LACKING HUNGER

Adam Gilchrist reckons that the English players are lacking hunger at the moment and their coach Andy Flower needs to get them pumped up for the remaining matches of the Ashes series.

The Poms had made their way to Australia as the top favourites to win the Ashes, but, the way they have played in the first couple of matches; it seems they might end up suffering whitewash.

England has been pathetic in both the bowling and the batting department. None of their players have shown the determination to take on the Aussies. There have been a few good individual performances from their side, but, the test matches are rarely won by individual performances. They are generally won by team effort.

In 2005, the Australian team also had also gone through something like this. They had gone to England as favourites and had come back after suffering a 1-2 defeat in the Ashes. Gilchrist was a member of that Australian side and according to him, the reason why England had won that 2005 Ashes series was that they had got more hunger to do that.

The former Australian wicketkeeper thinks that the same is the case with the Australian team at the moment. They are looking to be hungrier than the Poms.

Talking to the reporters yesterday, Gilchrist said, “The guys who have been around since a long time and have achieved a lot of success, they start lacking hunger sometimes and that’s where the role of a coach becomes important. He needs to make his players want to continue having the success.”

“This English side has not been in such situation before. They have had continuous success over the years, but, now, to come out of this situation is a big challenge for them.”

COOK IS THE TARGET

The Australian right arm fast bowler Peter Siddle has made it clear that Alastair Cook is going to be the target for the Kangaroos during the upcoming Ashes series.

When the Ashes series was played in Australia in 2010-11, Cook had scored the most number of runs for England. He had been a headache for the Australian bowlers in almost every game of the series. So, the Aussies are very careful this time around. They reckon that if they get Cook out early, it will not be easy for the England team to recover and that’s why, they have made special plans for the English skipper. (more…)