To hell with the optics was the message from England on Monday after confirmation that none of the players who collapsed to the shattering two-day defeat in the first Ashes Test will change tack and travel to Canberra.
In a move that risks drawing further ire, only Jacob Bethell, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts – all unused in Perth – will join the Lions at Manuka Oval, where Andrew Flintoff’s shadow touring party will take on a Prime Minister’s XI in a two-day floodlit fixture that starts on Saturday.
Cricket Australia originally slated the fixture for England’s first team as a warm-up for the day-night second Test that starts in Brisbane on 4 December, only to be informed a number of weeks ago that the Lions would be taking their place instead. It was felt the ground’s slow pitch would not prepare the players adequately before the traditional bounce of the Gabba.
Although the head coach, Brendon McCullum, did then offer individuals the chance to divert to Canberra after the defeat in Perth, only three fringe players took up the offer.
With the fast-forward nature of the first Test opening up an 11-day gap before the second, McCullum has opted to book additional training days at the Gabba, including evening sessions under lights. England fly to Brisbane on Wednesday, with these extended preparations starting on Saturday.
In some ways, the harrowing nature of the first Test – including collapses in both innings – meant England would be damned either way. Switch to Canberra and it would probably be framed as panic; stick to their guns – a belief in tailored training and keeping the squad together – and it becomes casual.
Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, told BBC Test Match Special: “It’s amateurish if they don’t go and play now. What harm is playing two days of cricket with a pink ball under lights? It’s not being old-school to suggest that a pink ball is different to a red ball.”
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If nothing else, it shows England’s indifference to outside perceptions and will ultimately be framed by whether they can level the series at the Gabba. Australia have lost one of their 14 day-night Tests while England’s record is played seven, lost five, including two defeats on the Ashes tour four years ago that paved the way for McCullum to take over.
