A bombshell report has levelled big claims against the English touring party for how it went about preparing and playing Australia in the Ashes series.
The train wreck five-Test series may go down as England’s worst in recent history, even more so than the whitewashes in 2006/07 and 2013/14.
Joe Root was given the opportunity on SEN Test Cricket after the fifth Test to reveal any backroom drama that had brought down the team’s morale and might explain such a failure on the field, the captain suggesting bubble life had got the better of the tourists.
However, the UK publication The Telegraph’s chief cricket writer Nick Hoult has gone deeper, levelling some damning accusations at both players and administrators over how the series unfolded, both in and out of the public eye.
COVID had initially hung over the players when England were forced to travel two squads to Australia and quarantine separately, which directly influenced their ability to prepare, according to Hoult.
He described the sole practice match England could organise as a “farce”; scoreboard failures, a lack of filming and players batting multiple times turned the game into one where no reasonable judgements could be made.
Selection was clearly difficult based off this for the first Test, however the English started with spinner Jack Leach.
As history will say, that was Leach’s worst match in Australia, potentially even of his career, as the Aussies came out with a plan and sent the finger-spinner home with figures of 1-102 off just 13 overs.
However, it should never have happened, according to Hoult. The English squad had reportedly agreed that England would be defensive with Leach, and would set the field accordingly.
They then couldn’t believe their eyes when Root brought the field up and attacked, Leach having no time to settle and few backup options as the Australian top order got stuck into him.
COVID continued to haunt the tour, particularly in Melbourne, when England arrived late at the MCG after testing due to a support member testing positive.
However, Hoult reveals players were forced to undergo a more extreme form of testing in Sydney, one where a swab is inserted through the nose and down the back of the throat in the same go. It was proposed as PCR tests were taking too long, but some players reportedly refused to undergo this method, leading to the “biggest row” between the players and management of the entire tour.
In another avenue for explanation of the team’s performance, it’s understood fitness levels for multiple players dropped while on the tour. So much so, one player refused to undergo a skin-fold test, accusing England of trying to “fat shame” him. Therefore, the test was never completed on that player.
Hoult also levels accusations at Ollie Robinson, who took 11 wickets this series. He says Robinson was dealing with a shoulder injury but still went to play golf in Hobart during a day off in the lead-up to the final Test. While the quick declared himself fit, Robinson bowled just eight overs on the first day before going off with back spasms, bowling coach Jon Lewis confirming later that night the 28-year-old needed to improve his fitness.
A “drinking culture” was also a problem inside the touring party, with Hoult stating it’s “certain” the ECB will bring back a midnight curfew when COVID bubbles go, due to being unable to trust the players.
Issues of senior players being left out of tactical discussions and one player learning he had been dropped after reading it in the press are just more reasons compounding England’s failures.
In summing up the concerns of the tour, Hoult also referenced the team meeting after the Adelaide Test, where English batters weren’t able to see out the final day.
As coach Chris Silverwood made the batters watch footage of their dismissals, exchanges became “heated” when parts of the squad squared off against each other in argument.
Jos Buttler reportedly told his teammates to “be patient” at the crease during that meeting, but then was dismissed holing out to deep square leg on the stroke of Tea in the fourth Test, sacrificing any hope of a partnership for that innings.
Ricky Ponting later labelled it “inexcusable”, while Allan Border described it as a “sackable offence” given the way the Test was at the time.
England has upcoming Test series against New Zealand and the West Indies, and will have to address all these issues and more if they are to be competitive.