Hear that sound?
It’s the knives being sharpened in the northern hemisphere.
Going into day five at the Adelaide Oval, England are on the brink of yet another devastating and premature Ashes series loss in Australia, this time perhaps worse than ever given all the pre-series bluster and bravado.
After four years of anticipation that this time would be different, English supporters have been left deflated and frustrated in equal measure—with demands for significant changes coming from almost every direction, including former England bowler Steve Harmison, 47, who played 17 Ashes Tests between 2002-2009.
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Speaking on UK’s talkSPORT Cricket, Harmison was especially critical of head coach Brendan McCullum, suggesting it was time for England to move on from the aggressively-minded New Zealander.
“McCallum’s the one for me, I would not go on the next part of journey with (him) if I was in charge,” Harmison said, accusing McCullum of stubbornly trying to shape the English team in his own image at all costs.
“He’s brainwashed (Robert) Key and (Ben) Stokes in how he wants his teams to prepare, I think he’s brainwashed his players in the way that he wants his batters to perform.”
“Brendan McCullum wants his batters to bat like Brendan McCullum batted—but Brendan McCullum made mistakes,” he added.
“Brendan McCullum got out in kamikaze ways.”
Indeed, a quick check of McCullum’s Test batting average in Australia suggests he was far from an expert on these shores, averaging just 24.3 per innings with the Kiwis, compared with an overall career Test average of 38.6.