Ashes: IPL, Big Bash have dented competitive edge among players, rues McGrath

For
McGrath,
too
much
bromance
between
England
and
Australian
players,
which
he
largely
attributed
to
IPL
and
Big
Bash,
was
taking
away
the
required
passion
while
representing
the
country.

“It
can
be
a
little
bit
too
nice
sometimes.
That’s
the
way
everything’s
going,
isn’t
it?
There’s
a
lot
of
political
correctness.
People
are
a
bit
nervous
about
being
aggressive
and
playing
hard,”
McGrath
was
quoted
as
saying
by
Syndey
Morning
Herald.

“I
remember,
when
Nasser
Hussain
came
out
here
with
England,
they
weren’t
even
allowed
to
talk
to
us
or
say
‘G’day’.”

The
Australians
have
this
habit
of
shortening
the
longer
words
but
McGrath
is
aghast
to
see
the
nick
names
floating
around.

“Every
time
you
hear
one
of
the
English
or
Australian
players
interviewed,
they
use
a
nickname.
“Broady,
Jimmy,
Kez.
I
was
asking
the
other
day,
‘Who’s
Kez?’
‘Oh,
Alex
Carey.’

They’re
a
lot
more
familiar
with
each
other
than
we
were
when
I
played.”

England
are
down
0-2
in
the
series
but
it
did
not
show
if
the
bashing
by
the
hosts
was
causing
any
hurt.
The
England
players
were
chatting
around
nicely
with
the
home
players.

“It’s
all
about
body
language.
How
much
does
it
mean,
representing
your
country?
England
have
to
go
back
to
the
drawing
board
and
have
a
real
good
think
about
this.

“With
the
IPL
and
the
Big
Bash,
these
players
know
one
another
well.
You
see
batsmen
and
bowlers
joking
around.
I’d
like
to
see
some
emotion
out
in
the
middle.”

McGrath
was
all
for
a
spectacle
out
there
in
the
middle.
“I’d
love
there
to
be
more
of
a
battle.
Australia
aren’t
going
to
take
their
foot
off
the
throttle,
now
that
they
have
Pat
Cummins
coming
back.

“James
Anderson
looks
like
he’s
down
on
pace,
and
the
ball’s
not
swinging.
This
could
get
pretty
ugly
very
quickly.”

He
urged
the
visitors
to
add
some
aggression
to
their
game
and
suggested
that
they
unleash
Mark
Wood.

“If
you’ve
got
someone
bowling
over
150
km/h,
you
want
to
play
him
as
often
as
you
can.
Ben
Stokes
hasn’t
looked
good,
so
for
him
to
come
out
in
Adelaide
and
play
the
enforcer
role
was
a
big
ask.

“They
needed
Wood.
Any
bowler
with
that
speed
is
a
rarity.
Look
at
what
Jofra
Archer
did
to
Australia
in
2019.
Not
to
use
an
out-and-out
quick
on
a
deck
like
Adelaide
is
surprising.

“Ollie
Robinson
will
take
wickets,
but
he’s
not
going
to
blast
teams
out,
especially
in
Australian
conditions.”

“……To
turn
things
around
they
have
to
be
much
more
aggressive.
For
all
of
us,
the
Ashes
is
the
ultimate.
All
we
want
is
to
see
a
battle
that’s
close.”

The
third
Ashes
Test
between
England
and
Australia
will
start
on
Boxing
Day
(December
26)
at
the
Melbourne
Cricket
Ground.
Aussies
are
leading
the
series
2-0
at
present.