The Ashes 2006-07

England ask to use full squad in warm-up

Cricinfo staff

September 28, 2006

Duncan Fletcher has made a habit of using more than 11 players in warm-up matches © Getty Images

England play a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra on November 10 to open the tour, then take on New South Wales and South Australia in three-day matches in the lead-up to the first Test at Brisbane on November 23. The finer points of the agreement are still being discussed and the three-day match against NSW would lose its first-class status.

"It is a departure from our normal summer schedule but we have agreed to it on the basis of the tour's close proximity to the Champions Trophy," a CA spokesman told the AAP agency.

England are concerned that they will be left short of match time if they can only field 11 players in each game with the tour's proximity to the Champions Trophy. If they reach the final in India, on November 5, they will have just five days before their first match in Australia.

John Buchanan, Australia's coach, said England's request was just a continuation of what is now a common practice. "They want to be able to use as many players as they can, so really they're treating it, as most teams do, as game time and match practice in different conditions," he said. "Albeit that they might not be totally similar to exactly what you're going to play on, but it is time in Australia out in the middle, playing cricket and preparing."

It wouldn't be the first time England have used an extended number of players in their warm-up matches after agreeing with opposition to do the same on recent tours of Pakistan and India.

© Cricinfo

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