'This punt of resting them needs to come off' - Mark Taylor feels England made a blunder excluding Broad, Anderson in Ashes opener

Former Australia skipper Mark Taylor feels that England committed a selection blunder by not including either one of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, picking Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson and Chris Woakes as their frontline pacers alongside all-rounder Ben Stokes for the Ashes opener in Brisbane, which they lost by nine wickets.

The decision to sit out 315-Test, 1156-wickets worth of experience certainly defies conventional wisdom, although England skipper Root had admitted that the call was taken keeping in mind the gruelling and long series that the Ashes is. In the hindsight, though, the call looks even more questionable.

Taylor reckoned that England have messed things up by losing the opening clash and have too much riding on the second Test, which will be a day-night affair at the Adelaide Oval, starting from December 16.

They’ve thrown all their hopes on the Adelaide Test: Mark Taylor

“They’ve made life a little bit difficult for themselves by doing what they’ve done. It’s almost like they’ve thrown all their hopes on this Adelaide Test by not playing either of them and getting caught short. This punt of keeping them fresh for Adelaide needs to come off because if it doesn’t the Ashes are just about gone,” Taylor told Wide World of Sports.

Speaking about what kind of look would the team wear for the second Test, he said that England will certainly slot in both Anderson and Broad while sitting out Jack Leach, who had a forgettable first Test.

“I reckon Robinson will hold his spot, Broad and Anderson will come in — so that means Woakes will be under pressure, and they’ll look at Jack Leach and whether they’ll play a spinner or not. I think they’ll go with four seamers and Joe Root will bowl a few offies,” he said.

On being asked whether or not England would bring in the veteran pace duo, Root reckoned it to be a call that will be made after taking a look at what the Adelaide track has on offer.

“I think that’s something that we’ll look at once we get to Adelaide, once we know what the surface looks like and what the conditions are likely to present when we get there,” Root told reporters after the Gabba defeat.