I have held off, but literally wtf. The hype, the knock-outs, the tension.
For three days in Brisbane we were holding our own. It was a fight. Then we threw it away.
With the Aussie press publishing lines like ‘Bore-Me Army’, you knew we are getting under their skins. That is where you need them. The Aussies are very quick to turn on their own, and that was the first sign.
It was sad to see such a huge loss (10 Wkts).
Waking to the Aussies having taken it from 209-4 overnight in Adelaide, to a total in excess of 400, I just thought ‘Shit’.
From McGrath saying, ‘9 times out of 10 you bat, and on the one time you are questioning it, question it again, and bat’; to Vaughan saying ‘Don’t look up, look down’; to Aggers commenting on the Ashes being eight days in and we are already possibly starring down a barrel, I am not filled with confidence.
Still, it’s time to put things right. We have not won in Perth since 1978 – and it is time to!
Forget the ‘headbutts’, forget the Canterbury debuts, this is a matter of pride, and England are in a desperate situation right now.
Everyone talks about always finding the positives – the English team just need to make their own. No ifs, no buts.