The Ashes 2017/18: 'Pathetic' England Deserve What They Got, Says Former Australia Captain

Former Australia skipper Kim Hughes has savaged England, saying England lost the Perth Test because of their mindset.

England came into the game on the back of back-to-back defeats in the first two Ashes Tests but put up a good show in the first innings, scoring 403. They had the hosts on the mats then after reducing them to 55 for 2. However, their failure to have an effective plan to get rid of Steve Smith once again proved costly as the Australia skipper went on to score a career-best 239 to put his side firmly in the driver’s seat. The hosts went on to score 662 for 9 (declared) before bowling out England for just 218 to win the game by an innings and 41 runs and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.

It was yet another failure from the tourists in the ongoing series and instead of targeting their inconsistent bowling and batting, Hughes slammed their mindset, singling out that part of the play when Joe Root & Co. adopted a defensive approach when Smith and Mitchell Marsh, who scored 181, were building the decisive 301-run stand.

“England deserve what they got because of their whole mindset. It was probably some of the worst planning or captaincy for field settings I’ve ever seen in any field of cricket,” he told talkSport.

The former cricketer went on to say that the whole backroom staff which chalked out the plans should be sacked.

“Whoever did the planning should be sacked. To give you an idea, Smith was 80-odd not out overnight and Australia were still 180 runs behind England, and at the WACA – which is traditionally a very quick wicket and provides a lot of pace – this is their thought process…

“Smith was batting with Shaun Marsh, so you’ve got to get wickets. England had one slip, a sweeper out at deep point, a mid-off and a cover – oh, for God’s sake!

“What that said psychologically was, ‘well we can’t get him out, so what we’re going to do is bore him out,’ and they did bore him out – for 239!

“Their set-up just sent the wrong message. You’ve got Anderson who has taken 500 Test wickets, you’ve got Broad who has been around for ages, and they’ve for all those coaches there – honestly, it was pathetic!,” he added. “If you’re playing international sport and just waiting for people to make mistakes – what message does that send?

Hughes further called England’s fielding setting the worst he has ever seen and reiterated that the coaching staff should be sacked.

“It was the worst field settings I’ve ever seen in Test cricket. All the backroom staff should be sacked, they should just move on.

“Honestly, cricket is not that difficult – you watch it, you hit it and you be positive. If those were the best plans they could come up with at the WACA, they should be moved on,” he said.

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