Ashley Giles, managing director of England’s cricket team, has apologised for the team’s miserable Ashes setback, which saw hosts Australia take an unbeatable 3-0 lead to retain the urn within 12 days. The magnitude of recent defeats, as well as the dwindling quality of England’s talent pool, has led to a deeper scrutiny of the team’s cricket board.
Giles landed in Sydney on New Year’s Day to deal with the constant turmoil the English have found themselves in since they first set foot Down Under. As reported by Evening Standard, Giles emphasised the significance of Test cricket while discussing the packed calendar for 2022.
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He stressed that the schedule over the period wherein England played 18 Test matches between January 2020 and mid-January 2021 involved a huge amount of cricket especially during the pandemic. he criticised the quantity of cricket his team had to play in the aftermath of the pandemic.
With England set to play seven Tests during the next year, their schedule will, in fact, continue to be jam packed.
Giles said, “I see involvement in the IPL but to stop it creeping into anymore of the [English] season. We don’t want to miss any Test cricket particularly. That is the aim but we have to manage their workloads as a calendar year as a whole.”
He stated that during COVID-hit tours, his emphasis had been the players’ mental health rather than the team’s results. However, he wants to strike the proper balance between the quantity and quality of cricket.
“We need to balance the amount of cricket with the quality of cricket,” he said.
The 48-year-old also assured that he will file a full report on England’s debacle in Australia. The review will focus on why the players aren’t progressing in the present red ball setup.
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