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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Barney Ronay

Not all failings of England’s Test team can be blamed on county cricket

Rory Burns is bowled in the fifth Ashes Test, an example of a good batsman turned bad in his time with the national team.
Rory Burns is bowled in the fifth Ashes Test, an example of a good batsman turned bad in his time with the national team. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

England in Australia: anatomy of a shellacking. The reviews are in. The play-by-play reports have been filed by those closest to this sullen and lifeless Ashes tour. Two things stand out.

Firstly, the startling mediocrity of so much of the basic management. There is no question, if only in the spirt of making the deckchairs look nice while the prow of the ship slides into the north Atlantic, that heads must roll, even if just in the name of keeping up appearances.

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