Nasser Hussain, the former England cricketer, said England has not taken any risks selecting the Australia-bound squad and picked a relatively predictable squad for the upcoming Ashes 2021/22 on Australian soil. On Sunday, October 10, the Three Lions England named a 17-member team for the five-match Test series, starting December 8 with the opening game at The Gabba in Brisbane.
One of England’s prolific captains, Nasser Hussain, said that the visitors could have gone in with fast bowler Saqib Mahmood and leg-spinner Matt Parkinson or Mason Crane. Saqib Mahmood has already played limited-overs cricket for the national team and conjured praises for bowling well against Pakistan earlier this year.
Nasser Hussain: Surprised To See Saqib Mahmood And Matt Parkinson Overlooked
Nasser Hussain said that Saqib Mahmood would have been a perfect fit after Jofra Archer and Olly Stone missed the bus due to injuries sustained. The veteran former batsman and commentator said that the Three Lions could have picked a leg-spinner to add variety in their bowling attack.
“England have picked a very predictable Ashes squad, avoiding selecting any uncapped players and refusing to take any kind of risk. The two surprises for me were overlooking Saqib Mahmood and Matt Parkinson.”
“Saqib would have given a different element to the attack in Australian conditions with his skiddy reverse swing, in the absence of Jofra Archer and Olly Stone’s pace,” Hussain wrote on Daily Mail.
“And I would have gone for Parkinson’s leg-spin instead of Dom Bess. I would have liked a bit of wrist spin available to me as captain — if not Parkinson, then Mason Crane,” he stated.
Saqib Mahmood claimed nine wickets at 13.66 in England’s 3-0 series win in the ODIs against Pakistan in July, after being called up as part of an emergency squad following a Covid outbreak in England’s original party, and retained his place for the subsequent T20I series, where he picked up a further four wickets at 28.00.
The squad has a tried and trusted feel, with no uncapped test players selected. That means potential selections such as Lancashire trio Liam Livingstone, Matt Parkinson, and Saqib Mahmood have all been overlooked.
Nasser Hussain Would’ve Selected Liam Livingstone
Nasser Hussain also said that he would’ve selected Liam Livingstone, who has already scored a T20I century out of 11 international games. As per Nasser Hussain, the right-handed batter exudes confidence similar to that of Kevin Pietersen and Ben Stokes. He has played 3 ODIs and 8 T20Is in his brief international career, amassing 278 runs.
“I’d also have taken a punt on Liam Livingstone, an in-your-face, confident cricketer in the mould of Kevin Pietersen and Ben Stokes. He’s someone who could take the attack to the opposition from his natural, middle-order position,” Hussain added.
Nasser Hussain also feared that all-rounder Ben Stokes’ absence will give England massive headaches regarding setting the right combinations. The Brits haven’t won a Test match in Australia since 2011, and it will need an arduous task for them to turn over the hosts in their own den.
England have named their strongest available squad for the Ashes tour to Australia as all-rounders. Ben Stokes and Sam Curran missed out, but seamer Stuart Broad was included despite the calf injury he picked up in the Test series against India. Ben Stokes was unavailable as he continues his indefinite break to focus on his mental health while recovering from a second operation on a broken finger.
Sam Curran was omitted due to a stress fracture in his lower back. There were no uncapped players in the 17-member squad, including recalls for batsman Zak Crawley and spinner Dom Bess. Fast bowler Jofra Archer was also unavailable after he suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture in his elbow, and Olly Stone was ruled out with a back injury. Moeen Ali had retired from Tests.
England’s full squad for The Ashes: Joe Root (captain), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.