Atherton's comments came amid Australian batters' struggle in the ongoing India tour.
“No active Australian player knows what it is like to win in England,” Atherton wrote at The Chronicle.
Notably, Australia last won a Test series in England way back in 2001. While they retained the Ashes in 2019, the series ended in a 2-2 draw.
Atherton started by quoting Pat Cummins and Steve Smith. Before the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Cummins had said winning in India is “rarer than Ashes win … It will be a career highlight, an era-defining success if we win out there”.
On the other hand, Smith had said: “If you win in India, it is bigger than an Ashes win.”
However, Atherton wondered how the present Australian players would know since they haven’t tested success in either India or England.
“These comments prompt the question: how would they know?” Atherton wrote.
“Winning has eluded them since 2001, when they brought an indisputably great team full of names for the ages such as Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath. Since then, nothing.”
Atherton then talked about Australia’s plight in India, where they haven’t won a Test series since 2004.
“Mind you, they don’t know what it is like to win in India either, where they have fared even worse … They have won one Test there since the beginning of 2005.”
He also labelled the Australian batters as “homesick travellers”, citing that they are only comfortable against Kookaburra balls on flat pitches.
“Australian batsmen have often given the impression of being homesick travellers, happiest against Kookaburra balls on flat pitches, and far less certain when conditions offer swing, seam or spin,” Atherton further wrote.
“To a greater or lesser degree, all cricketers are products of their environment, which means a moving ball is like kryptonite to Australian batsmen, reared on hard pitches where they can play early and hit through the line of the ball with freedom.”
He gave the example of veteran Australia opener David Warner to validate his point.
“To watch David Warner fret in the second innings at Nagpur, unsure whether to stick or twist, was to be reminded of the difficulties of adapting for even the best players, of which Warner is undoubtedly one. He averages 26 in England and 22 in India, compared with his Test average of 58 at home.”
(The Indian Express Inputs)