Glenn McGrath offered up some rare praise for the England cricket team from an Australian by saying there was a lot to like about their Bazballing attitude but added it was being held back by a severe lack of accountability.
The fast bowling legend said all of the Australians who were sceptical about England are being proved right.
Writing a column for the BBC, he said there were positive aspects to the aggressive style that England have adopted under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes since 2022.
“There is a lot I like about England’s attitude. I love it when sportspeople play without fear, because that helps them push the boundaries of what is possible,” he said.
“But I don’t like the idea that pressure or expectation needs to be removed. The great players thrive under pressure, and the best teams hold each other to account.”
McGrath said when was in the Australian team, he played under some hard taskmasters in Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and coach Bob Simpson.
“If someone stepped out of line, they were held accountable by the other players. If someone made a mistake on more than one occasion – which didn’t happen very often – they were told,” he added.
“We had some huge personalities – none bigger than the great Shane Warne – but we all felt that what we were doing was for the team and for each other. Matthew Hayden used to say we pulled together because of the love we had for each other, such was the amount of time we had as a group.
“That accountability, responsibility and adaptability all came together when we stepped on to the field as a team.”
England are presenting an entitled mindset with players getting extra time off before and after their second Test thrashing at the Gabba despite starting their Ashes campaign with a two-day flogging in Perth.
They are at long odds to win the next match which starts in Adelaide next Wednesday and given virtually no chance of getting up in the final three Tests to regain the Ashes.
Gus Atkinson. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out for the rest of the series with his knee injury while first drop Ollie Pope and seamer Gus Atkinson are set to be dropped for the Adelaide encounter.
“My concern for England was the message of ‘this is the way we play’ yielded a culture that lacks accountability,” McGrath added.
“It was almost that England had decided conditions had to adapt to them, rather than England adapting their game to suit the conditions.
“An Australia team should always think it can win every Test it plays, so for that reason this team should be thinking about winning 5-0.
“England will know they have no choice but to turn things around in Adelaide. If they don’t, then it really could be 5-0.”