Source: Radio New Zealand
England captain Ben Stokes is under the spotlight, after England’s batters failed to bide their time in the opening Ashes test. AAP / Photosport
A chorus of former England cricket stars have torn into the current ‘Bazball’ side, after the team suffered an embarrassing Ashes test defeat in Perth inside just two days.
Long-time commentator and former test opener Geoffrey Boycott has unleashed a scathing column in the The Telegraph, declaring he could no longer take the team seriously, after Australia won by eight wickets.
He labelled the Ben Stokes-led and Brendon McCullum-coached side “stupid”, and dismissed their batting as utterly “brainless”.
England was on top for most of the first four sessions, but lost control with a batting collapse after lunch on day two.
“They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble,” Boycott said.
Ex-captain Michael Vaughan, who captained the side in the 2000s, didn’t hold back either.
He accused England of repeating the very mistakes that haunted them in the last Ashes series two year ago.
Now part of Australia’s Fox Cricket commentary team, alongside Australian counterparts Mark Waugh, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist, Vaughan was quick to underline the gravity of the defeat.
“It disappoints me hugely,” Vaughan told Fox Sports.
“We’ve been saying we want Bazball with brains, but the brains haven’t arrived,” he told the BBC.
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Recent former England pace-bowler Stuart Broad’s internal agony in the Channel 7 commentary box went viral, after ex-skipper Joe Root became the third England batter to fall in just six deliveries on day two.
Arms tightly crossed and eyes squeezed shut, Broad pinched his nose and drew a long, pained breath, as Mitchell Starc claimed another wicket.
The moment prompted co-commentator and former Australian test batter Matthew Hayden to cheekily remind Broad to “stay in the commentary box”.
England allrounder and legend Sir Ian Botham weighed in before the series.
The former captain told Reuters he was unimpressed with the England’s preparations, which included whiteball cricket in New Zealand, arguing touring sides traditionally needed time to acclimatise to Australian conditions.
“It’s not the way I would prepare,” Botham told reporters in Australia. “The ball does seems to get to you quicker [in Perth] and the light’s different.
“You’ve got the ‘Fremantle Doctor’ – there’s all kinds of things go into the melting pot.”
Stokes, McCullum and the England players will have a chance to prove the critics wrong in the second test, which begins on 4 December at Brisbane’s Gabba.
Meanwhile, Stokes reacted to the defeat, admitting he was “a little bit shellshocked”, after Australian hero Travis Head wrestled Australia out of a tough spot to claim victory.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
