Legendary Glenn McGrath has slammed the England players for their lack of aggression in the ongoing Ashes series, saying he would prefer to see a close fight rather than political correctness in the final match.
For McGrath, the too much bromance between the England and Australian players, which he largely attributed to the IPL and the Big Bash, was taking away the passion needed while representing the country.
“It can be a little too good sometimes. That’s how things go, isn’t it? There’s a lot of political correctness. People are a little nervous about being aggressive and working hard,” McGrath was quoted as saying by the Cindy Morning Herald Huh.”
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“I remember, when Nasir Hussain came here with England, he was not even allowed to talk to us or say ‘G’day’.”
Australians are used to shortening long words, but McGrath is surprised to see nicknames floating around.
“Every time you hear one of the English or Australian players being interviewed, they use a nickname.
“Brody, Jimmy, Cage. I was asking the other day, ‘Who is Cage?’ ‘Oh, Alex Carey.’ They know each other a lot more than when we played.”
England are 0-2 down in the series but it did not show whether the host-bashing was causing any injuries. The England players were interacting well with the domestic players.
“It’s all about body language. How much does it mean to represent your country? England have to go back to the drawing board and think really well about it.”
“With IPL and Big Bash, these players know each other very well. You see batsmen and bowlers joking. I want to see some emotion in the middle.”
McGrath was ready to witness a spectacle in the middle.
“I would love to have one more fight there. Australia are not going to find their footing anymore with Pat Cummins coming back.
“James Anderson looks like he’s down on pace, and the ball isn’t swinging. It can get ugly very quickly.”
He urged the spectators to add some aggression to their game and suggested that they remove Mark Wood.
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“If you have someone who is bowling at over 150 km/h, you want to play him as often as possible,” he said. Ben Stokes is not looking good, so it was a big question for him to come to Adelaide and play the role of enforcer.
“He needed the wood. Any bowler with that much pace is rare. See what Jofra Archer did for Australia in 2019. It’s amazing not to use an out-and-out quick on a deck like Adelaide. Ollie Robinson will take the wicket. But he’s not going to drop teams, especially in Australian conditions.”
“…… He has to be more aggressive to turn things around. Ash is the ultimate for all of us. We only want to see a fight that is close.”
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