My Ashes Cricket Verdict/Rant

Sports - Cricket - Ashes - AUS 4:0 ENG

I realised I haven't done a cricket blog in yonks, so, here we go, here is my little opinion/rant about the last couple of miserable months for England Down Under. (I'm not on about the ODI series that started last weekend obviously, but good old test match cricket.)

Yep, Australia thrashed England to regain the Ashes, and they did so in style, 4-0, whilst the visitors just crumbled to bits again and again, the one draw being the only thing/straws they can clutch onto.

It surprised everyone, despite England not being anywhere near their best, but before the tour Australia looked nowhere near quality and experienced enough to win as strong, confident and comfortable as they did:

First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets

Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs

Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs

Fourth Test, Melbourne: Draw

Fifth Test, Sydney: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs

Here are factors I blame most for this:

The captain

Joe Root is just not good enough. Or rather, he is just too nice/naive. Not ruthless and decisive enough. The skipper just gets starts but no breakthroughs and most of the time it is too late by the time he gets on, the hole is too deep for him to dig England out of alone. The calls he makes in general fielding and other decisions like bowlers, nightwatchmen and follow-ons have just been blatantly and utterly wrong. Clueless. Shambles. All of us ending up scratching our heads.

The coach

The way players fell and fell again, not learning from their mistakes, you know something is wrong, not just with them, but their teachers/instructors/trainers as well. Trevor Bayliss has announced he will step down as England coach next year... 2019?! Too little too late! It's odd to give such long notice, leaving everything and everyone in a bit of a limbo. And what about a bowling coach??? That position's vacant since Ottis Gibson left last summer. If changes are not made where changes are needed, or holes are left, how can one expect improvement?! (And as I was writing and editing this article, Chris Silverwood has taken over and started his job as bowling coach this week. Good luck!!! He'll need it, plus a lot of patience!)

The selectors

Why do they always stick to the same line-up, when they are clearly/obviously/surely past their best and there are better/more in form/confident players out there?! Alastair Cook as an opener fell cheaply too many times, his double century in Melbourne was too little too late. James Anderson is the oldest but was the only bowler who really turned up and made a fight out of it, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes proving expensive at 50 runs per wicket and Moeen Ali just useless with both bat and ball. It was painful to watch at times.

The general mentality

From the start, England made all the wrong headlines, distracting and destroying any kind of team confidence and spirit. From Ben Stokes' Bristol nightclub brawl that saw him excluded from the tour, Ben Duckett's drink pouring episode over/with Anderson, to the Jonny Bairstow headbutt saga, England have been just all over the place, in bits, shattered it seemed. No discipline. No respect. Something I thought cricket always prided itself with over other sports like football where those kind of problems have been/are more common.

Team and man of the tournament

Australia just showed England how it's done, Pat Cummins (23 wickets), Mitchell Starc (my personal pick after taking 22 wickets despite missing the fourth test due to injury) and Josh Hazlewood (21 wickets) with the ball, man of the series Steve Smith with the bat and decisive captaincy. Exemplary. Consistent. Bang on. When it mattered most. Legendary? Only time will tell. But the Aussies can be very happy with themselves after this tournament.

With the ODI tournament England can and have hit out and get a bit of revenge. But it's the test match cricket they are not allowed to neglect and forget as they seemed to have done over the last months. I am worried. Very worried.

Click here for my previous cricket blog - yep, 2011, that's how long ago that was! Told ye! A wonderful year, the one where we won Down Under!!! #Memories

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC website, their Ashes and general cricket news and coverage.