Questions continue to be asked of the overall culture prevalent in the England cricket team after their 4-1 humbling at the hands of Australia in the Ashes. There was a considerable gulf in quality between the two sides, with England playing almost no warm-up games in the run-up to the series and consequently being accused of slacking off between the Tests in terms of discipline. Fast bowling great James Anderson has said that he was puzzled with captain Ben Stokes appreciating the efforts of the players in his squad.
“When I saw Stokes come out and say, the way (Josh) Tongue and (Brydon) Carse have just run in like consistently, I had a Roy Keane moment,” said Anderson on BBC Radio. “I was like, that’s your job. If you’re not willing to run in all day for your team, don’t bother. You’re in the wrong sport.”
Anderson took the example of Australia pacer Mitchell Starc, who was player of the series for taking 31 wickets and even scoring 163 runs. “Starc, for me, was the absolute standout of the series. He bowled on Day 5 of the final Test as quick as he had bowled all series long. He was consistent with his speeds. But that is what you expect from all your bowlers. That is the standard. It always annoys me (when someone says) ‘can’t fault your efforts’. Well, the effort shouldn’t be a thing. It should just be in you.”
Stokes had said in the press conference after the fifth Test that England’s efforts in the Ashes can’t be questioned and that they lost due to shoddy execution. “We’ve dropped a lot of catches on this tour which have been very costly to the overall situation of the games. In terms up of stepping up, I can never fault anyone’s commitment or energy that they’ve given into this. We haven’t performed well, we know that, we hold our hands up to that. But no one should question the care and commitment to try and go out there and give it your absolute best. It’s just been down to the lack of execution,” Stokes said.
