Stuart Broad has suggested Ben Duckett and Joe Root should be sent home from England's ODI series against South Africa, warning the team are suffering from 'jaded minds' after a packed summer. Two defeats in three days have cost England the series with one game to play at Southampton on Sunday.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Broad said: 'I thought England looked a bit tired. It’s understandable, that is not me having a dig. They played 25 days solid, hard cricket against India in the Test series and two days later they were straight into The Hundred. Now they’re playing a white-ball series and the winter is only getting busier.' He added that he would be 'half-tempted to send Duckett and Root up the M1 rather than down to Southampton'.
England have been caught cold after the intense Test series against India and The Hundred, with Root, Duckett, captain Harry Brook and Jamie Smith ever-present during that period. All four have been stood down for the T20 trip to Ireland later this month, but Broad feels the break may be overdue ahead of the Ashes tour.
Brook said after the Lord's defeat he had no plans to change the squad, but head coach Brendon McCullum may look at options like Tom Banton, Rehan Ahmed or Jamie Overton. England's decision to give a full 10-over block to spinners Will Jacks and Jacob Bethell backfired as they conceded 112 runs, with South Africa's Matthew Breetzke admitting the tourists targeted England's makeweight bowlers.
