It has been quite some swing in fortune. After whitewashing Sri Lanka before Christmas, the feeling ahead of the series in the Caribbean was that this England team may have finally got its act together in Test cricket after five years of consistent inconsistency. But now, following their 381-run defeat in Barbados, the same old questions about this team’s quality and toughness have reared their ugly heads.
Such chastening defeats have not been few and far between for this group of players, despite their recent victories over India and Sri Lanka. Far too regularly, England seem to collapse in a heap when the going gets tough. There have been times of course when they have not – think Edgbaston against India as one example – but soon enough, a calamity comes along such as the one observed over the past four days at Kensington Oval.
It’s difficult to know the reasons for this. England, ranked third in the world, are a good Test team. They have highly talented players who work themselves as hard as any other team in the world. They can and do produce fine long-form cricket. So what goes wrong when, such as in Auckland against New Zealand last year when they were bowled out for 58, England end up with egg on their face?
Most pertinently, perhaps, was the observation after the game from head coach Trevor Bayliss that his team need to toughen up in difficult periods. “I think it gets down to a bit of guts and determination to get through those tough periods,” he said. “It’s not the first time that we’ve succumbed in a short space of time. The boys are in the dressing room hurting and I’d be worried if they weren’t.
“Do they lack mental discipline? Personally, I think so. You don’t have to have perfect technique to be able to score runs or take wickets: it’s how you go about using it. On this occasion, we’ve certainly been lacking in that department. I’m not sure I can repeat what has been said [in the dressing room].
“They did bowl well, but every time a team does that we shouldn’t be expecting to get knocked over for 77. In the second innings, the guys looked like they were trying, we made good starts but at this level, you have to be able to bat longer than that.”
