Ashes 2023: They don’t suit a truncated tour but would some players benefit from a tour match?

While the Aussies enjoy a break, players like David Warner - and potential opening alternative Mitch Marsh - might be wishing there was a tour match to play, writes Daniel Cherny.

The sight of Pat Cummins walking unobtrusively through Leeds’ busy central train station with a suitcase in tow at around lunchtime on Tuesday was a good reminder that after three seesawing and thrilling Tests, the Ashes series was going on a short holiday.

Among the destinations for some Aussie players and their families during a break that will extend until Friday’s optional training session are Amsterdam, Paris, Edinburgh, Wimbledon and Bristol.

And no one in the Australian touring party had earned a few days’ chill time more than the captain, who in the space of less than five weeks had sent down just two balls shy of 140 overs while leading his side in four high-stakes Tests, one of which the Aussies would not have won without his batting.

That’s in addition to having to play tactician, diplomat, spokesman and manager, defender of his side’s virtues and public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of England’s fans after the Lords imbroglio.

Pat Cummins chats with Mark Wood following the Third Ashes test in Leeds. No one needs a short break more than the Aussie skipper but would others benefit from a tour match. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

Six Tests in eight weeks was going to be the ultimate Test of a fast-bowling captain, and while Cummins has been helped by England’s tendency not to bat for long, he has done well to get through unscathed and still performing strongly through two-thirds of Australia’s Tests on this tour.

This of course has been quite a different looking tour, and for once this is not a segue to write about Bazball.

The tour match had been going the way of the dodo for years, but even as recently as the 2019 tour there were still a couple of them on the calendar, with the Aussies playing three day matches against Worcestershire and Derbyshire in breaks following the first and third Tests respectively.

It was in the second of those games that Steve Smith made his comeback after being felled by Jofra Archer at Lord’s, while Mitchell Starc also warmed up for his eventual entrance into the series at Old Trafford.

But like working full-time in an office and the kiss hello, tour matches became impractical during the pandemic, and when things went back to normal there seemed to be no great demand to reinstate the practice.

A tour match could be just what David Warner needs to make some runs and gain some confidence. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

Ahead of the series it was understandable, because with just one week between the IPL final and the World Test Championship decider, the window was extremely narrow.

And during the Ashes, the Aussies have tended to be in the nets more and than England, whose laissez-faire approach to practice holds more than a hint of appeal to those working 9-5 and then some.

Moreover coach Andrew McDonald and co have seen enough meaningless tour matches over the years – ones where the wickets and opposition don’t resemble what is about to be confronted – to think the Aussies are better off spending the time they are on the clock with organised net sessions where players can hone in on areas of need.

There is a trust placed in an experienced group of players, an assumption that they know the best way to get ready for a Test.

“We feel as though we don‘t need that match practice as such,” McDonald said ahead of the tour of India this year, where the Aussies fell to a 2-0 deficit on the back of a week’s training once arriving.

No one would seriously suggest that Cummins or fellow quicks Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc or Scott Boland need to bowl in a match this week. The same can be said for Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Steve Smith, all of whom have been major contributors with the bat thus far on the tour, as well as Alex Carey, who needs a mental recharge after a trying couple of weeks.

With a tour match, Australia could trial Mitch Marsh as an opener before throwing him into a Test situation. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

But it was instructive that Michael Neser was released to play this week with Glamorgan, with the Aussies clearly of the view that after more than a month as an understudy, the seamer could do with some competitive cricket in case he is needed at The Oval.

If match play was thought to be beneficial for Neser, what about Todd Murphy, who bowled less than 10 overs in Leeds? Or Marcus Harris, who is only a concussion away from being called into a live Ashes rubber but hasn’t played in well over a month.

Then there is the opening position. If the selectors are seriously considering Mitch Marsh or Cameron Green to partner Khawaja at Old Trafford, a match against county opposition would be a chance to experiment. And it could have been an opportunity for Marnus Labuschagne or David Warner to restore some confidence with an easy kill, or pitted as an old-fashioned bat-off to allow Warner the chance to save his jeopardised spot.

The Aussies could still have had a few days’ break and snuck in a two-day match on the weekend. They could still have given those who have carried the heaviest loads extra time off.

With Mitchell Swepson, Sean Abbott, Matthew Renshaw and Glenn Maxwell – who whacked 81 for Warwickshire on Tuesday – all in the UK already, making up an XI would not have been hard.

And given Saturday is finals day in England’s domestic Twenty20 blast, there are 14 county clubs who will be free this weekend.

It’s unlikely to be the difference between winning the series or not, but there’s an argument to suggest it’s an opportunity missed.

Originally published as Ashes 2023: They don’t suit a truncated tour but would some players benefit from a tour match?