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England’s cricket selectors have sent five of their underperforming players back to play for their counties in an attempt to find some form ahead of next week’s decisive fifth Ashes Test.
Batsmen Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell, and bowlers Graeme Swann and Graham Onions will all turn out for their counties this week.
Bopara, who is under huge pressure for his place in the side following a run of just 105 runs in seven innings against Australia, will play in the County Championship against Middlesex at Lord’s, which starts on Tuesday.
Hugh Morris, managing director England Cricket, said: “Following discussions with the England team management, it has been decided to make a number of players available to their counties for four-day cricket this week.
“We are aware that we underperformed with bat and ball at Headingley and this decision is designed to give players an opportunity to spend time in the middle and get overs under their belt ahead of the decisive fifth Test at The Brit Oval next week.”
Under normal circumstances, players would not have been available but the fact England were trounced by an innings and 80 runs in little more than seven sessions of the penultimate Ashes Test opened up the chance for match practice.
Bopara, Bell and Paul Collingwood managed just 16 runs between them in six visits to the crease in Leeds and will need to repair confidence with the final Ashes Test at the Oval just 10 days away.
The rest of England’s squad, including captain Andrew Strauss, will rest up and report to the Oval next Monday.
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