Former England captain and commentator Michael Vaughan said “Test cricket is dead” and becoming a “joke” if England continue to rest and rotate players in the forthcoming Ashes 2021/22 in Australia.
With England set for a grueling schedule of 17 Tests and a lot of limited-overs matches including the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021, Head coach Chris Silverwood has already hinted at continuing the controversial rest-and-rotation policy and even for the Ashes series down under later this year.
Well, many criticized England’s rotation policy and partially blamed the formula for Joe Root and his team’s recent Test series loss in India 3-1 after their 2-0 series win in Sri Lanka.
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Expressing his views on the formula, Vaughan warned England that the traditional format of the game will become a joke if they continue with the policy while suggesting the home side to make sure they play their best team in every Ashes Test match against Australia.
Vaughan said on BBC’s The Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show: “If they need rest, you get it before the Ashes. Test match cricket is becoming a joke if that (players being rotated) happens. You make sure you get your best players available for every single Ashes Test match.”
He further said, “If you said to me that Jos Buttler is struggling and may only be able to play one of those, the T20 World Cup or the Ashes, I'd hate to think the Ashes comes second.”
The former captain further pointed out that England has a magnificent squad for white-ball cricket, but they don’t have such a squad for Test cricket and that’s why he is against the rotation policy.
He further went on to explain, “England has got a magnificent squad of white-ball players but they don't have a magnificent squad of Test match players, that's a fact. They don't have a good enough batting unit to swap and change, maneuver the order."
Vaughan is also concerned by the possibility English stars including Buttler, Ben Stokes, Archer, Moeen, Curran, and Jonny Bairstow could miss the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's on June 2 for the IPL 2021 which will run from April 9 to May 30 in India.
He signed off by saying, “This is where it gets frustrating for England supporters, and many in the game, that these players will go and play in the full IPL. For seven Test matches in the summer, I just beg them to pick the best team they can.”
(With AFP/BBC Inputs)
