The Ashes 2021-22: David Lloyd Picks Two England Players Who Should Not Have Been Part of The Ashes Tour

Cricketer-turned-expert David Lloyd has named two England cricketers who should not have been part of the upcoming Ashes tour to Australia.

The first player whom Llyod would have dropped from the Ashes tour was top-order batsman Rory Burns. Meanwhile, Haseeb Hameed was the second player whom David Lloyd wanted out of England’s squad for the upcoming Ashes tour. The former cricketer wanted Burns and Hameed to be replaced by more ‘conventional players’.

Rory Burns has so far played 29 Test games for England and has a batting average of 32.30. However, he was seen struggling a lot in the recent Test series against India and away tours in 2021 and he averaged 21.90 across 11 innings.

Talking about Haseeb Hameed he made a comeback into the Test side for the first time in 5 years during the 5-match Test against India at home. Meanwhile, he was not consistent with the bat and he scored two half-centuries but also got out on duck twice in 5 innings. Hameed has also faced a lot of criticism for scoring slow runs which tends to build up a lot of pressure on his partner to score quick runs.

I Leave Out Burns And Hameed Because You Need Conventional Players – David Lloyd

David Lloyd picked Kent batter Daniel Bell-Drummond to open the batting alongside his county teammate Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan as his top three in the Ashes tour, He also gave the reason behind not adding Hameed and Burns to the team.

“For me, it [England’s top three] should have been Bell-Drummond, Crawley and Dawid Malan. Why would I leave out Burns and Hameed? Because you need conventional players,’ David Lloyd told the Daily Mail.

David Lloyd further criticised Haseeb Hameed for his slow game. He stated:

‘Burns’s technique is anything but, and Hameed has a first-class average of 32 and a strike-rate of 38 — he allows the game to meander.’

‘You can’t afford to be 210 for four when the second new ball arrives: that means 250 for six, and 290 all out. Hameed’s good tour of India was ages ago.’

Meanwhile, Spinners Jack Leach and Dominic Bess got the recalls for the Ashes tour. However, star all-rounder Ben Stokes, who is on an indefinite break to prioritise his mental well-being, was not in the squad. Also, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran are ruled out of the tour due to an injury.

The marquee Ashes series is all set to begin in Brisbane on December 8 and end on January 18 in Perth.

Also Read: Ashes 2021/22: I Was Absolutely Flabbergasted: David Lloyd On Seeing England’s 17-Member Squad