Former Australian fast bowler weighs in on the state of English cricket.
Glenn McGrath said England’s inability to adapt to the changing situation of a Test match was the key reason why they lost in their last start against Sri Lanka.
Debate continues to rage in England as the “new era” of the national side, following their 5-0 hammering to Australia in the winter, got off to a bad start against Sri Lanka.
Following damming comments by Shane Warne, McGrath said Cook needs to be more aggressive or proactive or risk seeing the team slide further from the recent great heights they enjoyed.
“I like Cooky, and I have a lot of respect for him,” McGrath said.
“But England are fairly set in their ways.
“They seem to have plan A and then plan B is nearly non-existent – it’s stand back and wait for the opposition to make a mistake.
“I think in this day and age you have to be a little bit more innovative and think on your feet a little bit more.”
McGrath said if England could have put their foot on the throats of the Sri Lankan’s mid-way through the latest Test, the heartbreaking result would not have come to fruition.
They allowed the Sri Lankans to get too many on the board in that second dig and, if you go five down for 50 or 60, you’re really behind the eight ball,” he said.
“For it to go down to the wire like that is heart-breaking for the English.”
Unlike Warne, who called for Cook to step aside from the captain’s job if he could not or would not change his ways, McGrath said the English batsman could pull his side out of its spiraling form but suggested their upcoming series against India could make or break his career.
“It will be interesting to see what happens between now and the start of the India series,” said McGrath.
“Because that’s a big one for them.
“They’ll want to turn things around and start playing some better cricket.
“Whether that’s with Cooky as captain or somebody else taking over the reins.
“I’ve always said, you replace a captain if he steps down or if there’s someone better to replace him with.
“If there’s no one that’s going to do a better job, and he’s happy to do it, then the captaincy should stay with him.”
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