Bid for Ashes turning into a holiday from hell
ENGLAND’S Contiki Tour Down Under will come to a head in Perth this week, as the sorry tourists stare down the barrel of a third Ashes whitewash from their past four visits.
Former star Andrew Flintoff has admitted that their 5-0 embarrassment back in 2006-07 turned into a “booze cruise”, and now Joe Root’s team are fighting a similar culture and identity crisis with the series not even halfway over.
England has not won a Test in Perth for 40 years and their out-of-form players appear to have had a greater presence in local nightclubs this week than on the practice pitches, with Moeen Ali the only man participating in a tour match.
The selfish behaviour from Ben Stokes, Alex Hales, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Duckett has betrayed the trust of coach Trevor Bayliss.
Predecessor Andy Flower was axed after the 2013-14 whitewash, and now Bayliss could face similar scrutiny.
In the past six tours of Australia, England have won just five matches to Australia’s 20.
Three of those came in their against-the-odds 3-1 triumph in 2010-11.
Australian coach Darren Lehmann expressed sympathy for counterpart Bayliss and the predicament English cricket finds itself in.
“I’ve been through all that, so no, I don’t have a chuckle at that,” Lehmann said yesterday.
“You have those situations at various stages throughout your career. It’s not funny.
“It’s a case of actually making sure you’re trying the best you can to get your side prepared. For me, I don’t have a chuckle at any of that.”
Bayliss is leaning towards an unchanged line-up for Perth, but England’s issues run far deeper than what’s transpired on the pitch so far.