Australia should split up the opening pairing of David Warner and Usman Khawaja for the Ashes series as England seam duo James Anderson and Stuart Broad would exploit a lefthanded partnership in home conditions, Michael Vaughan said in an interview.
Opener Warner has managed just one hundred in more than three years in the longest format but was retained for the World Test Championship final against India next month and the first two Ashes matches.
Former England captain Vaughan said Australia, who won 4-0 at home in the last Ashes series in 2021-22, should consider having Mitchell Marsh open with Khawaja.
“Why would you want to throw out two lefthanders to Broad and Anderson?” Vaughan, who helped England end their 18-year Ashes drought in 2005, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“... looking at the way that those two bowl at lefthanders, particularly in English conditions, why would you give those two great bowlers exactly what they want at the top of the order to get themselves up and running?”
Vaughan added that Marsh’s ability to bowl a few overs made him a good option.
“I would honestly look at someone like Mitchell Marsh to open the batting because it gets him in the team. He’s done all right against England.”
Vaughan said there could still be a place for Warner lower down in the order.
“The one thing with David Warner, I know England fear him,” Vaughan said.
“He’s such a good player when the ball that’s not moving.
“The ball won’t move after 30-odd overs in English conditions. Could they find a place for him at five or six?” Vaughan asked. “I wouldn’t be against looking at him down in the middle of the order to get him in the team because I think (what) others will want is his kind of tenacity and his mentality and his aggressive way,” he added,
The five-Test Ashes series begins at Edgbaston on June 16.
Big-hitting Russell hails ‘fearless’ Rinku after Kolkata’s last-ball win
Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Andre Russell said team mate Rinku Singh’s uninhibited batting has eased the pressure on him after the duo combined to seal their five-wicket victory against Punjab Kings on Monday.
Middle-order batter Rinku is Kolkata’s leading scorer this season with 337 runs from 11 matches, scoring them at a 151-plus strike rate.
The left-handed batter famously smashed five sixes in an over in their shock win against defending champions and league leaders Gujarat Titans last month.
Kolkata, chasing 180 against Punjab, needed 26 runs from 12 balls and Russell, who smashed 42 off 23 balls, hit Sam Curran for three sixes in the penultimate over to put his team on the brink of victory.
With the target reduced to six from six balls, Russell blocked the first ball from Arshdeep Singh and took a single off the next, showing how much faith he had in Rinku to finish the game.
Russell was eventually run out on the fifth ball but Rinku hit the final delivery for a four to keep Kolkata, currently fifth in the points table, alive in the playoff race.
“I get goosebumps seeing him doing what he’s been doing,” Russell said after collecting the Player of the Match award.
“I have company at the back end, he soaks the pressure off and he’s been here for years now, a really hard-working guy.”
The Jamaican later told reporters he would have refused a single and remained at the striker’s end had it been any other player.
“He’s just a fearless player.
“Wherever you bowl, he has a shot to counter that delivery,” Russell said of Rinku.
“I gave him a hug and said, ‘Listen, bring home the bacon for us ... we need you at this point’. He said ‘Okay big man, no worries.’”
Two-time winners Kolkata host 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals in their next match tomorrow.
David Warner
