Former England captains Sir Alastair Cook and Michael Atherton slammed the national team’s performance in the recent Ashes 2021-22 which they lost 4-0 to Australia in embarrassing fashion. They were particularly hard on England’s collapse from 68/0 to 124 all out while chasing 271 in the fifth and final Test in Hobart.
Australia crushed England by 146 runs with two days to spare in the day-night test in Hobart, as England was competitive in only a handful of sessions over the five Test matches. However, Atherton and Cook couldn’t digest the collapse in which they lost 10 wickets for 56 runs in Hobart.
“That was very tough viewing, that has to be our rock bottom, there cannot be a worse place than getting bowled out in an hour and a half. The conditions are tough and some good bowling, but there was no resilience there.
That’s the biggest shock as a batter and a professional who plays cricket … once they lose one or two, no one steps up and stops the slide. We need to look at everything, start rebuilding this test team. No stone can be left unturned as it has to be better,” Cook said on BT Sport.
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England suffered heavy defeats in Brisbane (9 wickets), Adelaide (275 runs), and Melbourne (innings and 14 runs) before salvaging a draw in Sydney.
Mike Atherton agreed that an overhaul of the England management was needed after another “utterly abject, humiliating collapse” even as Root said he would like to remain captain, calling himself the right man to lead the team.
“England have not mastered the art of batting, not by a long way, but they have mastered the art of the collapse. Root is an outstanding man, a brilliant batsman but a captain who has run his race. Beforehand, he said this tour would define his captaincy and here we are,” Atherton wrote in his column for The Times.
Furthermore, Atherton slammed coach Chris Silverwood and managing director of men’s cricket, Ashley Giles.
“There is no way, surely, that Silverwood can continue as head coach and selector after this, and no way that Giles should continue as managing director of men’s cricket, either, given the decisions he has made,” he said.
(Reuters inputs)
