// Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has offered a damning assessment of England's tactics, suggesting Ben Stokes doesn't have the players required to execute 'Bazball'. The England skipper conceded that his team was left "in absolute pieces" after letting the first Test slip from their grasp late on day five as his Australian counterpart Pat Cummins delivered his side a famous win. Chappell was complimentary of England's approach to the first Test, saying "it's just playing cricket the way you should play", but said the home side lacked the weapons necessary. READ MORE: Bristling Fittler snaps as critics hammer Origin move READ MORE: Walsh's shameless act as sin bin, send offs mar ending ORIGIN II PLAYER RATINGS: Player ratings: 'Clueless' stars among roasted Blues "I think Stokes' attitude is right but England haven't got the players to back him up," he told Wide World of Sports. "They haven't got a spinner, forget all the rubbish about Moeen Ali's finger, he's not a good enough bowler, neither was Jack Leach. "They haven't got a proper wicketkeeper which cost them dearly. You've got ageing pace bowlers who were obviously worn down from earlier in the game and also if you want to mount a bouncer attack, they haven't got the attack to do it." Chappell was particularly scathing of England's decision to recall the previously-retired Moeen, who was largely ineffective in his first Test since September 2021. Every ball of the Ashes will be live, free and exclusive on 9Now, and if you miss any of the action you can find full highlights and exclusive replays after every day's play here Moeen was picked over the likes of teenage young gun Rehan Ahmed, who picked up seven wickets on his Test debut in December, and Chappell suggested the England selectors had sent a dangerous message to Ahmed and the country's other spinners. "Their biggest mistake was jumping everybody else and calling Moeen Ali back," he said. "What have they basically said about all the other spinners? Rehan Ahmed is the main one, they've said, 'We don't think you're good enough and we're going to choose someone else', well it wasn't a smart move. Haven't they looked at Moeen Ali's history against Australia? It's no good. "Now if they've got to backtrack, they've already said to the other spin bowlers, 'We don't think you're good enough', and now they've got to turn around and pick them. "In some cases, and I think Rehan Ahmed is a good one, he's strong enough to say, 'Well bugger you, see how good this is'. "The problem England have got is I think they want a certain type of spin bowler and Rehan Ahmed is not the type of bowler they want. That's the wrong way to look at selection. "You've got to say, 'Who's our best spin bowler?', and it's certainly not Moeen Ali, and if they decide that Rehan Ahmed is their best spin bowler, they've got to try and work out how you win with him. "You do that differently to a finger spinner. They seem to want a finger spinner who gives them control, well Moeen Ali will never do that because he's not good enough." Chappell had similar views on England's decision to hand Jonny Bairstow the keeping duties ahead of a better gloveman in Ben Foakes. "You've got to pick your best keeper, and Foakes is far and away their best keeper," he said. "It's not as though Foakes is a gimme with the bat, he's good with the bat. To me, that was a mistake. "They've made a huge rod for their own back in both cases (Moeen over Ahmed and Bairstow over Foakes). "Are they going to backtrack and get Foakes now? If they do that, they're going to have to find a place for him in the team so that creates a problem for them." Chappell also has questions over the composition of England's pace battery, after veteran seamer Jimmy Anderson was denied the new ball towards the back end of Australia's second innings. Stokes took the new ball in the final hour of play, but opted to let Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson share it instead of handing it to Anderson, the man with 686 Test wickets to his name. Anderson picked up just one wicket for the entire Test, and Chappell wasn't sure whether both he and Broad could continue being picked together. "It's a huge risk to pick Broad and Anderson together, even in England," he said. "Sure, in England going back a few years that's fine, but now, Anderson is 40 and Broad is 36. It's going to catch up with you in the field if nowhere else. "If Anderson bowls really well and takes five wickets and Broad takes three, then you get away with it. But if they don't have their best day, and Robinson is no genius in the field either, your fielding in the last couple of days of the Test is not so good. "Australia have got far and away the better fielding side. They're quite a bit better in bowling and quite a bit better in fielding, that's a lot to give up." England will have very little time to regroup with the second Test at Lord's getting underway on June 28. For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here! Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has offered a damning assessment of England's tactics, suggesting Ben Stokes doesn't have the players required to execute 'Bazball'. The England skipper conceded that his team was left "in absolute pieces" after letting the first Test slip from their grasp late on day five as his Australian counterpart Pat Cummins delivered his side a famous win. Chappell was complimentary of England's approach to the first Test, saying "it's just playing cricket the way you should play", but said the home side lacked the weapons necessary. READ MORE: Bristling Fittler snaps as critics hammer Origin move READ MORE: Walsh's shameless act as sin bin, send offs mar ending ORIGIN II PLAYER RATINGS: Player ratings: 'Clueless' stars among roasted Blues "I think Stokes' attitude is right but England haven't got the players to back him up," he told Wide World of Sports. "They haven't got a spinner, forget all the rubbish about Moeen Ali's finger, he's not a good enough bowler, neither was Jack Leach. "They haven't got a proper wicketkeeper which cost them dearly. You've got ageing pace bowlers who were obviously worn down from earlier in the game and also if you want to mount a bouncer attack, they haven't got the attack to do it." Chappell was particularly scathing of England's decision to recall the previously-retired Moeen, who was largely ineffective in his first Test since September 2021. Every ball of the Ashes will be live, free and exclusive on 9Now, and if you miss any of the action you can find full highlights and exclusive replays after every day's play here Moeen was picked over the likes of teenage young gun Rehan Ahmed, who picked up seven wickets on his Test debut in December, and Chappell suggested the England selectors had sent a dangerous message to Ahmed and the country's other spinners. "Their biggest mistake was jumping everybody else and calling Moeen Ali back," he said. "What have they basically said about all the other spinners? Rehan Ahmed is the main one, they've said, 'We don't think you're good enough and we're going to choose someone else', well it wasn't a smart move. Haven't they looked at Moeen Ali's history against Australia? It's no good. "Now if they've got to backtrack, they've already said to the other spin bowlers, 'We don't think you're good enough', and now they've got to turn around and pick them. "In some cases, and I think Rehan Ahmed is a good one, he's strong enough to say, 'Well bugger you, see how good this is'. "The problem England have got is I think they want a certain type of spin bowler and Rehan Ahmed is not the type of bowler they want. That's the wrong way to look at selection. "You've got to say, 'Who's our best spin bowler?', and it's certainly not Moeen Ali, and if they decide that Rehan Ahmed is their best spin bowler, they've got to try and work out how you win with him. "You do that differently to a finger spinner. They seem to want a finger spinner who gives them control, well Moeen Ali will never do that because he's not good enough." Chappell had similar views on England's decision to hand Jonny Bairstow the keeping duties ahead of a better gloveman in Ben Foakes. "You've got to pick your best keeper, and Foakes is far and away their best keeper," he said. "It's not as though Foakes is a gimme with the bat, he's good with the bat. To me, that was a mistake. "They've made a huge rod for their own back in both cases (Moeen over Ahmed and Bairstow over Foakes). "Are they going to backtrack and get Foakes now? If they do that, they're going to have to find a place for him in the team so that creates a problem for them." Chappell also has questions over the composition of England's pace battery, after veteran seamer Jimmy Anderson was denied the new ball towards the back end of Australia's second innings. Stokes took the new ball in the final hour of play, but opted to let Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson share it instead of handing it to Anderson, the man with 686 Test wickets to his name. Anderson picked up just one wicket for the entire Test, and Chappell wasn't sure whether both he and Broad could continue being picked together. "It's a huge risk to pick Broad and Anderson together, even in England," he said. "Sure, in England going back a few years that's fine, but now, Anderson is 40 and Broad is 36. It's going to catch up with you in the field if nowhere else. "If Anderson bowls really well and takes five wickets and Broad takes three, then you get away with it. But if they don't have their best day, and Robinson is no genius in the field either, your fielding in the last couple of days of the Test is not so good. "Australia have got far and away the better fielding side. They're quite a bit better in bowling and quite a bit better in fielding, that's a lot to give up." England will have very little time to regroup with the second Test at Lord's getting underway on June 28. For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here! https://ift.tt/TjKIqBV //
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