England is reportedly going against its Bazball ethos and ramping up preparations for the Gabba Ashes Test with extra training sessions. It comes as the Poms’ decision to brush a day-night warm-up game received support from an unlikely ally.
It’s understood the tourists will hold five training sessions in Brisbane before the pink-ball Test starts on Thursday as they look to right the wrongs of the Perth disaster. Ben Stokes’ team flew into the Queensland capital on Wednesday and were due to start training on Monday before adding extra sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
Ben Stokes and England have beefed up their training schedule in a surprise change of tactics. Image: Getty
The beefed-up preparation is a departure from the more laid-back Bazball approach, perhaps hinting at panic or a realisation they need to put in extra hours to save the series. Others have suggested it’s all about perception and swapping the golf course for the nets was the right optic as visiting fans continue to vent their fury and count the cost of the two-day surrender in the first Test.
One supporter posted on the Barmy Army Facebook page: “The damage has already been done. Now just trying to limit the flack when they get annihilated again.”
Ben Stokes and England are licking their wounds after the first Ashes Test. (Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images)
It comes as England’s move not to send any of its Test players to Canberra for the PM XI’s clash with the Lions under the Manuka Oval lights continues to draw flak. Many former England players criticised the decision, feeling the chance to play under lights against the pink ball would have provided a better foundation for the day-night Gabba Test than a series of net sessions.
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But only tour squad members Jacob Bethell, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue will feature. Cricket ACT boss Olivia Thornton backed the move in a somewhat surprising twist given it robs the game of star appeal.
“I can understand the frustration (but) we’re not surprised,” she said. “I can understand why there’s been some hysteria off the back of a two-day test in Perth, but the reality is that we were never planning for having the actual England Test-playing XI here.
“The thing with the PM’s XI is that you never really know who’s going to actually assemble on the day, because different teams have used the match for different reasons. At the end of the day you always want the best of the best in your backyard, but we’re realistic in what team England would roll out for this particular fixture. The reality is our conditions here and in Brisbane are different.”