HOW WE TURNED IT ROUND AFTER 5-0 LOSS
With the Ashes now less than two weeks away, the nightmares of four years ago are being talked about more and more. We all know the Kevin Pietersen story, but a lot more went on behind the scenes when Australia whitewashed England for the second time in three home Ashes series.
The other 5-0 came in 2006/7. I was part of the squad who headed Down Under after that series for the triangular Commonwealth Bank series between ourselves, Australia and New Zealand, and we were very keen to turn the camp’s attitude around and make things positive, which we did – and won the tournament.
Morale was very low around the camp when we all got there and a number of players wanted some time away from cricket. There was a bit of time between the Tests and the one-dayers and those involved in the Tests were desperate to get away and get their minds off cricket for a little while.
It was about the new guys coming in fresh and with a revitalising passion in effect. All the focus was on the onedayers coming up. The new guys were doing their own stuff for a little while and when the Test guys joined we made sure the onus was on moving forward.
It was a funny old time because we were told to keep away from the Test guys for the first few days. Coach Duncan Fletcher didn’t want us to be affected by any negativity. He wanted to keep us fresh and vibrant, and that was crucial.
There were positives and negatives to keeping us away from them but, with England, it’s always an easy integration, so we didn’t lose out on anything there. We’d played against each other a lot of times, and saw each other on a regular occasion, so we weren’t real strangers.
We stayed relaxed and respected the guys needing a bit of space. Good teams do that, they respect each other for the right reasons. It definitely revitalised things and let the guys get a second wind for the ODIs. We could have easily been dragged down but we wanted to help everyone get over the Ashes.
The changing room stuck together. A lot has been said about what KP was like in the last tour Down Under, but he was one of the best trainers and was ultra-
Morale was very low around the camp when we got there. It was about guys coming in fresh with a revitalising effect
professional then. Freddie Flintoff was one of those struggling, and he got a Harley Davidson and just went on a road trip to get away from it all.
The other guys stayed training, and trained hard, but it was all about keeping the mentality right. There was no point stewing over what had happened. It had been a long tour for some of the guys and we wanted to end it on a high.
It was a different game and one that allowed a different mindset. We wanted the guys to take their anger and frustration into that series and express themselves.You want to prove your worth and value to yourself and your teammates.
That Australian side had dominated England for two months, and though there wasn’t a fear factor over facing them again, we knew it was going to be tough.
But it was all about the preparation. The new guys were fresh and Australia didn’t have that hold over them.
Michael Vaughan had come in to captain the ODI side having not been a part of the Ashes and just the fresh voices and mentality helped.
There was no point letting a series that had been and gone affect what was coming up.