‘Not sure the Aussie public love the Aussie team’: Ex-England skippers ignite Ashes war of words

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has questioned the popularity of Pat Cummins and his teammates on home soil, while England’s team boss defended the Bazballers’ preparation ahead of a mouth-watering Ashes series.

England are yet to touch down in Australia ahead of the Ashes opener in Perth on November 21, but Vaughan – the man who delivered a breakthrough series victory as captain in 2005 – said cracks could emerge between the Australian public and the Test team should the tourists prevail in the first Test.

“I think the Aussie public really admire England’s style of play,” Vaughan said at a promotional event in London on Friday.

“They want to see players having a go, they like to see a bit of pace and cricketers enjoying themselves.

“I’m not too sure the Aussie public love the Aussie team. They don’t seem to have that kind of connection. You go back many years, when they were right behind them... this team has had so much success, but there seems to be a connection that’s not quite together with fans.

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“So, if England can get that first win in Perth, you can create a few divides within the Australian community.”

Vaughan’s comments are likely to be brushed off by the Australian team, but they do have merit.

There was borderline hysteria among fans and some sections of the media last summer when Australia were thumped by India in the series opener in Perth. The home team then rebounded to claim the series.

The Australian Test team hasn’t always been beloved by the public, even during the great winning eras under Steve Waugh, the early years of the Ricky Ponting captaincy, and later under Michael Clarke and Steve Smith. Those teams were respected, but their hard-edged approach did not win over all fans.

Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald have worked to transform the image of the Test team, while still maintaining a winning ethos.

The Australians have continued to retain the Ashes urn, but they’ll be challenged massively this summer by the freewheeling tourists, led by skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

They were due to fly to Australia after Saturday’s third and final one-day international against New Zealand in Wellington, but their decision to have only one three-day warm-up match, against England ‘A’ at Lilac Hill, having opted to bypass any contests against Australian state teams, drew stinging criticism from Ashes great Ian Botham.

The legendary all-rounder said this schedule “borders on arrogance”, but Ed Barney, the England Cricket Board’s performance director, said the clash against a youth development side would have the tourists ready for the five Tests.

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“There is nothing the lads will want more than to raise their game as far as it has ever been, [and] put batters under pressure, put bowlers under pressure,” Barney said.

“I have no shadow of a doubt that the three-day fixture will be a quality exposure that will continue to aid England in their preparation.”

England have used their white-ball tour of New Zealand as Ashes preparation, but nothing compares to what awaits with the red Kookaburra ball in a country they have failed in since 2010-11.

When they won that series 3-1, England, led by skipper Andrew Strauss, had three first-class matches before the first Test, winning two. In 1986-87, a series they also won, England had three first-class matches before the first Test.

An extended preparation doesn’t always guarantee victory, for England, under captain Alastair Cook, were crunched 5-0 in 2013-14.

“I understand where the question comes from, the history of the game,” Barney said about the perceived lack of practice matches.

“The interesting question is – have you looked at the future tours program? Have you looked at franchise cricket and the fact that a multi-format player left the country on 13 October and if they play in every England commitment and play in the Indian Premier League, and The Hundred, they will have less than two weeks off between now and the end of September?

“There is a volume of cricket that takes place that means there is a constant balancing of red-ball, white-ball, franchise and domestic cricket commitments.

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