Most of the problems facing England are likely to be solved by drawing inspiration from Australia’s team culture and how they enforce high standards both on and off the field.
England have managed to create an image problem, regarding how they are perceived by their own fans in the UK and elsewhere.
Here in Australia, Jon Lewis’ comments around their climate benefits and beach culture have given the opposition ample opportunity for mocking and media headlines, even when his team’s performances were doing that for them anyway.
But where has this negative perception come from?
After the World Cup win in 2017, there was a joy and sense of anticipation around women’s cricket in the UK that this triumph would be used as a springboard for success and growth, that the memory of a sold-out Lord’s would go down in history as a defining moment for the game’s new dawn.
Instead, progress has stalled and England have not won a trophy or an Ashes since, and when you are not winning and fans do not feel like they are getting value or the desired expectation from their team, they are rightly going to be asking why.
During the T20 World Cup in 2024, social media posts of England’s players enjoying a day off on a yacht in Dubai did not help their cause and Lewis subsequently admitted this was something his players were going to learn from.
Of course, days off are allowed, and enjoyment on tour is allowed.
But so is scrutiny – and England need to accept and handle the fact this is what comes with the territory now. If you are paid and treated as a professional, you will be held to account like one.
This all came to a head after the second T20 of this Ashes when spinner Ecclestone, the best bowler in the world, refused to do an interview with her former team-mate turned pundit, Alex Hartley, who was working for Australia’s Channel 7.
Hartley had criticised England’s fitness after the World Cup but did not name any players – so by refusing the interview, the subject was thrust into the limelight once again but this time, the team’s attitude and culture was entwined with it.
Media duties are part of a player’s job, whether they enjoy doing them or not.
It is almost impossible to imagine an Australian player acting in the same way because – and this is the important point – their culture would not allow it.
They hold themselves to the highest standard in every aspect of cricket duty on and off the field, so while it was Ecclestone’s refusal, the England management are also culpable because they enabled it.
#Womens #Ashes #Losing #good #England
