Slightly Furious That Players Are Thinking About Not Going On Ashes Says Mark Butcher

Former England opener Mark Butcher was unhappy on the prospect of England Test players turning down the opportunity to go for the Ashes in Australia at the end of the year. The five-match Test series

"If you're earning that much money that it doesn't matter to you whether you go on an Ashes trip anymore or whether or not there are no consequences for you pulling out of an Ashes trip, and you get just welcomed straight back into the side once again on the other side as though nothing has happened, then things have taken a pretty bad pass. And the future of touring, the future of long-form cricket, the future of these types of events start to become very much in jeopardy."

The 49-year-old concluded by saying that more people should raise their hands for going to the Ashes, just like veteran pacer Stuart Broad committed to go to the trip.

"At the moment, the only person who's sort of stuck their head above the parapet has been Stuart Broad, funnily enough. He said 'I'm going, it doesn't matter whatever happens, I'm going, it's an Ashes tour'. He understands what that means. I'd like one or two others to stand up and do the same thing."