English cricket can be a drama sometimes. Earlier this week, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was reported to have made a major decision: stop all Ashes players from speaking to the media.
To this end, they sent out a memo to all counties ahead of the upcoming season and urged them to ensure the Ashes players in their squad, if any, are not allowed to speak to the media. It was a stunning decision by all means.
England had conceded the Ashes 4-1 a few months back in what was also a controversial tour for them. The touring members drinking beer and captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum often contradicting each other through their statements, not directly though, particularly caught the eye.
Then at the end of the series, Harry Brook was revealed by The Telegraph to be involved in a bar altercation in New Zealand weeks before the Ashes.
It’s safe to assume that the ban came into being so that the players, accidentally or by design, are not able to reveal something damning in nature. England and Australia have an Ashes rivalry that goes back to the 19th century and both countries go into these contests with a lot of pride.
“They are our players so they’ll speak when on England duty,” an ECB source told The iPaper.
Then the T20 World Cup disappointment!
Stokes, Gus Atkinson, Brook, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood, and Shoaib Bashir were to be impacted by the gag order. However, on Friday, reports suggest the ban has been lifted after it was criticised widely in the cricketing circles there.
ECB CEO Richard Gould had earlier said, after the Ashes embarrassment, that they were investigating the loss. “A thorough review of the campaign is already underway,” Gould said shortly after Stokes’ team’s pathetic Ashes tour ended earlier this year.
“This will cover tour planning and preparation, individual performance and behaviours, and our ability to adapt and respond effectively as circumstances require,” he added.
England have since failed to deliver in the T20 World Cup too, bringing more heat on McCullum now. His aggressive style of batting, known as the Bazball, had already come under fire in the Ashes. Then, to make matters worse, the English team lost to eventual winners India in a nail-biting semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai earlier this month.