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Michael Vaughan has issued a warning to Ben Stokes’ side, claiming England fans ‘could turn on the tourists if they keep making the same mistakes’.
Reeling from England’s disappointing eight-wicket defeat by Australia, Vaughan has doubled down on his criticisms of England’s preparations for the Ashes series, adding that it would be ‘amateurish’ for Ben Stokes’ side to not play a warm-up match with the pink ball ahead of the upcoming day-night Test in Brisbane.
Stokes’ side had appeared in control at lunchtime on Saturday, but they were left stunned by the heroics of Aussie batsman Travis Head, who struck an incredible century off 69 balls to lead his side to a scintillating victory in Perth.
Prior to the match, Vaughan had opened up a war of words with the England captain, who had branded him and Ian Botham ‘has-beens’ after they criticised the team’s preparations ahead of the Ashes.
Vaughan took aim at the side’s decision to train at Lilac Hill and claimed that the pitch was softer and much slower than the wicket they would play on at the Perth Stadium.
He later clapped back at Stokes’ barb, stating that the skipper should respect the views of former legends, who ‘desperately wanted England to win.’
Michael Vaughan (pictured right with Adam Gilchrist) has issued a warning to Ben Stokes’ side, claiming England fans ‘could turn on the tourists if they keep making the same mistakes’.
Stokes’ side had appeared in control at lunchtime on Saturday, but they were left stunned by the heroics of Aussie batsman Travis Head, who struck an incredible century off 68 balls to lead his side to a scintillating victory in Perth
Vaughan and Stokes (front, centre) had butted heads before the first Test, after the ex-England skipper had criticised England's preparations
England had risked the wrath of their former legends just days later, after Stokes, Ollie Pope and Matthew Potts were all seen playing golf just days before the first Ashes Test.
But reflecting on the first Test, Vaughan, writing in his column in The Telegraph, doubled down on his criticism of England’s preparation.
‘Already, they are at the point where they cannot afford to get it wrong again. I hope they prove me wrong, but I would be amazed if they turn it around from here,’ he stated.
Vaughan believes England lack a killer instinct, before stating: ‘England fans love this team, but if I was in the XI I’d be fearful the supporters will turn because the side keeps on making the same mistakes.’
The former England skipper was impressed by England’s bowlers, but delivered a scathing assessment of the side’s batters while shooting a veiled barb back at Stokes.
‘They will say “you wouldn’t understand, it’s the modern game”,’ Vaughan wrote. ‘Nonsense. It’s ridiculous to suggest that an intra-squad game on a featherbed at Lilac Hill, then batting for three days on bouncy nets gets you ready. In the nets, there are no fielders. You don’t see the keeper take the ball above his head.’
‘This is the biggest challenge of their cricketing careers. But they played as though they didn’t understand the conditions.’
Vaughan, who scored 5,719 runs across 82 Tests, claimed that England were urged not to take on the boundaries in the first innings and to avoid risky shots, but they didn’t heed the warnings.
Vaughan, who scored 5,719 runs across 82 Tests, claimed that England were warned not to take on the boundaries in the first innings and not to play risky shots, but they didn’t heed the warnings
Travis Head was the star of the show, hitting an incredible century off just 68 deliveries
England now have 11 days before the day-night Test at The Gabba, and Vaughan believes it would be ‘amateurish’ of the tourists not to get acclimatised to the pink ball, especially considering Mitchell Starc’s brilliance with the pink ball
Vaughan praised England's bowlers (Brydon Carse, pictured) but took aim at England's batsmen, stating the decision to train at Lilac Hill was a bad move
He also questioned Zak Crawley’s position in the team after he was dismissed for no runs in both innings. Vaughan stated that the opener is ‘untouchable’, despite his average being only 30 runs per Test.
England now have 11 days before the day-night Test at The Gabba, and Vaughan believes it would be ‘amateurish’ of the tourists not to get acclimatised to the pink ball.
He particularly noted Mitchell Starc’s brilliance with the pink ball, with the pace bowler having taken 74 wickets from 13 day-night Tests.
England have the opportunity to fly to Canberra to play against the Prime Minister’s XI, but according to Vaughan, it appears the Lions will instead play in that match.
‘That staggers me. I’m sorry, but it’s amateurish. You have 11 days between Tests, are 1-0 down in the Ashes, and have the opportunity to get accustomed to a pink ball they do not play with much, and with which Mitchell Starc is an absolute wizard.
‘They are an international cricket team. They are cricketers. I can’t get my head around why they all wouldn’t want to just play. What is the downside? I worry that they are fearful to ask the captain and coach for some game-time, because that’s not their method. If they wouldn’t let them, I’d be on Skyscanner booking my own flights to Canberra.’
Stokes had previously hit out at Vaughan and Botham’s criticisms of his side’s preparations, claiming that they were being meticulous in their training.
‘Cricket’s changed so much and preparation is nowhere near as simple as it used to be,’ Stokes said.
'You used to be able to come out on a tour a month-and-a-half, two months before the first game started. But we’ve not been preparing for this tour not over the last three weeks, we’ve put a lot of thought and process into this for a few years now.
Stokes explained that his side won't be taking any baggage from the defeat in the first Test, into the upcoming game at The Gabba
‘So I don’t know what else we’re expected to do? There’s Sheffield Shield cricket on at the moment so who would we play against?
‘So there’s a quite a few factors that play into the whole of why we can’t prepare how the has-beens maybe prepared in the past. The landscape of cricket has changed.
‘But we are very confident and very comfortable with how we prepare because we leave no stone unturned.’
After his side’s defeat this weekend, Stokes said that the team were ‘disappointed’ but would not be taking any baggage into the next Test in Brisbane.
‘We are still very confident in our abilities and in achieving our goal,’ the England captain said.
‘It is going to be crucial … not taking any baggage from this result into Brisbane, because we need to win that one.’
While Australia were without their star bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Brendan Doggett wreaked havoc on England’s top order, with Joe Root and Zak Crawly struggling to score runs.
