Andrew Gale says Gary Ballance has been harshly treated by England following his omission from their Test squad for next month’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. The Yorkshire captain has also expressed disappointment for his county team-mate Adam Lyth, who has also been left out, insisting that continuity is the key to success at the top of the order.
Nottinghamshire’s James Taylor and Alex Hales have been preferred to the left-handed Ashes-winning pair.
Ballance played the first four home Tests of the summer against New Zealand and Australia, scoring only 134 runs, with one 50, and attracted criticism for his back-foot technique. But that came immediately after a haul of 331 runs in three Tests in the Caribbean through April and May, when he became England’s third fastest batsman to 1,000 runs. Lyth played all seven Tests and scored 265 runs with one century.
“I’m gutted for the lads,” said Gale. “I’m so disappointed for Gaz. He’s got an unbelievable record. I think he’s been harshly treated, and I’m really disappointed with the ECB for that. I strongly disagree with the decision they’ve made. He’s got a proven record at that level, and yet they’ve picked James Taylor ahead of him.
“As much as I love Titch, I think Gaz deserves a chance to get back in that squad and prove again what he did before. He’s a mentally strong lad is Gaz and a pretty level-headed guy. Knowing him as I do, he’ll take it in his stride and come back much stronger.
“In terms of Lythy, I thought [Hampshire’s] Michael Carberry summed it up well in a Sky interview when he said: ‘Someone deserves a really good run in that opener’s spot.’ I’m not a fan of chopping and changing. You’ll see with our Yorkshire team this year that I’m a big believer in continuity and backing guys for a certain amount of time. Lythy’s shown that he can perform at that level, and it’s not as if opening batters are falling out of trees and churning runs out week after week, like Lythy did last year.”
Lyth and Ballance have scored nought and 30 during the ongoing Championship match against Hampshire, in which only seven overs and four balls were bowled on the third day. Alex Lees and Tim Bresnan added 15 runs to Yorkshire’s overnight 82 for four. Unless both captains opt to contrive a fourth-day run chase, a draw is a near certainty.
