Ex-India Coach Slams Ashes Batters For 'Betraying' Test Cricket's Core: "Power Is Valued More"
England's four-wicket win over Australia in the Boxing Day Test sparked a major debate surrounding the Melbourne pitch, as the match concluded on only the second day.
Former India head coach Greg Chappell delivered a scathing verdict on the recent batting failures of Australia and England in the ongoing Ashes Test series. England's four-wicket win over Australia in the Boxing Day Test sparked a major debate surrounding the Melbourne pitch, as the match concluded in just two days. Chappell, who played 87 Tests and 74 ODIs for Australia, suggested that modern-day batters are hiding behind "reckless intent" to mask a clear lack of temperament and technique.
"Two Tests in the series have failed to reach day three-not due to superior skill, but a glaring absence of desire. Batters slashed wildly, abandoning technique for bravado, as if playing their 'natural game' excused capitulation," Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.
The 77-year-old added that Test cricket now faces an identity crisis, with batters no longer willing to "give their all" as they once did.
"They let down predecessors who bled for this rivalry; they shortchanged fans who braved the holiday heat; and they betrayed their own generation by forsaking cricket's core tenets: playing each ball on merit, scrapping for every run, and enduring bruises for the greater good," the former Australia batter added.
He also pointed out that the influence of white-ball cricket, where players are rewarded for instant impact rather than years of toil, has played a part in pushing Test cricket to the brink.
"I get that white-ball cricket has changed the game, and power is valued more in the marketplace today than the ability to absorb pressure. But if the modern player does value Test cricket as they say, then they must show it by being able to bat collectively for a minimum of 100 overs in any conditions. If they can't, or won't do that, then the format is doomed," Chappell explained.
The fifth and final Ashes Test gets underway on January 4 in Sydney with Australia holding an unassailable 3-1 lead.
England Cricket Team
Australia Cricket Team