Out with the excuses, now

With less than a week to go before the Ashes series begins, perhaps both teams might do us all the courtesy of telling us whether they think they are well prepared for the series or not? Anyone can make excuses after the event – let’s hear the truth before it all starts so that we can then judge the final outcome with all grudges and platitudes aired beforehand.

The graceful Damien Martyn, he of silken touch and impeccable balance with bat in hand, appears to lack that poise in a recent interview that is as clumsy as it is ungracious. In dissecting the 2005 Ashes loss, Martyn appears to be keen to join the list of cricketers who now view the John Buchanan era in a far less favourable light than at the height of the Australian dynasty.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not here to defend Buchanan or any other coach for that matter. I’m firmly in the camp of those who think that this modern preoccupation with multiple coaches and support staff is a case of massive overkill. What is amusing though is the number of cricketers who seem to enjoy sinking the boot in to the easy target – the coach – after a series is completed and lost.

Martyn appears to echo the long-held views of Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill in being anti-Buchanan. No surprises there. Recently, Warne has been on a mission to rubbish just about everybody in the game (Ravi Bopara for example) so his comments about Buchanan are consistent at least. He has never been a big fan of coaches per se, not until he became one himself for the Rajasthan Royals. All of a sudden, a coach was no longer a mode of transport but an essential part of a cricket team’s personnel. I even heard him claim, ridiculously, that a coach was more important in T20 cricket than in any other form of the game. OK Warnie, time for another slimming tablet from Mummy. We believed that story too!

Back to Martyn’s comments though; he seems to insinuate that the preparation for that series in 2005 was a shambles and that it contributed significantly to the surrender of the Ashes. Looking back through the archives and relying on my imperfect memory, I can’t recall any such complaints before the series started. In fact, after the crushing victory in the First Test at Lord's, it was business as usual, a mere formality to crush the hapless Poms blah blah blah. No suggestion then of poor preparation or an unhappy camp.

Likewise England’s Ashes Tour of 2006/07. Duncan Fletcher arrived on tour with halo glowing and finished the tour with reputation tarnished. If the preparation and coaching was so poor (like 2005 for Australia), why did the senior professionals not address the issue and make changes? Because, like Martyn, it’s easier to wait to see the final result and then look for excuses everywhere but in the mirror.

Martyn’s complaints don’t just stop with the coach. He goes on to talk about poor umpiring decisions (oh good, that’s a new one – never heard that excuse before!), a lack of hunger because the Ashes apparently meant more to England than to Australia (oh really, the Ashes were only a minor distraction from the main series against Zimbabwe or Bangladesh were they?) and a little dig at Cricket Australia for “beefing people up” with unrealistic expectations. Refreshingly, he goes on to admit that Australia’s focus had apparently shifted from the preoccupation with the Ashes to other things like winning the World Cup and winning on the Subcontinent. Hmmm…admirable but not wholly believable I’m afraid. I can’t recall hearing such noble global awareness before the Holy Grail was surrendered.

The problem with retrospective excuses is that they always end up sounding a bit lame. During the Ashes in 2005, Martyn complained about the infamous Pratt run-out of Ponting, claiming that Australia rarely used the best fielder but the 12th man who was usually a big, burly fast bowler. He conveniently forgot that Australia’s substitute fielder, Brad Hodge, caught Pietersen and Vaughan in the previous Test at Old Trafford. Hodge was not the 12th man in that Test and he is arguably a much better fielder than Kasprowicz so it made a mockery of the indignation that came with the Ponting run-out. At the end of the day, it was a brilliant piece of fielding and a poorly judged run. That’s cricket.

So, before this Ashes series kicks off in earnest, please come out and tell us how you really feel. Are you well prepared? Is it the most important thing on your minds or are you distracted by something else? Is there a problem in the camp or is it all rosy between captain, coach and senior players? Was there enough time after the T20 World Championship to acclimatise to the red balls, white clothing and the different demands of Test cricket? Let’s get everything out in the open, both teams, excuses and morale-boosting statements alike and let’s get on with it. And may the best team win.