Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
From the moment England touched down, the Aussies have shown a lack of respect. Accusing Jimmy of ball tampering is the final insult
SOME of the headlines after the picture of Jimmy Anderson cleaning the ball in the second innings of the MCG Test have baffled me.
And the tweet by Cricket Australia suggesting that he might have a question or two to answer just made me plain angry.
It’s embarrassing for a governing body to put out something like that.
I find it unbelievable.
The fact is that there are so many cameras around the grounds now that you would have to be mad to try and tamper with the ball.
And to cast aspersions on a bowler who has taken over 500 Test wickets is massively disrespectful.
Mind you, given everything the Aussies have done so far on this tour, I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. The umpires had already assured Trevor Bayliss that Jimmy (right) had done nothing wrong but, again, it’s just another example of Australia trying to create some drama and controversy around this England side.
That’s pretty much what they’ve done since the incident involving Ben Stokes in Bristol back in September.
England haven’t helped themselves at times, but the Aussies have taken Pommy bashing to a whole new level. To be honest, I’m pretty tired of it. The Aussies have always been that way – they like mind games and they like to impose themselves off the field as well as on it. But some of the tactics that have been used have been ridiculous.
For me, cricket is all about respect. But just look at what Nathan Lyon said at the start of the series – what kind of message is that sending out to the kids who are watching, not just in England but in Australia, too. That can’t be right.
Respect is something that me and my teammates always believed in during my time with England, both on and off the field.
Yes, things can get heated in Test cricket, that’s just the nature of the sport, but that doesn’t mean that you carry it off the field as well.
Maybe things have changed since I retired, but I would hope that England still hold those kind of values dear.
On the pitch, it’s obviously great that we’ve not lost a Test in Australia for the first time in nine matches going back to January 2011. It’s also brilliant that Alastair Cook showed his class with a fantastic innings of 244 not out.
I said last week that he would prove everyone wrong and he has. And I’m delighted for him.
I’m not so pleased about the massive workload that Stuart
Broad and Jimmy have had to shoulder in this series, though.
The fact Moeen Ali has been struggling so badly means that they’ve bowled a huge number of overs and that can really take it out of you as a bowler.
It has been a very tough series for both of them, but they were both superb in the first innings in Melbourne.
Again, though, some of the criticism that Broady has received has been way over the top. You’re talking about a guy with nearly 400 Test wickets and, like Cookie [Alastair Cook], I’ve never had any doubts that he’s still up there with the best in the world. You can’t say that about Moeen at the moment, but he’s clearly still feeling that injury.
I’ve got no doubts about him long-term, but I think the time has come for Mason Crane to be given a shot.
He should really have played in Melbourne, but he has to in Sydney. If he does I’m sure he’ll do well.
Hopefully, in an England win that will put a bit of gloss on a series most of us would rather forget.