Ian Chappell hits out over 'ridiculous' Ashes farce: 'Stupidity'

Australian cricket great Ian Chappell has hit out over the condensed schedule for the upcoming Ashes series, labelling it 'ridiculous' that the five-Test series will be wrapped up before the end of August. The short turnaround between each Test will create an unnecessary burden, particularly on fast bowlers from both sides.

The first Test at Edgebaston gets underway this Friday, June 16, while the fifth Test at The Oval begins on July 27. It's a remarkably short turnaround between Tests, one both Chappell and former Aussie spinner Steve O'Keefe suggesting both side would have to rotate players through the side.

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O'Keefe warned against rotating through bowlers for the sake of it, as Australia once did under a previous high-performance regime, but accepted that the rapid pace of the Tests meant it would be almost inevitable. Fortunately for Australian selectors, the potential need to rotate bowlers could help solve the selection dilemma between the in-form Scott Boland and veteran Josh Hazlewood.

Chappell on the other hand, told Wide World of Sports that the way the Ashes schedule had been assembled was 'stupidity'. He said that while the series had always been gruelling, this year was unnecessarily quick.

"It's ridiculous, the schedule, I mean the schedule's been ridiculous for a long time but that is stupidity," he said. "There's not a Test played in August so that tells you how quickly they're playing them.

"It's a nightmare for all players, both physically and mentally, particularly the fast bowlers and I don't think there's any way in the world that either side is going to get through five Tests using the same bowling players all the way. I think the extra players are going to come in handy and that's one thing that'll probably suit Australia."

In addition to Boland, Australia brought Michael Neser into to the squad for the recent World Test Championship final, while they also have spinner Todd Murphy waiting in the wings to potentially back up for Nathan Lyon. England have lost Jack Leach for the series, bringing Moeen Ali out of Test retirement to replace him.

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While O'Keefe said he'd prefer for Australia to maintain the same bowling lineup throughout the series, if form indicated they should do so, he accepted it was inevitable that players would go in and out of the side. Similarly to Chappell, he said the strong form of Boland was a major advantage for Australia.

"I'd like to think not but I do agree with Ian that the scheduling is pretty poor and it's going to be a big ask," he said. "Mark Wood, he played four Tests in Australia and he even said himself that he felt exhausted after playing that - I mean I'm not sure why, some of those Tests ended in three days, particularly the one in Hobart so I'm not sure what he was carrying on about there.

"I think the locks for Australia will be Cummins and Lyon, Cummins it's going to be a big ask for him to play five but I think he's prepared - listening to his commentary before this Test series he said I'd like to come in under prepared (rather) than over prepared.

"(Boland) makes the basics look so easy and effortless, although there is a lot of magic behind what he does, he can move the ball subtly each way and I think the way he set up Virat Kohli in the (WTC final) match showed his class.

"Josh Hazlewood, I mean he's taken 200 Test wickets and he's a great guy to fall back onto but over the last two years due to injuries he's only played four Tests, so I think they want to go into this first test making a statement, I think they go with Boland but I do think there will be some rotation through this series."

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