WE KNOW HOW YOU FEEL, JOE ...SICK
The skipper defied illness to try to save his team, but the Ashes are gone and the diagnosis is dire for English cricket’s future
JOE ROOT’S first Ashes campaign as skipper was a real sickener and his team could be in worse trouble than four years ago after losing the Ashes 4-0.
Technically the result might be one Test better than the whitewash in 201314 but the realisation England have been walloped and there was nothing they could do about it will be the bitterest pill to swallow.
Root was laid low by gastroenteritis and extreme dehydration, so despite re-entering the fray after a trip to hospital, he was fast asleep as the Aussies celebrated their Ashes success.
The skipper could not even share a final-Test handshake or drink with the opposition as he was whisked away in a car after sleeping through the afternoon collapse.
It was initially thought the harsh Sydney heat had caused his illness but Root’s son had been ill a few days earlier and could have passed it on.
With Root asleep in the dressing room, Australia took the nine wickets they needed to complete an utterly predictable win by an innings and 123 runs and bring an end to an utterly predictable series.
And this is why England fans should be worried. With the exception of Ben Stokes (right), excluded by his own actions, these players, these tactics, these strategies, and these coaches are the best England have. And they are not good enough.
Last time around, England were undone by a rampant Mitchell Johnson and their own infighting. They were a fine team imploding.
This time they have stuck together. They have fought as hard as they possibly could and they have not shirked a moment’s work, but it has not been good enough. England do not have the bowlers to cause opposition batsmen problems on flat pitches and do not have the batsmen capable of making the mammoth scores needed to win games away from home.
And they do not have enough players who can handle the intensity of the big occasion.
“I don’t know what we could have done differently,” admitted a resigned vice-captain James Anderson.
“You can do all the preparation you want. We’ve worked tirelessly in the nets. We’ve planned very well – meticulously – but you can’t prepare for being out in middle when the pressure is on. “When the crowd’s in and it’s that pressure situation. The only thing that can prepare you is being in it and we’ve not dealt with those pressure situations well with bat or ball. That’s been the difference in this series. “I don’t think the planning could have been better. It’s just the way we’ve performed on the field.”
It is unlikely there will be wholesale changes to the squad for the next assignment in New Zealand, but these are deep-rooted problems that have not been addressed over the last four winters where the only success has come when South Africa offered English conditions.
“It doesn’t feel like a series where there should be a big upheaval like other series which have been absolutely disastrous,” added Anderson. “It doesn’t feel like that, but I’m sure everyone will be looking at themselves in the mirror over the next few weeks.”