James Anderson, a former England cricket player, acknowledged that he was perplexed by captain Ben Stokes applauding the players’ efforts in spite of England’s failings. After the England cricket team’s 4-1 Ashes series loss to Australia, concerns about the team’s general culture are still being voiced.
With England playing virtually no warm-up games in the lead-up to the series, there was a glaring disparity in skill between the two teams. As a result, the team was criticised for lacking focus and discipline in between tests. In order to illustrate the difference in preparation and performance between the two sides, Anderson also used the example of Mitchell Starc, an Australian fast bowler who won Player of the Series after taking 31 wickets and scoring 163 runs.
“I had a Roy Keane moment when I watched Stokes come out and say, ‘The way (Josh) Tongue and (Brydon) Carse have just ran in like consistently. That’s your job, I said. Don’t bother if you can’t put in a full day of work for your team.
According to Anderson on BBC Radio, “you’re in the wrong sport.”
In my opinion, Starc was the series’ clear highlight. On the fifth day of the last Test, he bowled as fast as he did throughout the entire series. He maintained a steady pace. But you expect all of your bowlers to do it. That’s the norm. When someone says, “can’t fault your efforts,” it always irritates me. Well, there shouldn’t be any effort. “It should simply be within you,” he continued.
During the press conference following the fifth Test, Stokes stated that the series was lost because of poor execution and that England’s Ashes efforts could not be questioned. Since the 2010–11 trip, England has failed to win an Ashes series in Australia.
The general state of the games has suffered greatly as a result of the several catches we’ve missed on this tour. Regarding stepping up, I can never criticise the dedication or effort put forward by anyone. We acknowledge and hold ourselves accountable for our poor performance. Nevertheless, nobody should doubt the effort and dedication to attempt to give it your all. “It’s simply a matter of poor execution,” Stokes stated.
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