Waugh weighs in on ‘weak’ defence
ALASTAIR Cook will retire an England legend but Mark Waugh’s condemnation for a “weak” demise against Australia in Adelaide is the bitter calling card of an unravelling Ashes defence.
The fragility of England’s batting without the insurance of Ben Stokes was exposed by the game’s most lethal attack in Adelaide.
Cook (37) was the best of a bad bunch in a calamitous first innings but the bar is set higher for England’s greatest runscorer and 149-Test linchpin.
“Cook would be disappointed because he played well ... but that dismissal was a weak dismissal for a good player,” national selector Waugh told Triple M.
If England was to retain the Ashes without star all-rounder Stokes then its skippers, immediate past and present – Cook and Root – have to stare down Australia’s attack this summer.
Cook is averaging 37 over 11 Tests in 12 months swelled by his double ton against the West Indies. Any deficiency against express pace was punished on a lively strip by Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood while bounce and purchase afforded to Nathan Lyon had England’s conga-line of left-handers second guessing.
England has taken on Australia with a pop gun attack while its batsmen can’t hang tough like Australia’s middle order. DAY 3, ADELAIDE OVAL A COOK c Smith b Lyon ............ 37 M STONEMAN lbw Starc ............ 18 J VINCE c Paine b Hazlewood ..... 2 J ROOT c Bancroft b Cummins .... 9 D MALAN c Paine b Cummins ... 19 M ALI c & b Lyon ...................... 25 J BAIRSTOW c & b Starc ........... 21 C WOAKES c & b Starc .............. 36 C OVERTON not out .................. 41 S BROAD c Paine b Lyon ............. 3 J ANDERSON lbw Lyon ................ 0 Sundries (15lb 1w) ..................... 16 29 (Stoneman), 31 (Vince), 50 (Root), 80 (Cook), 102 (Malan), 132 (Ali), 142 (Bairstow), 208 (Woakes), 227 (Broad), 227 (Anderson). M Starc 20-4-49-3, J Hazlewood 16-3-56-1, P Cummins 16-3-47-2 (1w), N Lyon 24.1-5-60-4. 330 mins. 76.1.