David Lloyd has blasted the first class cricket schedule, after England 's top order once again collapsed in defeat to South Africa at Lords. Despite the innovation of 'Baz Ball' - which has seen England take a more aggressive approach with the bat - their opening batsman have continued to fail to rack up the runs.
These troubles continued in the opening match of the three-Test series with South Africa, as both openers Alex Lees and Zak Crawley struggled to stamp their authority on the game, scoring just six and 20 respectively for the first wicket in their two innings at Lords.
Pressure has since mounted on the selectors to make changes at the top of the order, with criticism falling on Crawley especially following another below-par performance at the home of cricket.
Making a like-for-like switch at the top of the England order is not a simple task though, with a stand out replacement far from obvious due to the lack of red ball cricket taking place in August following the implementation of the Hundred. As a result, Lloyd believes this scheduling by the ECB is ultimately causing the country's Test side a serious problem when it comes to selection.
Writing for the Daily Mail, he said: "It was a case of same old same old for England at the top of the order and you would think they need two new openers for the second Test at Old Trafford. But where are they going to get them from? The Hundred? They have absolutely nowhere to go in selecting a side because there’s no first-class cricket.
"This is a very important Test series and we’re getting spannered as much by our own scheduling as the opposition. It’s a shocking state of affairs." Despite a lack of obvious replacement options, one of Lloyd's former Sky Sports colleagues Mark Butcher believes it is time for Crawley to be dropped from the side for his 'own good'.
"Runs are a batsman’s currency and he is making any for anybody,” said Butcher. “It doesn’t matter who he is playing for either Kent or England, he isn’t scoring any runs. It is starting to feel cruel to keep putting him in the firing line. He is being constantly backed and patted on the back, but it is not doing him any good. If anything it could be doing more harm than good.
"At some point you’ve got to realise that he needs to be left out for his own good. He is only 24 so if he doesn’t play for a while it isn’t terminal, he can come back once he’s worked a few things out.” It was another day to forget for the Kent star, who was trapped LBW for just 13 to begin England's downfall on the way to thumping innings and 12-run defeat.
