THIS WILL RIP APART ENGLAND! Batting star Rogers says ECB must nail row... or they could lose Ashes like his Aussies did with 2013 Warner bust-up
FoRMeR Australia opener Chris Rogers has warned england that they risk being torn apart by the Ben Stokes saga.
That is unless team bosses confront the controversy head-on with the rest of the squad before The Ashes.
Rogers was part of the Australia team whose campaign in England in 2013 was rocked by the suspension of key opener David Warner, you’ve got to start doing the following a late-night right things.’ altercation with Joe Root. “It almost galvanised us a
Warner was banned for the bit – it could have that effect first two Tests of that Ashes on England during The Ashes. series, which England won “It could have the opposite 3-0, after he attempted to effect as well – it could cause punch Root in Birmingham’s a bit of friction, but it’ll come Walkabout bar. down to the characters
The fallout saw coach involved and the Mickey Arthur leaders, they’re sacked and the most important replaced by people.” Darren Lehman Rogers believes on the eve of the that the probable series. And Rogers admitted absence of Stokes – the the situation with Stokes, world’s premier all-rounder – which is even more serious, in Australia will not only could have a negative effect diminish The Ashes series, on the whole England squad. but prove terminal to
He said: “It’s going to be a England’s chances of success. factor, I just think it needs to Rogers – Somerset’s batting be addressed. You have to get coach this summer, following it out in the open, deal with it his retirement last year – said: and move on. “The contest is worse for it, if
“Credit to Darren Lehmann, he’s not allowed to play, that’s that’s what he did. One of the for sure because he’s such a first bits of business he did big figure in England’s side. was call Warner on it and say, “Stokes is the enforcer, the ‘This is your last chance, guy who is going to stand up to the Australian way. It’s going to leave a big hole that somehow England are going to have to fill.
“It will be interesting to see which characters step up to fill the void.
“But at the moment I don’t see how you can fill that hole.
“Of course, we want to win, but I was here in England when they won the 2005 Ashes, in one of the greatest series of all time, and the lift it gave cricket for a number of years was special.
“Test cricket needs that. We need The Ashes to be a contest to reinvigorate it.
“There’s been a lot of Ashes played over the last few years and it hasn’t always been that close.
“So, if we can have a close series, that would only be good for Test cricket and, naturally, Stokes would be a big part of that. So, like I said, if he’s missing, it lessens the contest in many respects.”