It will soon be decision time for England.
After their two-day thrashing in the first Ashes Test in Perth, head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes must work out whether to give their players a warm-up with the pink ball ahead of the day-night second Test in Brisbane from December 4.
The two-day game against a Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra across November 29 and 30 had seemingly been earmarked as a game for Lions players, England’s second string, to get a run out, but will the batting collapses against Australia prompt a rethink?
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Sky Sports’ Stuart Broad was left stunned as Mitchell Starc took Joe Root’s wicket during England’s day-two batting collapse at Optus Stadium (Pictures @7Cricket)
Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton feels that the batters should be asked if they feel they need a hit, referencing Zak Crawley, who bagged the first pair by an England opener since Atherton himself in 1999.
McCullum said: “We’ll let the dust settle on this, then we’ll start having those conversations, working out what’s what.
“We’ve got to work out whether that extra cricket is the key, or making sure that camaraderie is tight and morale doesn’t drop.
“We’ve just got to work out what the pros and cons are. We’re not married to any position at the moment, but we’ll work it out in a couple of days.”
England opener Zak Crawley was twice out for nought in the Perth Test and has registered 44 single-figure
dismissals in 109 innings
‘Amateurish’ for England not to take tour game seriously?
Stokes had echoed similar thoughts to McCullum at his post-match press conference on Saturday, while former England captain Michael Vaughan told the BBC that it would be “amateurish” if the tourists did not take the pink-ball tune-up seriously.
Vaughan said: “What harm is it playing two days of cricket with the pink ball under lights? I can’t be so old school to suggest that by playing cricket they might get a little bit better?
“My method would be, you’ve got a pink-ball two-day game, you go and grab it, go and take it, play those two days and give yourself the best chance.”
Ben Stokes’ England lost the first Test in Perth by eight wickets
Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, former England seamer Stuart Broad said he did not expect the tourists to alter their plans.
“I don’t think any England player will go there,” said Broad.
“I think [McCullum] will want to keep them tight, learning off each other, and not have people fragmenting to different parts of Australia to work on things.”
Australia have won 13 of their 14 day-night Tests, including all three against England, with Mitchell Starc taking a leading 81 wickets with the pink ball.
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times UK and Ireland
First Test (Perth – November 21-25): Australia beat England by eight wicketsSecond Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4am) – The Gabba, BrisbaneThird Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (11.30pm) – Adelaide OvalFourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket GroundFifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground
