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Former England cricketer David Lloyd has blasted the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the national men's team's schedule. Lloyd pointed out that the ICC is hardly concerned about the fans, given the relentless itinerary of the England team across formats.
The English Test summer ended on September 9, but they engaged in a white-ball series against Australia from the 11th as the selectors had to rest a few players. However, a few players from the ODI series against Australia are now part of the Test tour of Pakistan, which began on October 7.
In his column for The Daily Mail, the 77-year-old stated that fans are struggling to plan under the current scenario about what matches to attend. He explained:
"The ICC knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing. It should be quality over quantity, but it is the other way round with them. Supporters are obviously the last people on their mind. A fan would usually save up and plan long in advance for a tour, maybe join a tour group and look forward to their trip. Now, where are they supposed to go?"
He added:
"Until last week, England's armchair fans didn't even know if they were going to be able to watch this series at all. 'Is it going to be on telly?' 'Oh, they don't know yet.' It's ridiculous. Are these people sat around a table drunk?"
England's limited-overs specialists will begin their three-game ODI series and five-match T20I rubber in the West Indies on October 31.
The Englishmen also have a three-Test rubber in New Zealand in November-December, followed by a white-ball tour of India in January. Then, the Champions Trophy is scheduled to take place in Pakistan in the following month.
"Because of the schedule, teams have no time to prepare properly now" - David Lloyd
Lloyd also pointed out that the scheduling has left touring teams hardly any time for warm-up games as away series are still quite hard to win. Lloyd added:
"Because of the schedule, teams have no time to prepare properly now. They don't play warm-up matches. They just rock up into a different country and start playing. I once took England to Lahore to prepare for a tournament in Sharjah as coach, and have been there two or three times with Sky. It is one of the great places to tour. Everyone talks about the Caribbean, Australia or New Zealand, but Pakistan is fabulous and great fun."
Meanwhile, England's inexperienced bowling unit toiled on day one of the opening Test against Pakistan in Multan as the hosts reached 328-4.
