Ashes 2013-14: Graham Onions ‘gutted’ at exclusion from England squad
Graham Onions was ignored by the England selectors for the Ashes trip in spite of his good domestic performance © Getty Images
Sep 23, 2013
Durham fast bowler Graham Onions has expressed his disappointment at being left out of England’s 17-man squad for the Ashes 2013-14 that was announced Monday.
Onions wrote the following on his Twitter account:
Disappointed is a understatement, absolutely gutted
— Graham Onions (@BunnyOnions) September 23, 2013
I know I can be immensely proud of my efforts & what Ive achieved this yr,I pride myself on my county performances & will keep doing that
— Graham Onions (@BunnyOnions) September 23, 2013
Onions, 31, took 66 wickets at 17.68 as Durham recently won their third County Championship title in six years. However, he has not played at Test level since June last year. Onions had made his Test debut in 2009 and had taken five wickets against the West Indies at Lord’s. He has since taken 32 Test wickets for England in sporadic appearances.
Onions was ignored by the England selectors for the Ashes trip in spite of his good domestic performance. Instead, the selectors went ahead with a pace attack comprising James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett, Boyd Rankin and all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan also expressed his surprise at Onions’s exclusion:
Very surprised @BunnyOnions hasn’t been included in the Ashes squad… I would have taken him instead of Tremlett…
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 23, 2013
Earlier, Durham coach Geoff Cook had said that Onions was unlucky to miss out on selection into the England team as they have enough pace bowling quality.