England were nearly as appalling batting this morning as they have been at any time in the previous seven days of Ashes cricket.
Inept! 325 all out. There were some excuses today as yesterday's brilliant batting conditions were not to be repeated but watching Brook not understanding what to do with bouncers brought tears to the eyes. Even I know the answer to that one - get out of the way and don't waft your bat at it with a pull shot which, seemingly, is not to be found anywhere in your kitbag of cricketing strokes. He was a wicket waiting to happen. Rabbit in headlights!
The crazy notion that we could blast the Aussies away by playing a veritable plethora of poor cricketing strokes has been blown out of the water. This England side - which could, quite possibly, have won back the Ashes - is starting to look demoralised and beaten.
Weather permitting, the Aussies will have a two game lead by tomorrow and England look incapable of winning a single match of the three to play, UNLESS current tactics are abandoned.
It appears that I am not alone in my thinking:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66068007
Also:
What we are seeing here instead is a kind of nihilism, a self-protective cowardice masquerading as bravery. We hear a lot about bravery in the context of this England, but has there been a more courageous cricketer on either side than Usman Khawaja, fearlessly weathering everything England have thrown at him, trusting unswervingly in his technique and his method in alien conditions? Is there not a courage in refusing to be indifferent to the prospect of defeat? Jonathan Liew - Guardian.
