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Throughout the 150-year history of Test cricket, there is a reason why successful batting has been built on strong defence, not cruising the pitch and passing fast on the bowling.
I’ve spoken to a number of former Australia players since the first Test ended. One problem they identified is the lack of accountability in the English system.
“This is how we play,” this is the slogan of this English team and it is one of its failures.
There needs to be some reflection on what happened in Perth, and looking at what happened in a mature way.
The shots Brook was playing were from the village team’s 11th. He needs to grow up. Compare Brooke with the brilliant roles of Travis Head. There is a big difference between recklessness and controlled aggression.
We discussed England’s limited preparation, but much of what we feared came true in the first Test.
When it was announced that England had just one warm-up match against the Lions, we could have predicted how wickets would fall in the first Test: edged by soaring deliveries outside off-stump by trying to play booming drives. Look what happened.
Much of the anger directed at England comes from the feeling that they don’t care. Fans see the way these English players go out and think it doesn’t matter to them.
I can say categorically that this is not true. Players care deeply. Following the test I saw Crowley in a café. He just got a pair, and only faced 11 balls in the game.
He looked absolutely miserable, sitting there like a man with a contagious disease. He certainly wasn’t having a good time, or playing 18 holes on the golf course.
The golf story is another one I can defend England from. When they train, they train hard. What are they supposed to do for the rest of the day? Sitting in hotel rooms watching Netflix? There’s nothing wrong with being outdoors, or doing something to take the mind off cricket.
England trails only 1-0. It would be crazy to write them off in this series. The only thing they can take from Perth is that they exposed some weaknesses in the Australian team.
But Stokes, McCullum and the rest have to pick themselves up and figure out the right way to go about things in Brisbane.
I once played in a one-day international at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where we lost by seven wickets. We went out in front of 85,000 people knowing we had been completely outdone. I never wanted to experience that feeling again.
The England team will have gone through the same thing in Perth, and must now be determined not to repeat it in Brisbane.
Score in GABA is vital. If England lose 2-0, jobs and careers will be at stake.
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