Former cricketer Michael Hussey has shared a few changes for England for the upcoming Ashes Test. Notably, Australia have won both the Tests so far as well.
While Australia players stepped up on both occasions, a handful of England players too did well but it wasn’t enough for them to win matches as well. While talking about Joe Root-led England team on “Cricbuzz Chatter,” Hussey said that they should leave out either Rory Burns or Haseeb Hameed for the MCG Test as well.
The former player also stated that Burns’ 34 in the second innings in Adelaide and Hameed’s twin low scores make their places under the scanner as well. Michael Hussey suggested that 15 Test matches old Zak Crawley can be a substitute as well.
“The openers aren’t getting the job done so I think they have to make one change there… I think Burns actually looked pretty good in the second innings here. Is that good enough to keep his place? Hameed’s hung in there and he’s done OK but he hasn’t been able to go on and score that big score… Perhaps someone like Zak Crawley can come into that position, he’s tall, he’s dominant and talking to Shane Warne, he says his game is suited to Australian conditions,” he stated.
“I’ll also be looking at a change in the middle order” – Hussey
Michael Hussey also added that bringing in Jonny Bairstow for Ollie Pope in the middle order could work for them. He even shared that left-arm spinner Jack Leach and pacer Mark Wood should be added to the playing XI.
He explained:
“I’ll also be looking at a change in the middle order. Let’s chat about Ollie Pope. Do you bring in someone with a bit more experience like Bairstow to come in and bat in the middle order there? Perhaps that’s something they can look at as well.”
“And then the attack – you got to get the balance right, get a bit more variety in that attack. I really hope they go back to Leach. They really need a front-line spinner there. I think they need some pace with Mark Wood back as well… I’d be going for one of Anderson and Broad, definitely Wood, definitely Leach and then you’ve got Stokes in there as well,” Michael Hussey concluded.
The MCG Test will begin at 5:00 AM IST on December 26.
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