Botham could have some answers

Englandrsquos defeats in the first two Ashes Tests at Perth and Brisbane have subjected them to massive criticism from fans and former players who are in Australia on commentary duty Their 2005 Asheswinning skipper Michael Vaughan feels a 05 result is a possibility while Phil Tufnell mdash the erstwhile leftarm spinner mdash questioned the playersrsquo desire Stuart Broad the baby in the playersturnedcommentators band Down Under wondered whether the thinktank chose the right bowlers for the Brisbane TestSir Ian Botham the seniormost of the lot felt the English spectators should ask the England and Wales Cricket Board for a refund He slammed the teamrsquos decision not to train thoroughly with the pink ball ahead of the Gabba Test where Australia won convincingly like they did in the end inside two days at PerthFormer players spending their winter in England have chimed in too Bazball has become Badball and soon someone is going to call head coach Brendon McCullumrsquos aggressive methods Deadball Some of the comments made by their former players moved me to be cynical Can all these irate men who are questioning the commitment of the current team and calling them arrogant honestly say that they gave their everything for England on each day of their playing careers I wondered Yes they are paid to be radio and television pundits and are obliged to tell it as it is but one mustnrsquot forget that many of those experts were never part of an Asheswinning England team in AustraliaThen I heard Botham say not in a boastful way that he has been part of five Asheswinning squads 1977 197879 1981 1985 and 198687 and thatrsquos an incredible feat Only twice 198283 and 1989 was he in an urnsurrendering England team The Australians whitewashed a Bothampowered England 30 in their summer of 197980 but the Ashes were not at stake that yearNasser Hussain splendid broadcaster who was never part of an Asheswinning England side wrote an interesting piece for the New York Times in which he dwelled upon what Stokes should tell his players oneononeBut if the England captain wants to be on the other side of a conversation Botham is the one who he should spend some of his offfield hours withNot many sides have come back to win a series after losing two Tests in a row but Botham knows a thing or two about revivals He can elaborate to Stokes on what it took to strike back in the 1981 series which came to be known as Bothamrsquos AshesBotham decided to quit as captain chief selector Alec Bedser told the press that they decided to sack him anyway after England drew the second Test at Lordrsquos where Botham bagged a pair Australia had won the opening Test at Trent Bridge Mike Brearley was recalled as captain His conversation with Botham went like this according to Botham in the book Head On after he asked his premier allrounder whether he wanted to play in the third Test at LeedsBotham Of course I bloody want to play Brears I have a good feeling about this Test We can beat this showerrdquoBrearley Thatrsquos great I think yoursquoll get 150 runs and take 10 wicketsBotham did just that with the bat and claimed seven wickets in the game The Ashes began to move in Englandrsquos side of the urn as it wereBrearley was no Nostradamus but as Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg once said ldquoHe has a degree in peoplerdquoBotham was in Bob Willisrsquos 198283 England team in Australia The visitors lost the Brisbane and Adelaide Tests after the draw in the opening Test at PerthA gripping Test followed in Melbourne where Australia entered Day Five on 2559 in pursuit of 292 for victoryWillis didnrsquot have Botham in his plans to stop an improbable Australian victory Overnight batsmen Allan Border and No 11 Jeff Thomson took their team closer They kept England at bay for well over an hour on the final morning Botham walks up to Willis his fellow Leeds 1981 hero and captain and reminds him that his arm is not broken Botham gets the ball and also gets Thomson to edge one to Chris Tavare at second slip The ball spills out of Tavarersquos hands but first slipper Geoff Miller holds on to it for England to win by three runsFar away in Pakistan Mudassar Nazar who was known as the man with the golden arm was preparing to take on India before the December 31 1982 third ODI in Lahore But another Golden Arm was in Melbourne the day earlier As Brian Mossop wrote in the Australian Cricket newspaper ldquoA decision on The Ashes would have to wait until the Sydney Test and the New Yearrdquo Australia ultimately regained itBy the time England landed for their next series Down Under in 1986 they were called nohopers The late journalist Martin Johnson famously wrote that Mike Gattingrsquos side ldquocanrsquot bat bowl and fieldrdquo Guess who goes about crushing that theory Botham He launched an assault on the Australians in the first Test at Brisbane that translated into his first century in three yearsHis Duncan Fearnley Attack bat smashed a 174ball 138 that included 13 fours and four sixes His century set Englandrsquos Asheswinning in motion from a batting point of viewAnd who knows his words of wisdom to Stokes if that preAdelaide Test meeting ever takes place could help England offload some of the ridiculemiddayrsquos Deputy Editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper