that Morgan's status as a World Cup-winning captain makes him bombproof and added that prioritizing what is good for his white-ball team will lead to the weakening of the Test side.
“When you win a World Cup as captain you are bombproof. I experienced it when I won the Ashes. Do you think Ed Smith is going to say ‘no’ to Morgan? No chance. But it is dangerous for so much power to be invested in one person because it is rare they see the bigger picture.
As much as he is a brilliant captain, it is wrong for Morgan to always get what he wants because understandably he will prioritize what is good for his team, and inevitably that will be at the expense of something else,” he said.
Vaughan remarked that management needs to level the balance of power. He added that if rotation policy is followed in the Ashes, later this year then England cricket will be in the dark phase.
“But at some point, the management around him – Giles and Tom Harrison – have to take into account what is right for all England sides, not just one format, and level up the balance of power.
“If England do not manage this situation differently in the future, and if I hear they have to rotate during the Ashes series, then I’m afraid we are in some dark days indeed,” said Michael Vaughan.
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Michael Vaughan, 46, pointed out that England’s Test team needs more oiling than the limited-overs team.
“If there is one team that needs oiling more than any other it is the Test team. The one-day side can get away with losing players for breaks – they are that good,”
While reflecting on the recent Test series loss against India, Vaughan remarked that he and many other England supporters had expected the team to achieve something special but this series has brought them back to the earth.
“This time they failed to adapt when conditions changed. It has brought us all back down to earth. I was riding on a crest of a wave with this team a few weeks ago. I thought they were on the verge of achieving something special.
He added that England had enough opportunities to dominate in the series but they failed to do so.
“Then the Indian juggernaut arrived in the second Test and England could not stop it. They had two opportunities by batting first in the third and fourth Tests to turn the tide but they were not good enough,” he concluded.
(PTI/ Telegraph inputs)
