‘Don’t be stupid in Ashes’, England boss warns players
Glenn Moore |
From David Gower ‘buzzing’ a warm-up match against Queensland in a Tiger Moth biplane in 1993 to Ben Duckett pouring a drink over James Anderson in a Perth bar in 2017 England cricketers have made a habit of attracting the wrong headlines on Ashes tours.
This tour will be different, at least that’s what England supremo Rob Key hopes.
The England managing director has warned players they must be “smart” and “not get caught doing stupid things” once they arrive on Australian shores in November.
The spotlight will be firmly on the tourists and, having been part of the Ashes tour in 2002-03, former England batter Key knows first hand just how intense the glare is likely to be.
“They have got to be smart, right?” Key said on the For The Love Of Cricket podcast.
“I hope they are all listening to this, players, because it saves me sending a WhatsApp or an email and telling them, ‘You have got to be smart’, because when they get there they are not going to be anonymous.”
Key added: “I remember in 2002, Nasser Hussain doing the first press conference saying, ‘We have got to catch all our catches, we can’t afford to be having to make 15, 20 opportunities an innings’, which is absolutely right.
“The next day at practice, the West Australian newspaper had pictures of John Crawley dropping a catch.
“Our players need to be smart and not get caught doing stupid things and just be aware that this is going to potentially be one of the best series of all time.
“It is going to be compelling viewing and with that comes an interest that is great for the game.”
Gower and teammate John Morris were nearly sent home after their escapade in Carrera, before cooler heads prevailed.
Current opener Duckett, then of the England Lions, was sent home after his misdemeanour, which was compounded by it being the players’ first night allowed out after a midnight curfew imposed following Jonny Bairstow being accused of “headbutting” Australia batter Cameron Bancroft in the same Perth bar.
Duckett has subsequently explained the incident was a lighthearted tit-for-tat which began with Anderson pouring a drink on him and being invited to respond.
But when it made headlines, he told the The Final Word podcast last year, as a young player trying to break into the team he felt he could hardly blame an acclaimed senior player, and besides “people didn’t really want to hear me”.
Duckett added, “It was a really, really tough time. People look back and it’s probably funny and stuff like that. But when you’re in Australia and you’re being told you can’t go to training, you can’t play – it’s a lonely place for a 22-year-old.
“And being in Australia, you’re not getting much sympathy from any anyone out there, are you? It was one of those things where… it feels like your world’s ending.”
He added that in retrospect the resilience it engendered has helped in the long run, and the experience made him hungrier to keep his England place, but if Key needs someone to highlight the dangers of men behaving badly on tour he has the perfect witness in the squad.
AAP
