Former spinner Alex Hartley feels like she has been “hung out to dry” and given the “cold shoulder” by some England players and coaches during the Women’s Ashes after comments over the squad’s fitness.
The 31-year-old, part of the England side which won the 50-over World Cup in 2017, had questioned the fitness levels of some of the T20 World Cup squad last October after Heather Knight’s side suffered an unexpected group-stage exit in Dubai.
Hartley, who retired as a player in 2023, is currently working as a pundit for the BBC and other television networks in Australia covering the Women’s Ashes – which the dominant hosts retained after a comfortable victory in the first T20 international in Sydney on Monday gave them an unassailable lead after winning the ODI series 3-0.
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England slumped to a 57-run defeat at the SCG, and Hartley claimed she had been refused an interview with former team-mate Sophie Ecclestone during the T20 game.
Hartley told the BBC’s Test Match Special podcast: “I’ve been hung out to dry by the England team. None of them will talk to me on the boundary edge.
“The reason I said that England were not as fit as Australia is because I want them to compete with Australia, I want them to be better than Australia and I want them to win Ashes and World Cups.
“I’ve given my opinion and I’ve been given the cold shoulder from the England team ever since.
“Not all of them have given me the cold shoulder, some of the players have been absolutely outstanding, I’ve spoken to them in the street, at the ground…but a few individuals, coaches, players, they literally haven’t looked at me and (Sophie) Ecclestone refused to do an interview with me.
“I’ve upset them clearly.”
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In a social media post on Tuesday, Hartley said while the issue had not impacted on some of her friendships within the squad, she was left “shocked and surprised” by the response of others.
“To be clear, there are some members of the England team who have been really disappointing, but by no means all,” Hartley wrote on X.
“For some, friendships remain unchanged. For others, I’ve been shocked and surprised by their response.”
The England and Wales Cricket Board has been contacted for comment by the PA news agency.