Our batting in test matches has been crap for years. It's always been a case of if Root fails England fail. Crawley Duckett Pope Brook Smith all nowhere near good enough to win an away ashes. No idea what we have in coming through in the county game mind but our batting is as weak now as it was in the mid 90s.
Yep. Too many pre prepared plans. To me, it's mostly a matter of adjusting your style when others catch on. Teams were struggling with England's approach three years ago, including Australia. But they think and learn. As in football you can't always play the way you want to play. Even in this new phase, the best innings have been played after earning the right. We have forgotten that, though Stokes and Jacks showed how to bat today. It's like Southampton or Burnley, blindingly doing the same thing and getting tw***ed.
Well planning for this series has been really spot on! Those "has beens" ex England players may actually know what they're talking about. Going into a series as massive as this one with only net sessions and 1 practice match against the England reserves was arrogant at the best or seriously foolhardy at the worst. It would be like Sunderland preparing for the Premier League with training sessions and a game against the u21s before playing Man City or Arsenal. They haven't played proper cricket since the end of August or September whereas the Aussie players are in their domestic season. Their lack of preparation for the biggest series in cricket beggars belief!
The planning is very hard now mind. The States refuse to put up decent teams, and even practice is difficult. England were given sub standard net facilities in Perth. On top of that, there just isn't the time now. The calendar is chocka block with cricket. That said, we have not played to our best. Other teams have caught on, and are just pitching the ball up outside off and getting a lot of cheap wickets. Overall it is harder and harder to win away. Australia, by the time they come here next, will have went over twenty five years without winning here, often with markedly better sides. They won't win here next time either.
