Pink-ball practice match declined by England senior side as the first XI head direct to Brisbane for 2nd Test.
England decline opportunity for pink-ball practice in Lions fixture.
Only three members of the England men’s Ashes team—Jacob Bethell, Matthew Potts, and Josh Tongue—will play alongside the Lions in the Prime Minister’s XI match in Canberra. The two-day game starts on Saturday.
Potts and Bethell played for the Lions against a Cricket Australia XI in the first Test in Perth, which took place concurrently with the Ashes opening, but the three were not employed. Although both games began on Friday, the Lilac Hill match ended up lasting twice as long. But the outcome was the same on Monday: the home team won by a commanding eight wickets, thanks to a spectacular century from Josh Inglis, who opened the batting in the Travis Head position.
Even before Monday’s confirmation, many commentators were scathing of England’s expected absence, so it will be mocked that they are not sending their “starters” to Canberra.
The day-night match would have provided them significant experience ahead of the pink-ball Test match at the Gabba, which starts on December 4, in addition to providing them with additional cricket after the initial Test lasted only two days. With five losses out of seven, including two during the previous Ashes tour, England’s day-night record is not good.
“It’s amateurish if they don’t go and play now,” Michael Vaughan, England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain, said. “What harm is playing two days of cricket with a pink ball under lights?
“It’s not being old-school to suggest that a pink ball is different to a red ball. Playing under the lights is different. Australia have won pretty much every pink-ball game in Australia: they’ve lost once. I’m not too old-school to suggest that they should play in that game… I’d like to know why they wouldn’t.”
Following Saturday’s harsh end to the first Test, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum both emphasised the importance of keeping the team together in order to keep them apart from the outside noise and keep their spirits high. It is not surprising that they are holding on to their convictions.
The core team will start practicing at the Gabba this weekend after travelling from Perth to Brisbane on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Lions, Bethell, Potts, and Tongue will go to Canberra.