Five things we learned as England’s Ashes hopes turn to dust
Anti-doping officials have launched an investigation into the claims in The Daily Telegraph about Gatlin’s coach Dennis Mitchell and an agent, Robert Wagner.
The 35-year-old American sprint star, who has twice served bans for doping, said he had sacked Mitchell after hearing of the claims.
The report alleged Mitchell and Wagner offered to provide undercover reporters with false prescriptions for banned performance-enhancing substances and smuggle the drugs into the US. Both deny the allegations.
The claims are being investigated by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), set up this year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
LONDON: World 100 meters champion Justin Gatlin says he is “shocked and surprised” by allegations in a British newspaper that his coach and an athletics agent offered to sell performance-enhancing drugs to undercover reporters.
BANGALORE: English cricket fans who favor gallows humor — and there have been plenty of occasions for it in recent years — will point to progress. After all, it took Australia a full 15 days to regain the Ashes this time, as compared to the 14 they needed on their way to a 5-0 whitewash in 2013-14. Again, England had their moments. Again, Australia won the ones that mattered. We look at the five things we learned from Australia’s innings victory in Perth.
THE WORST NO.6 IN HISTORY?
When a sore shoulder ended his participation halfway through the series in India earlier this year, Australian tabloids ran a story which said that Mitchell Marsh was, statistically speaking, one of the worst No.6 batsmen in Test history, with just 473 runs at an average
Gatlin said on Instagram: “I was shocked and surprised to learn that my coach would have anything to do with even the appearance of these current accusations. I fired him as soon as I found out about this.”
He said he was “not using and have not used” performance-enhancing drugs.
He added: “All legal options are on the table as I will not allow others to lie about me like this.”
A spokesman for USADA said the report would be examined carefully.
“Investigations stemming from tips and whistleblowers play a critical role in anti-doping efforts,” a spokesman told the Telegraph.
“We are presently coordinating with the Athletics Integrity Unit in order to investigate these claims fully.”
IAAF President Sebastian Coe said the claims were concerning.
“These allegations are extremely serious and I know the independent Athletics Integrity Unit will investigate in accordance with its mandate,” Coe said.
That came even as the 2017 world champion, who beat Usain Bolt in the 100m final in London, had legal advisers release five years of official drugs tests that showed he was clean. of 19.7 from that position. It started off with the line: “Mitch Marsh fans (all three of you) look away now.” When he was called up for Perth, in preference to Peter Handscomb, the pre-match chatter focused once again on the old boys’ network, and how Geoff Marsh’s sons always got chances no one else did. Whatever the truth of that, Marsh the younger seized his opportunity with what could well be a career-defining innings. When he came to the crease with Australia still 155 behind, the game was still finely poised. By the time he exited, having contributed a whopping 181 to a 301-run stand with Steve Smith, Australia had nine fingers on the urn.
ENGLAND HAVE A NO.5
Perhaps the most important innings played by a cricketer representing England this century came from No.5 — Kevin Pietersen’s magnificent 158 at The Oval in 2005 that wrested back the Ashes after 16 years in Australian hands. The last Ashes series in Australia saw England draw a line under Pietersen’s career, and since then there have been a few games of musical chairs for middle-order batting places. But for the moment, England seem to have found a dependable No.5. Dawid Malan, who like Pietersen has South African roots, is already 30, but in the midst of a drubbing, he has shown both skill and fortitude that augur well for the days ahead. Having started the series with a half-century in Brisbane, he followed up with 140 and 54 in Perth. Unflustered against the Australian pace attack, he showed that he could defend and attack in equal measure. It was telling that England’s slide to defeat, in both Brisbane and Perth, began with his dismissal. Ever since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012, breaking up an opening partnership with Alastair Cook that had realized 5,253 runs and 14 century stands, England have searched in vain for someone to give Cook similar support. The scenario is rather different now.
Gatlin has long been a controversial figure after being banned for doping in 2001 for one year and in 2006 for four years.
His long-time agent, former sprint hurdler Renaldo Nehemiah, told the newspaper that Wagner had represented Gatlin only two to three times and that Gatlin was not present when banned substances were allegedly discussed with Mitchell or Wagner.
Mitchell and Wagner allegedly offered to supply and administer testosterone and human growth hormone for an actor training for a film on athletics at a price of $250,000, according to the report.
The newspaper said it began its investigation in July after hearing of agents and trainers involved in supplying drugs to athletes.
In a statement to the Telegraph, Mitchell said: “I never suggested in any way that any of my current athletes used any banned substances or that I was familiar with training any of my current athletes with those substances.”
Wagner told the paper: “I wasn’t involved in doping. Obviously I played along because I knew what was going on. I had to get them hooked.” Mark Stoneman has seen off 444 balls while grinding out 193 runs and two half-centuries in this series. Cook has faced just 215 — Smith saw off more than that on the third day in Perth — for an abysmal aggregate of 83 from six innings. He turns 33 on Christmas Day, and given that he managed just 246 as captain in 2013-14, it is not a stretch to imagine that this is the last time he will be on the hop down under. One of the highlights of Australia’s last home Ashes triumph was a peach of a delivery that Ryan Harris bowled to Cook in the second innings of the Perth Test. It slanted across him, straightened, and hit the top of off stump. This time, the magic ball at the WACA came from Mitchell Starc, bowling round the wicket to the well-set James Vince. Angled in toward his pads, it then shaped away to make a mess of the stumps. Wasim Akram, the most skillful left-arm pacer of them all, was moved to tweet: “That’s called a JAFFA! What a delivery @mstarc56 you reminded me of my bowling days and I enjoyed it to the hilt! You made left armers proud! @ CricketAus”. Such deliveries don’t always win matches, but they do invariably deflate those watching from the dressing room. Moeen Ali has taken 82 Test wickets in England, at a very decent average of 33.47. Once he goes past the emigration desk though, his fortunes nosedive. After 10 wickets at 48.5 in South Africa and 10 at 64.9 in India, Ali’s limitations have been cruelly exposed on the bone-hard surfaces in Australia. In 96 overs across the three Tests, he has managed three for 316. When Smith spoke of Malan’s leg-spin posing greater questions, he wasn’t just trying to score a psychological point or two. It was a fact. Battling a side strain and having suffered a finger injury in Brisbane, Moeen has been one of the biggest disappointments of this Ashes misadventure. With the urn now lost, expect Mason Crane to get his opportunity.