Ashes: England surprised by Australia's pre-match handshake plan

Joe Root and Tim Paine at the toss on Day One. Pic/Getty Images

Birmingham: England captain Joe Root has been left frustrated as he discovered that pre-match player handshakes with his Australian counterpart Tim Paine are listed among the events before the Ashes opener at Edgbaston yesterday. In the aftermath of the Sandpaper Gate fiasco, Paine has looked to bring in the football inspired goodwill ritual at the start of every Test series his side plays as a way of rebuilding their image.

However, according to a report in The Guardian, Root and head coach Trevor Bayliss are understood to have been surprised during a meeting which took place on Wednesday with Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC match referee, when they saw it on the running order agreed by the two countries without being asked formally. Both Root and Bayliss told Madugalle they had not been consulted about the handshake ceremony, which will follow the playing of the national anthems. England ODI captain Eoin Morgan had no such complaints when the Australian skipper introduced it during last year's ODI series.

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