Joe Root, Ben Stokes Slam ECB For Discarding England's Fortress From Ashes Plans

Stokes, Root unhappy with ECB's Ashes scheduling [Source: AFP]

England were back in the winning ways on home turf as they decimated Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs in the first Test of the series at Headingley. Joe Root took over the charge of the Test team from Ben Stokes, embarking on a new era in English cricket.

Amid the celebrations after the win, the spirits were dampened as the captain, Joe Root, and former skipper Ben Stokes expressed their disappointment with the Ashes 2027 schedule, as they won’t play any of the five Tests in Leeds. In fact, England will not return to Headingley till at least 2029, despite an emphatic Test record at the venue in recent times.

Joe Root and Ben Stokes call out ECB for snubbing Headingley from Ashes plans

Last month, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced the schedule for the upcoming Ashes series, where Headingley is not one of the venues.

This caused a stir among current and former England stars, who believe it is one of the best venues in the country. In fact, one of England's most famous Test run-chases in the Ashes came at the venue, with Ben Stokes scoring 135* (219).

Speaking on the matter at the end of the win over Pakistan on Friday, Root termed it to be a ‘shame’ that they will not be returning to Headingley for the Ashes.

“It’s a shame we don’t get to play here [Headingley] next year (in the Ashes), but I’m sure we will see many, many more brilliant Test matches here,” said Joe Root.

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Reacting to the statement on Instagram, Ben Stokes felt that Root’s words were an understatement, while praising the team’s win.

“Shame is an understatement. Shambolic would be more appropriate,” he wrote on Instagram.

Why did ECB ignore Headingley for Ashes?

Headingley in Leeds will not be hosting any Test matches through 2029 due to a new system for allocation of matches introduced in 2023. This is to move away from the competitive tender process and start allocating matches on a rotational basis.

ECB wants to allocate big Test matches fairly and on an equitable basis. This means Headingley, a venue that hosted Ashes matches in 2019 and 2023, will miss out on the 2027 series.

Additionally, they will also not host any of the five Tests against India in 2029, which is a massive hit to Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s finances.

“We're pretty disappointed with the allocation; we don't feel it's fair in terms of our cricketing history, the scale of the recreational game, the club's finances,” Yorkshire CCC CEO Sanjay Patel opened up to the BBC.

How has Headingley been a fortress for England in Tests?

(England's Test record at Headingley)

Historically, Headingley in Leeds has been a venue where England have fared decently. In the 82 matches played at the venue, they have won 39, drawn 18 and lost 25.

However, in Tests played here in the last decade, they have won 8 of the 9 matches and are on a 7-match unbeaten streak since the 2018 encounter against Pakistan. Furthermore, a whopping four of these 8 wins have come by an innings and over 50 runs and England have defeated Australia in three out of four Ashes Tests in Leeds in this century. 

Joe Root, who hails from Yorkshire, has previously scored 829 runs in 12 Tests at 46.05 and was only 134 runs away from becoming the highest run-scorer at the venue. With no Tests to be played here till 2029, it is likely that he wouldn't return to play for England at this venue.

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