'Stop participating in IPL' - Mickey Arthur's suggestion on improving England's Test side

Former South Africa coach Mickey Arthur has advised England players to not participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to improve their Test side. It is to be noted that, Three lions faced a humiliating 4-0 Ashes series loss against Australia Down Under, which resulted in the departure of head coach Chris Silverwood, batting coach Graham Thorpe and managing director Ashley Giles.

Arthur, who joined English county Derbyshire as head of cricket after stepping down as Sri Lanka coach late last year, said county cricket is not to be blamed for England’s poor performance in Tests in recent years.

England haven’t scored enough runs: Mickey Arthur  

Speaking to a British daily newspaper The Times, Arthur said, “England haven’t scored enough runs. It’s as simple as that. If you want to lay the blame, you can lay it right there. County cricket isn’t to blame. For so long county cricket has been a really good producer of international players. I don’t think there’s a problem with the system. If you want the strength early season, unfortunately, you are going to have to stop the players going to the IPL.”

“They are playing there in the early part of the season just before the first tests. You need your best players playing county cricket preparing for that,” Arthur added.

While England continues to enjoy their white-ball format success including the 50-over World Cup title. Not only that, but England also reached the top of the Twenty20 rankings and are currently placed second in ODI rankings. However, their form in the longest format of the game has been poor at late.

England have so far lost 15 consecutive test matches in Australia, as they are placed fourth in the ICC Test Rankings. Three Lions will take on West Indies in a three-match test series at their home turf. The series is scheduled to start on March eight with the first match to be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua.