‘England cannot hide Ashes truth’

BATTING great Geoffrey Boycott labelled England “false” for attempting to play down the gulf in class with Australia as a postmortem began following their chastening 4-0 Ashes defeat.

The home side ruthlessly finished off England in Sydney yesterday – their fourth comprehensive win of a one-sided series, including two innings victories and a 10-wicket win.

Several England players and coaches have repeatedly stressed in recent weeks that the main difference between the sides is that Australia have seized the crucial moments.

But Boycott said the series result was a fair reflection of the gap between the two teams, with most of the standout performances coming from the home side.

“I think it is a little false by a number of the England players to say at times they were quite close,” he said.

“Quite honestly they were far better than us.”

Boycott compared test cricket to chess and said England, and in particular the batsmen, were at times guilty of a Twenty20 mindset.

“I think a lot of people over the last 10 years, since the IPL [started] in India, are saturated and have it in their head about scoring rates.

“Test cricket is not that, it’s like 11 people in whites playing chess.”

Former England captain Michael Atherton, writing in the Times newspaper, said this series was one-sided, but the mood did not feel as desperate as in 2013-14.

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said Australia had set the tone for the series in the first test in Brisbane, bemoaning England’s lack of preparation. – AFP