Stuart Broad’s Ashes omission slammed as England drop seamer for third Test

12/26/2021

England made four changes to their team for the third Ashes Test against Australia, with Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Jack Leach all getting recalled to the side.

Rory Burns, Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad were the four players to make way, with the omission of veteran seamer Broad getting questioned.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he "can't fathom" why the 35-year-old was dropped, while Australia legend Shane Warne suggested Broad should have been picked ahead of Ollie Robinson.

Speaking on Fox Cricket, Vaughan delivered a scathing verdict, saying: "So far the only thing they’ve done right on the trip is turn up on time.

"They’ve got pretty much everything wrong – selection, tactics have not quite been right. Stuart Broad should be playing here [in Melbourne], he should’ve played in Brisbane.

"How Stuart Broad is not going to be bowling around the wicket to David Warner on a green top, I just can’t fathom that with the quality that he brings."

Meanwhile, Warne tweeted: "England looks a better balanced side – but I would have played @StuartBroad8 instead of Robinson & Pope looks a good player to me, but Bairstow had to play.

"Pope will play a lot of test cricket. Aussies will welcome back @patcummins30 & good luck to S Boland on debut, he’s good".

However, Steven Finn was much more positive about England's bowling line-up, with the recalls of Wood and Leach providing some variety.

Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, he said: "If the wicket is going to seam around it could be overkill to pick five. England's bowling options are good enough for me.

"Sometimes if you play five seamers it can become confusing for a captain and your best bowlers don't bowl enough. I don't mind the team selection."

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