“Treating our international cricketers like pieces of meat,” Nasser Hussain LAMBASTS ICC and ECB for poor Ashes scheduling

Nasser also thinks that though injuries are part of the game, the best of these cricketers shouldn't suffer in high-profile series like the Ashes.

“Treating our international cricketers like pieces of meat,” Nasser Hussain LAMBASTS ICC and ECB for poor Ashes scheduling

Nasser Hussain (Image via The Mirror)

Former England captain Nasser Hussain raised the question of a hectic international calender after observing how players looked lethargic in Ashes. Hussain is unhappy with the Ashes scheduling, highlighting how the players got just three days’ rest before the third Test in Headingley.

Nasser warned the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the England Cricket Board (ECB) to look after the cricketers by reminding them of one of their biggest assets Ben Stokes, who took retirement from ODI cricket last year citing a crammed-up schedule. “There was a moment on Friday when I looked down at the action and wondered: why we are treating our international cricketers like pieces of meat?” Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.

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“Just days after a physically and mentally draining match at Lord’s, and a fortnight after an emotional ringer of a first Ashes Test went into the last couple of hours, we were watching them all slugging it out again and the madness of the schedule hit me,” he added.

Nasser also thinks that though injuries are part of the game, the best of these cricketers shouldn’t suffer in high-profile series like the Ashes. He named Pep Guardiola of Manchester City to point out that in football, players don’t play half-fit.

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Nasser Hussain believes Pat Cummins will feel the pressure if England win the third Test

Nasser Hussain LAMBASTS Ashes schedule and warns ICC, ECB to stop treating players like pieces of 'MEAT'
Pat Cummins (Image via Twitter)

Nasser Hussain feels that if Australia win this Test, it will soon be over as they will win the series and skipper Pat Cummins can rest for the next Test and someone else in his place can captain. However, he will be forced to play the next Test and particularly he will be under huge pressure. England’s winning the third Test means they will push Cummins as captain and fast bowler physically.

At the same time, Hussain opined he and most of the fans want to see players like Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, and Cummins don the white jersey in Test cricket and not “retiring into an IPL sunset“. The next Ashes will be played from July 19, after a gap of eight days.

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