‘Twice as many players who do the same thing’: England finally admits the truth

Endless discussion about England’s Bazball approach and then the Jonny Bairstow controversy has distracted the Poms from a cold reality.

England has finally been forced to admit the truth after the Jonny Bairstow controversy. Pictures: Getty

The Barmy Army didn’t enjoy listening to it, but two former players finally had an honest conversation about the current England cricket team after all the drama of the Second Test.

Andrew Strauss and Eoin Morgan, two of their country’s more successful captains, were trying to make sense of what they’d seen on a wild day five at Lord’s when they finally admitted the truth.

After two matches of extreme overanalysis of Bazball and then 48 hours of mayhem as Mitchell Starc’s non-catch and Alex Carey’s stumping of Jonny Bairstow ignited the cricket world, Strauss and Morgan were honest about the real reason Australia is up 2-0 in the series.

It wasn’t because the visitors had cheated. Nor was it about England’s ultra-aggressive, or depending on which way you look at it, reckless approach — which saw them declare their first innings at Edgbaston and then go down swinging in their first dig at Lord’s.

Australia, the World Test champions, are just a better cricket team.

Pat Cummins’ men haven’t exactly had things go their way as they attempt to become the first Australian team to win the Ashes on foreign soil since 2001.

They’ve lost both tosses. Played on pitches prepared to suit England’s batters. Regularly had the worst of the weather conditions – and faced two of the most hostile crowds they’ve probably ever played in front of.

And still they head to Headingley one win away from glory.

Ben Stokes just doesn’t have as many weapons at his disposal as Pat Cummins. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Whether it was day five at Edgbaston or day one at Lord’s, England’s bowlers haven’t been able to get the job done.

Their batsmen have been better, but left runs on the table in both first innings.

“(Australia is) 2-0 up and (it’s) thoroughly deserved, quite frankly,” Strauss said on Sky Sports.

“England won a very important toss (at Lord’s) and were completely anonymous with the ball on that first day when the pitch was green and there was a lot of movement.

“Australia did very well to get through that first session and from that moment onwards they were always in front in the Test match.

“England will kick themselves they were 1/188 at one point in their first innings and weren’t able to capitalise on that.

“But Australia have the better team. The better-balanced team.

“It’s worth bearing in mind that Nathan Lyon didn’t bowl for the last innings and a half in the game, so Australia were significantly handicapped but they were still comfortably the better team.”

“Australia have done things the hard way – particularly in this game,” Morgan added. “England have thrown absolutely everything at them, but Australia – for the first two games – have been superior both in method and skill and pure determination.

“We have Ben Stokes and Joe Root who continue to step up (but) they have twice as many players who do the same thing, none more so than their skipper, Pat Cummins. He just continues to get big wickets in key moments in the game and you just have to say well-played.”

Ben Stokes and Steve Smith - the two century makers from Lord’s. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Cummins also stood up when it counted with the bat to win the First Test.

No one was blaming the English tail at Lord’s but it’s worth comparing the situation they were in after Stokes departed – seven wickets down with 70 runs required to win – with where Australia was on the last day in Birmingham.

Australia needed 54 runs with just its bowlers to do the job and did it without losing another wicket.

That’s the kind of “skill and pure determination” Morgan is talking about. Another England skipper, Mike Atherton, also noted the difference in how the England bowlers took on the task.

“When (Stokes) was dismissed in the 73rd over England were still 70 runs short of their target and all the belief seemed to drain from them in an instant,” Atherton wrote in The Australian.

The Aussies won’t be resting on their laurels after victory margins as slim as two wickets and 43 runs, but they’ll also be thinking about turning the screws if some of the factors outside of their control go their way in the upcoming matches.

But we’ll leave it to a neutral to have the final say. Indian batsman Virat Kohli was in awe of Stokes’ innings in the Second Test but after losing the World Test Championship final to Australia last month has no doubt about who the best side in cricket is.

“I wasn’t joking about calling Ben Stokes the most competitive bloke I’ve played against,” Kohli tweeted. “Innings of the highest quality but Australia is too good at the moment.”