Ian Botham has urged the England squad to play with more patience if they are to mount a comeback in the Ashes Down Under.
The former England all-rounder slammed Brendon McCullum’s side for surrendering the Perth Test from a strong position. He warned the visitors that a reluctance to mend their approach for the remainder of the Ashes would lead to a 5-0 whitewash against Australia.
“It (Perth) was horrendous, there's no other word for it,” Botham told PA News Agency.
"I'm sick of hearing, 'This is the way we play'. If I hear it once more, I think I'll throw something. If that's the way you play, you might as well go home now because it's going to be 5-0 to Australia. They probably won't like me saying that, but they need to get their heads around it. I want more pride when I see people pulling that sweater on.”
Botham’s comments come on the back of Ben Stokes’s defense of their approach. The England captain pointed out that it was their intent that enabled them to take a 40-run first-innings lead on a day where a total of 19 wickets fell.
“The way in which 19 wickets fell on day one, we were more proactive with our approach of scoring those runs, hence how we managed to come away with a 50-run lead. Obviously it would have been nice to have a bigger lead going into our last bowling innings, but we were very confident about our ability to keep Australia restricted to under 200 and win the game,” he said in the post-match press conference.
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How England squandered positions of dominance in the Perth Test
England squandered a good position twice in the Perth Test, which ended in just two days. They were decently placed at 160-5 in the first innings, with Harry Brook having completed his half-century and Jamie Smith for company.
However, a dramatic collapse saw them bowled out just 12 runs and 18 deliveries later. England bowlers made up for their batters’ shortcomings, restricting Australia to 132 on the back of a brilliant show of fast bowling, to give their side a 40-run lead.
They looked on course to set Australia a formidable target, entering lunch on Day 2 at 59-1, leading by almost 100 runs. But they let the advantage slip again to lose their remaining nine wickets in a little over 18 overs, adding just 105 to their total.
Travis Head, opening for Australia in Usman Khawaja’s stead, raced his way to an 83-ball 123 to finish the game in two days and hand the hosts a 1-0 lead.
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