But they can still have last laugh by beating Aussies in Adelaide
behaviour as an “unprovoked attack” on Bancroft, claims which the Australian laughed off yesterday.
The opener insisted there had been nothing malicious about the ‘greeting’ despite it being “weird”. The England camp said it was something Bairstow does with his rugby friends regularly.
Strauss confirmed there would be no disciplinary action taken against the wicketkeeper but that players had to take responsibility rather than face curfews and to be honest with you. And it worked with the way he got out, caught at third man playing a pretty ordinary stroke.
“We were just trying to get in his head, and it happened to work.”
The wider issue for England is whether Smith’s fast bowlers have got inside their booze bans for the duration of the tour.
He said: “I have clearly reminded Jonny Bairstow of his responsibilities as an England cricketer. I think that now he has obviously seen first hand how in an Ashes series, with a lot of noise and attention and interest, how small issues can become bigger issues.
“The players need to be smarter. That’s the reality. They are adults, intelligent adults, and at times they are not using that intelligence in heads after a predictably ferocious assault that swept away the tail and gave the main batters a difficult time, including Root who was hit on the helmet.
“They exploited the conditions very well,” said the England captain. “It was difficult on a two-paced wicket to know when to get under the ball. When it carries through if the bounce is true, it can be a lot easier to play sometimes.
“When it’s two-paced, knowing when to stand up and play it can be quite challenging and we got that slightly wrong. But it would be easy to fall into a trap of thinking it’s a big problem.
“We have to believe and trust in the work that we have been doing and backing ourselves and each other as a group.
“A lot of the time we played strong cricket. Guys made good starts and everyone proved that they can cope with these conditions and the right way.” Strauss emphasised: “They had security with them and nothing untoward happened at any time.”
But Bairstow’s behaviour has left coach Trevor Bayliss struggling to contain his exasperation at the “dumb decisions” England players continue to make.
Asked if he thought Stokes’ experiences might have prompted the players to be more careful, the Australian said: “That was what I thought after Bristol as well. their attack. It’s just about doing it for longer periods of time, when guys do it by going in and making big hundreds.”
Root was right to point out that England played some excellent cricket and got themselves into several strong positions in the match – notably at 246-4 in their first They’d be extra dumb and stupid if it didn’t.
“That’s the disappointing thing – we make dumb decisions. If you put yourself in that situation you are fair game.
“That night there was no curfew, and there was absolutely no malice in it. But we can’t put ourselves in these situations, however small they are.” innings only to collapse to 302, when Australia were 76-4 and 209-7 only to let them get a first-innings lead, then again at 155-5 in England’s second innings before crumbling to 195 all out.
Although they failed to convert those good positions, there are reasons for optimism going to Adelaide this weekend with a pink-ball, day-night Test expected to provide the lateral movement England need to unsettle the Australian batsmen.
Hard wickets, along with fast and short bowling, are right up Australia’s street – but even the mighty Smith will not be so comfortable if the swing of Jimmy Anderson under lights starts to move off a true line.
Root and Co need to wipe the smile from Australian faces, knock the swagger from their stride and level the series in South Australia. They also do not need any more off-field distractions for the remainder of this tour Down Under.