MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – England’s humiliating give up of the Ashes to Australia uncovered not solely a gulf at school between the 2 outdated rivals but additionally laid naked, in brutally emphatic vogue, the deep-seated issues in English check cricket.
The faint hope of a turnaround of their fortunes on this collection ended with them being scuttled out for 68 of their second innings and 14-run loss in Melbourne.
Australia have an insurmountable 3-0 lead after successful the opening check in Brisbane by 9 wickets and the second match in Adelaide by 275 runs.
It has been an abysmal 12 months in red-ball cricket for England, who misplaced 4 collection in a yr for the primary time — the crushing in Australia following dwelling losses to New Zealand and India, and a defeat at the beginning of the yr in India. Never earlier than have England misplaced 9 check matches in a calendar yr.
For all of the micro-debates that may rage about coach Chris Silverwood, choice choices, tactical approaches, Joe Root’s captaincy and the constraints of particular gamers, the large image is the one that may certainly be on the agenda for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has little question that check match cricket has slipped down the priorities in English cricket.
“They’ve not been focused enough on the test match team. The focus has been on the white-ball team and it delivered a World Cup. But we’re not a good enough cricketing nation to take our eye off the ball of test match cricket. We can’t just arrive and play,” he told Australia’s Fox Cricket.
Another former captain, Michael Atherton, believes that the structure of English cricket is to blame for the shocking results.
“Beyond questions of individual responsibility which cannot be avoided, it may be that this latest hammering brings pressure to bear upon systemic change,” Atherton wrote in The Times.
“The hollowing out of English first-class cricket, pushed to the margins of the season and sacrificed at the altar of one-day cricket, has resulted in a domestic standard that is routinely revealed to be sub-standard when players come to this part of the world. Over five tests, an Ashes series is partly a referendum on respective systems, and the result of this year’s is clear,” he added.
Root finds himself in an unenviable position with two tests remaining to be played and the team’s confidence already at rock bottom.
But the Yorkshireman also hinted at where the post-tour inquest is likely to focus.
“That [the domestic structure] is a long conversation that should probably be had at another time,” he said, before insisting the best players available had been selected for the tour.
Root acknowledged though that county cricket is not providing enough of a challenging testing ground for players expected to move into the pressure of the Ashes arena.
“With where the game is in our country right now, the only place you can really learn is in the hardest environment for what is a young batting group.
“They are having to learn here in the harshest environments. Maybe you look back at 2015 and the reset that happened in white-ball cricket and maybe that’s something that needs to be happening in our red-ball game.”
With so many business pursuits tied up within the one-day recreation, T20 and the brand new Hundred competitors, discovering the house and sources for such a reset will probably be simpler mentioned than performed.
“There’s loads of glitz and glamour and cash being thrown round within the white-ball recreation, however the check recreation is crucial format for cricketers, so I believe it needs to be given that focus,” mentioned former England batsman Jonathan Trott.
“Younger gamers should be coached how one can bat time and construct an innings, not simply what number of you’ll be able to rating off 10 balls.”
(Reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Peter Graff)
