'I didn't hear empathy from a fellow professional' - Nasser Hussain on Tim Paine's comments over ENG players regarding Ashes

The Ashes series is dealing with a lot of uncertainties before its start. The strict Covid protocols by Australia haven’t gone too well with the England players. Owing to this, the players have been receiving flak from many. The former England skipper Nasser Hussain has however come forward to support his countrymen.

Recently the Australian Test captain Tim Paine had sarcastically stated that no one was forcing the England players to come and play and that they can make the choice. Spinner Nathan Lyon had also asserted that if he was in the position of the England players, he would have gone forward with the series.

Hussain however said that the Australian cricketers lecturing the visitors to accept the strict protocols is a bit rich. He specifically took a dig at Paine and reckoned that the captain’s comments had no empathy towards the England cricketers.

“So for people in Australia to start lecturing them (England cricketers), and telling them they should simply suck it up, is a bit rich. When Tim Paine, Australia’s Test captain, spoke recently I didn’t hear much empathy from a fellow professional. Now others have jumped on the Ashes bandwagon as if England are somehow trying to dodge an important series,” Hussain wrote in his column for Daily Mail on Sunday.

England’s Test players are getting a lot of flak, particularly from Australia: Nasser Hussain

The former cricketer shed light on the recent Test matches England had played and pointed that no one should doubt their commitments. He also added that he is proud of the way the Joe Root-led side has carried itself in these difficult times of the pandemic.

“Right now, it feels as if England’s Test players are getting a lot of flak, particularly from Australia, about their attitude to quarantining at the Ashes. And that doesn’t sit comfortably with me. England has played 18 Test matches since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. That’s five more than anyone else – and 14 more than Australia, whose four Tests all came at home against India last winter.

“I’m quite proud of the way in which England’s Test team have kept the show on the road in difficult circumstances, moving in and out of bubbles and spending time away from their families. It’s draining. Mental health has suffered,” Hussain added.