Image courtesy of: The Telegraph
Gower believes Australia are going to struggle without Ponting and Hussey
Former England captain David Gower has slammed Australia for their recent behaviour on and off the pitch, calling them a country with no morals and accusing the national team of having an “animal mentality”.
Gower, who led England to victory in the 1985 Ashes, also branded the crowds in Australia as “feral” and once again took a swipe at the national team, stating that they do a better job sledging than they do with either the bat or ball.
“I’m tempted to say, how can you have a clash of cultures when you’re playing against a country with no culture? That would almost be sledging,” Gower told Radio Times magazine. “Sledging” — verbally trying to intimidate opponents — is something where Australia have led the rest of the world, with former Australia captain Steve Waugh elevating it to the status of “mental disintegration”.
Gower pointed out that the Australian crowds and players have not changed a bit since he was on the field, and as a result, they have become the masters of sledging.
“If you’re on the boundary you have to be very, very thick-skinned, because the Aussie crowd will try you with absolutely anything,” he said. “The trouble is, if they’ve had 10 cans of lager, their ability to come up with something akin to Oscar Wilde diminishes. A lot of it therefore tends to be very stereotypical. But it’s feral; if they sense weakness, they’ll come at you.
“It’s the same with sledging on the field. There’s a certain animal mentality, and if they sense a bit of weakness, they’ll try it on more. The great thing is just to smile, because the smile completely confuses them. But the best way to keep an Australian bowler quiet is simply to make runs. If you’re 120 not out, they tend not to say much.”
With the first leg of the back-to-back Ashes series less than a month away, England will be looking to hand Australia their third straight Ashes defeat, something they have not accomplished since the 1950s.
Gower was also quick to point out that the retirements of ex-skipper Ricky Ponting and veteran batsman Michael Hussey would be a huge blow to Australia and added that they would struggle to cope without them.
“My glass is more than half full this year,” he said. “Australia have lost the Ponting-Hussey axis that was vital to them.
“Michael Clarke is a super player, but so much rests on his shoulders. We’ve got every right to be optimistic, but no right to be overconfident.”