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2 weeks ago
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The only time I ever saw Meg Lanning cry was immediately after the 2017 World Cup semi-final. Australia had been unexpectedly gut-punched by Harmanpreet Kaur, sent packing from a tournament they were favourites to win. Lanning was trying to make sense of it all, and was so upset you could hear her voice breaking.
What happened after that is well-documented: Lanning went away determined never to experience defeat again. She built a ruthless dynasty which won her the next four World Cups, Commonwealth Games gold and every single Ashes series.
Fast forward seven years to October 2024 and Australia were once again knocked out in a World Cup semi-final, this time by South Africa. Their response so far has mirrored 2017: they have regrouped, pulled out dominant ODI series wins against India and New Zealand and are now 6-0 up in an Ashes series. In the past week, they have dug deep to defend 180, and were last seen in Hobart on Friday notching up more than 300 runs, following record performances from their No 6 Ash Gardner and No 8 Georgia Wareham.
Compare that with England’s response to some recent high-profile defeats of their own – and there are plenty to choose from. Just over a year ago, they experienced their worst Test result in a generation, losing to India by 347 runs. In October they were unexpectedly booted out of the T20 World Cup by West Indies after completely losing their heads in the field. Now here they are on the verge of a Women’s Ashes defeat after squandering what should have been a winning position in the second ODI in Melbourne.
Defeats happen – this is international sport. It’s how teams respond to losing that is the crucial bit. Facing it square on, being honest about what went wrong, showing humility: all are critical. Losing hurts, but it can make teams stronger: Australia are the epitome of that.
How, then, do England handle defeat? Apparently by either trying to pretend it doesn’t really matter or by presenting handy excuses. Heather Knight blamed “extreme” conditions for the defeat against India. The captain has repeatedly brushed off criticism of the loss to West Indies in the World Cup by saying that England “haven’t become a bad side because we played poorly for 10 overs in the World Cup” – an amazing sleight of hand that ignores that they were the only 10 overs of the tournament when they were put under any pressure.
On Friday, Knight seemed equally blasé about England’s third defeat in as many Ashes matches, claiming they were “ahead for most of the chase”, while handily not mentioning the collapse of six for 22 which took place when England tried to match Australia’s acceleration.
England might respond that the real post-mortems are happening inside the dressing room, behind closed doors. But actions speak louder than words. What leadership or personnel changes have we seen in the past 18 months? None. England’s big, ballsy move after the World Cup was to drop Alice Capsey for the T20s against South Africa, only to recall her two weeks later after her replacement, Paige Scholfield, sustained an injury.
How about a change of approach with the bat? Nope. Even in the face of any actual evidence that it works, England maintain their absolute faith in unfettered aggression with the bat – the style of play the players have nicknamed “Jon-Ball”, after coach Jon Lewis. “We need to be braver with the bat,” was Knight’s verdict after the second ODI, apparently ignoring that Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone had thrown away what should have been a sedate, straightforward run-chase by playing unnecessarily reckless shots. Was she watching the same match as us? It sometimes feels like England are members of a cult, of which Lewis is the supreme, inerrant leader. Jon-Ball is always the answer.
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England haven’t yet lost the Ashes, but a defeat in any of the three T20s would seal their fate: just a week into the series, they have already arrived in the last-chance saloon. What should England’s response be? They have few options open to them from a personnel perspective: Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson and Linsey Smith are all joining up with the team for the T20s, but Kemp and Gibson are both coming back from injury, while Smith (as a bowler) is hardly the answer to England’s batting woes.
Some have called for Amy Jones’s head, after she bungled the run-chase in Melbourne by forgetting to run off the final ball of the over, leaving Lauren Bell exposed. But who would take the gloves? Bess Heath is the official reserve, but wasn’t even trusted to do the job on England’s A tour of Ireland last September.
What England can do is take time for a bit of honest reflection. Because the worst part about them going 6-0 down in the Ashes is that none of it is surprising. England under Lewis bat recklessly. England under Lewis don’t cope well with pressure. They can shrug their shoulders at that, as they have done for 18 months, and continue on regardless – or they can finally admit that Jon-Ball isn’t working. Then, and only then, will they be able do what Lanning did all those years ago: shed a few tears, and move on to the project of building something better.
