Glenn McGrath questions England’s intent, says he wants England to be ruthless

Former Australia pacer Glenn MacGrath expects a bit more aggression from England in the remaining three games of the series. McGrath feels England are being too nice and lacking passion and competitiveness which he feels is due to the bonding between the England and Australia players. Most England and Australian players play together in T20 tournaments like Big Bash League, Indian T20 League and share a great camaraderie with each other. McGrath said he wants to see more fight from England.

“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’.”

McGrath was also bemused to see England players chatting and having fun with Australian players, showing no effects of the hammering in two games. He added if England are going to be too nice, Australia are going to crush them. He said that the Ashes series should be fierce not a one-sided affair. “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 thought 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.”

“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.”

McGrath feels England could play Mark Wood in the third Test to add some genuine pace in the bowling department. “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.” McGrath said.