In the last 10 Ashes tests in Australia England have won only 8 matches. That is 8 matches out of 50 matches played with Australia having won 33 of those games. Winning a cricket test series in Australia is not easy and it takes a special team to pull this off.
Earlier today Australia wrapped up the second ashes test against England by 8 wickets and was the same winning margin as the first test played just over a week ago. The Ashes is a 5 test match series with the record losing the Ashes being 11 days of cricket.
A cricket test match has 5 days in order to get a result and a high percentage of them tend to end up being drawn. The difficulty is normally the pitch condition and the ability to take 20 wickets to win a match. Weather can also play it's part with time lost through rain. England have lost two test matches within 6 days and in order to not break the record have to somehow last into the 5th day of their next game.
Some ex players who happen to be English legends of the sport have come out criticizing the preparation of the team only to be called "has beens" by the England captain. The England coach today said he thought his team had over prepared for the matches and felt the team needed more down time.
Why when everyone else can see what is wrong those in the England camp cannot and it is like they are living in their own fantasy land bubble. The reality is the team is definitely not ready and they have had years to prepare and make sure they are fully prepared. The team is staring at a humiliating 5-0 whitewash if they do not change their attitude and tactics.
The one sad thing is the British media build teams into thinking they are better than they are into an invincible type mentality and then when things unfold attack them relentlessly demanding heads roll. The media are in this to sell news papers and the public like to hear how great their team is when clearly they are not and everyone believes the press until the press turns on them. This is replicated in all English sport whether it is football, rugby or cricket. England is not that good at sport in general so you cannot blame the press for giving hope when there is no hope.
Who can forget the 2019 Rugby World Cup final when England truly believed they were going to win and all they needed was to turn up. Being successful in sport or a large part of being successful is in the mind and positive thinking, but that does not mean you slacken off with your preparations. The saying if you fail to prepare you prepare to fail is exactly what we have seen with English cricket.
This 2nd test match that England just lost was a pink ball game meaning instead of the red ball the ball would be bright pink. The game instead of being played during daylight hours would start in the late afternoon and be played under flood lights. These are not normal conditions and the coaching staff opted not to have a practice match under these conditions. Arrogance is a word that has been thrown around and this is the case with this team.
The first test match was over within 2 days and the strange part is England were at one point ahead in that game. This 2nd test match they also had opportunities yet failed to see them. The Australian team is not the best team they have had with a few key players missing who will be ready to play in the 3rd test.
England play an attacking brand of cricket nick names "Baz ball" and when it works it is great and when it does not they look stupid. In any sport there is times when you defend and times when you attack depending on the circumstances and conditions. England do not have an off switch and if they continue in this manner they will be shown their weakness which is their attacking attitude. Watching this drama play out has been more entertaining than the cricket and is a comedy of errors being played out in real life.