"That was a ridiculous request" - Ian Healy on England reportedly asking for a fast flat pitch for the 1st Ashes Test

Ian Healy believes England's reported request to prepare a fast flat pitch for the first Ashes Test was a ridiculous one.

Ben Stokes batted first after winning the toss on a surprisingly dry pitch at Edgbaston in Birmingham. He declared England's first innings at 393/8 on Day 1 and they eventually ended up losing the game by two wickets on the last day (Tuesday, June 20).

During an interaction on the SEN podcast 'Dwayne's World', Healy was asked about James Anderson looking his age in the first Test and whether England would continue with their request for dry pitches as it doesn't offer him much, to which he responded:

"They didn't want dry decks, did they? They wanted fast flat ones. Now how do you do that in England? That was a ridiculous request if it ever did get made because it took away from their greatest."

The former Australian wicketkeeper highlighted that the benign Edgbaston pitch diminished Stuart Broad and Anderson's effectiveness:

"Their greatest weapons over the last 10 years have been Broad and Anderson. They have got about a thousand wickets in those 10 years, digging the batters out of trouble, because even on flat wickets, they weren't even making scores of 250 in each innings for way too long."

Healy added that the experienced seam-bowling pair were let down by the batters' second-innings effort:

"Now that they think they have got some stroke players, they are going to go away from the good work that Broad and Anderson have done for them. So they were let down by their batters getting starts and not enough going on with it."

None of the England batters scored a fifty in their second innings. Although all batters, barring Zak Crawley, reached the double-digit mark, Joe Root and Harry Brook's scores of 46 were the joint-best efforts.

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"I would be picking Jimmy Anderson again for Lord's" - Ian Healy

James Anderson picked up just a solitary wicket in the Edgbaston Test.

Ian Healy wants England to persist with James Anderson for the second Test at Lord's, reasoning:

"I would be picking Jimmy Anderson again for Lord's. Traditionally it's got a bit in it, early in the mornings as well as early in the match. So they should enjoy that more. He has had a good bowl, he is a man that does thrive on bowling and needs to keep going. Dropping him is not going to be any good for the future."

Healy concluded by opining that the veteran pacer can be rotated out for the third Test if he doesn't give an improved performance at Lord's, considering there isn't much gap between the second and the third Test.