England batters reportedly forced to rewatch fall of wickets in dressing room ahead of 3rd Ashes 2021 Test
England batters were forced to rewatch their dismissals in the team meeting following their 275-run defeat in the second Ashes 2021 Test in Adelaide.
According to a report in The Guardian, head coach Chris Silverwood replayed 14 of the 20 wickets on the dressing room TV screen. He highlighted the batters' faults in leaving the balls outside the off-stump. Ben Stokes, who is gradually being touted as Joe Root's captaincy successor, was apparently a strong voice in the meeting.
Wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler put up a 207-ball rearguard on the final day in Adelaide. He corrected one individual who suggested that the batters should focus on the first 20 balls in Australia. Buttler cited opposition batter Marnus Labuschagne's example to stress the need for discipline throughout.
A brave fight on the final day but Australia win the second Test to take a 2-0 series lead.
Scorecard: ms.spr.ly/6017Zumm9
#Ashes | 🇦🇺 #AUSvENG 🏴 https://t.co/U9VH9Z1MLS
Labuschagne is currently the highest run-scorer in the series with 228 runs in 4 innings and recently replaced Root at the top of ICC men's Test rankings.
In Adelaide, the Aussie batters left one-third of the deliveries in the first 30 overs - significantly more than the England batters who let go of just a quarter. The forthright meeting about the issue caught a few players off-guard but the report said the overall response was "positive".
"More a kick up the bum" - Mark Wood on England's dressing room discussions
A rather sweet finish to an otherwise intense nets session for Joe Root as he stood around answering a couple of queries from a young local cricketer about batting in different scenarios, especially with the added pressure of being captain #Ashes https://t.co/c8uHsXNbyH
Without revealing the details, England pacer Mark Wood talked about how the players got a "kick up the bum" from the meeting on Wednesday.
He revealed that there were some "brutally honest" chats about the repetition of the same mistakes after the defeat. Wood said:
“We obviously review the game, things we could do better, things we’ve done well. But this was more a kick up the bum to say look we are 2-0 down now, the same mistakes keep on happening. It was a good discussion."
Wood added:
"It could go one of two ways, but people having those brutally honest conversations and accepting that within the group is something I feel like the team are open to and respect – the fact we can speak to each other like that. I think we probably needed it.”
England are 2-0 down in the Ashes and will play their third Test, beginning on Saturday, at the MCG. It is the only venue they didn't lose on during their last tour here.