'Can't believe it': Shane Warne's huge Ashes swipe at England

Shane Warne has let rip at England's decision to leave Stuart Broad out of two of the three Ashes Tests the tourists have played this series.

Broad has been recalled to the England side for the fourth Test at the SCG, having only played in the day-night Test in Adelaide.

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In the only change to the lineup which surrendered the Ashes by losing the Boxing Day Test by a innings and 14 runs, Broad replaces fellow seamer Ollie Robinson.

With Robinson and Chris Woakes dealing with shoulder niggles, Broad gets another chance after playing only the second Test of the series so far.

It means that Broad has been reunited with fellow veteran quick James Anderson, with the pair sharing a cool 1,165 Test wickets between them.

While the news will no doubt come as welcome relief for suffering England fans, Warne says the decision to leave Broad out of the first and third Tests defies logic.

“I just can’t believe he hasn’t played more,” Warne told Fox Sports.

“He would have bowled beautifully in Melbourne. He would have been hard to play in Brisbane. They played him in one Test on a flatty (flat wicket) in Adelaide.

“For me, it’s just Anderson and Broad (then) ‘okay, who’s next?’ So I don’t know why they’re not playing Broad ... I must be missing something there.”

Warne said England's decision to leave Broad out of the first Test was a real head-scratcher, given his record in Ashes Tests against Aussie opener David Warner.

During the 2019 Ashes in England, Broad removed Warner seven times out of the 10 innings the Aussie batter played in across the series.

The Spin King says by not pitting Broad against Warner in the first Test, England essentially gave the Aussie batter - who is averaging 60 runs this series - a "free pass".

“Warner is such a big player to Australia - he gets them off to an absolute flyer. So imagine what he would have been thinking leading into the first Test match about how he’s going to play Stuart Broad after last time, what’s he going to do?” Warne said.

“And then suddenly, Stuart Broad’s been rested for the first Test. David Warner then goes, ‘what? It feels like it’s Christmas early!’

“So the psyche, the strategy and the tactical side of things, I don’t understand how Broad did not play that first Test match against David Warner.”

He added: “There’s no part of my cricket brain, or cricket knowledge that understands how you sit at a selection table and not play Stuart Broad that first Test against David Warner. I just still don’t understand it.

England's 'caged tigers' ready to be let loose

England batting coach Graham Thorpe says Broad and teammate Ben Stokes are raring to go for the visitors, and predicted the pair to make their mark on the fourth Test.

"We've got a couple of caged tigers coming into this match, Ben being one of them, and Stuart Broad is another one," Thorpe said.

"I want them to be able to perform to the best of their ability and seeing them in training that's what I'm seeing."

While Thorpe has encouraged his players to try and relax, he has also stressed the importance of having the right mindset and matching Australia's competitiveness.

"You have to find ways of throwing punches back at good bowling attacks," Thorpe said.

"I've always been one for trying to set up to score and then trust your defence if the ball is in the right area from a batting point off view.

"Trying to keep that as simple for the players and also to show some character, show some fight."

While the series has been lost, Thorpe said the SCG Test provided opportunities for the players.

"Some of them are trying to establish themselves in the team; that's an opportunity," he said.

"Some players are trying to stay in the team; that's also an opportunity as well.

"I'm hopeful that our boys will get their minds absolutely right for tomorrow .

"I feel that they are in a good place."

England: Haseeb Hameed, Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (capt), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson. 12th man to be named.

with AAP

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