Michael Vaughan Warns England: 'Supporters Could Turn on Them'

Michael Vaughan has given a caution toBen Stokes'on their side, asserting that English fans 'might turn against the visitors if they...

Michael Vaughan has given a caution toBen Stokes'on their side, asserting that English fans 'might turn against the visitors if they continue making the same errors'.

Reeling from England's disappointing eight-wicket loss toAustralia, Vaughan has intensified his critiques of England's readiness forthe Ashesseries, stating it would be 'unprofessional' for Ben Stokes' team to skip a practice match using the pink ball before the upcoming day-night Test in Brisbane.

Stokes' team had seemed in command at lunch on Saturday, but they were shocked by the outstanding performance of Australian batsman Travis Head, who scored an amazing century off 69 balls to guide his team to a thrilling win inPerth.

Before the game, Vaughan had engaged in a verbal battle with the England captain, who had labeled him and Ian Botham as 'has-beens' following their criticism of the team's preparation for the Ashes.

Vaughan criticized the team's choice to train at Lilac Hill, stating that the turf was softer and significantly slower compared to the playing surface they would encounter at Perth Stadium.

He later responded to Stokes' comment, saying that the captain should value the opinions of past legends, who "really wanted England to win."

England faced the anger of their former stars only a few days later, following Stokes, Ollie Pope, and Matthew Potts being spotted playing golf just before the first Ashes Test.

But considering the first Test, Vaughan, writing in his column inThe Telegraph, intensified his criticism of England's preparation.

They are already at a stage where they can't afford another mistake," he said. "I hope they show me to be wrong, but I would be surprised if they manage to turn things around from this point onward.

Vaughan thinks England is missing a winning mentality, and then adds: 'England fans support this team, but if I were in the starting eleven, I'd be worried the fans might turn against them because the team keeps repeating the same errors.'

The former England captain was impressed with the team's bowlers, but gave a harsh critique of the batsmen, while subtly criticizing Stokes.

“They will say 'you wouldn't understand, it's the modern game,'” Vaughan wrote. “Nonsense. It's absurd to claim that an intra-squad match on a soft pitch at Lilac Hill, followed by batting for three days on bouncy nets prepares you. In the nets, there are no fielders. You don't witness the wicketkeeper catching the ball above his head.”

This represents the most significant test of their cricketing careers. Yet, they performed as if they were unaware of the playing conditions.

Vaughan, who accumulated 5,719 runs in 82 Test matches, stated that England were advised against targeting the boundaries in the first innings and to steer clear of aggressive shots, but they ignored the advice.

He also raised doubts about Zak Crawley's place in the team following his dismissal without scoring in both innings. Vaughan claimed that the opener is 'unshakeable,' even though his average stands at just 30 runs per Test.

England has 11 days until the day-night Test at The Gabba, and Vaughan thinks it would be 'unprofessional' for the visitors not to adjust to the pink ball.

He specifically highlighted Mitchell Starc's skill with the pink ball, as the fast bowler has claimed 74 wickets in 13 day-night Tests.

England have the chance to travel to Canberra to face the Prime Minister’s XI, but as per Vaughan, it seems the Lions will participate in that game instead.

‘That amazes me. I'm sorry, but it's unprofessional. You have 11 days between Tests, are 1-0 behind in the Ashes, and have the chance to get used to a pink ball they don't use often, and which Mitchell Starc is extremely skilled with.

They represent an international cricket team. They are professional cricketers. I find it hard to understand why they wouldn't all want to play. What's the downside? I'm concerned that they are too afraid to request playing time from the captain and coach, as that isn't their approach. If they don't allow it, I'd be using Skyscanner to book my own flights to Canberra.

Stokes had previously criticized Vaughan and Botham's comments about his team's preparation, asserting that they were being very thorough in their training.

"Cricket has evolved significantly, and the preparation process is no longer as straightforward as it once was," Stokes remarked.

You used to be able to go on a tour a month and a half, or two months, before the first game. But we haven't been preparing for this tour just in the last three weeks—we've been thinking about and working on this for several years now.

So I'm not sure what else we're supposed to do? There's Sheffield Shield cricket happening right now, so who would we play against?

So, there are several factors that contribute to why we can't prepare in the same way that the old-timers might have done in the past. The world of cricket has evolved.

But we are highly confident and very at ease with our preparation because we examine every possible aspect.

Following his team's loss this weekend, Stokes mentioned that the players were 'disappointed' but would not carry any negative feelings into the upcoming Test match in Brisbane.

The England captain stated, 'We remain highly confident in our skills and in reaching our objective.'

It will be essential ... to leave all the weight from this outcome behind when heading to Brisbane, as we must secure victory there.

Although Australia was missing their top bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, and Brendan Doggett caused problems for England's top batting order, as Joe Root and Zak Crawly found it difficult to score runs.

Read more

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