Alaister Cook points out lack of preparation as reason behind Brisbane loss

The English cricket team has had the worst start to their Ashes campaign. They lost their opening encounter at Brisbane to a superior looking Aussie side. They were outdone in every department of the game, from bowling to batting and fielding; the English team was just no match for their Aussie counterpart.

This result has had several cricketing pundits and ex-cricketers buzzing about what possibly went wrong. Some pointed out the intent in batting was not there, while others called out the inclusion of Jack Leach as the significant issue. However, Alaister Cook, former England Captain, has a different point of view from them all.

According to Alaister Cook, the lack of preparation has hurt the English players in the first test. And in a conversation with The Times, he elaborated the same point by reminding everyone of his poor run of form at the start of the 2010-11 series. He mentioned how he scored 5 and 9 in his first two innings, which later gave him an idea of the situation. “When no one in the England team has that kind of preparation, you end up getting bowled out for 147,” he told The Times.

After that poor start to the series, Cook scored a massive 766-run to help England win the series 3-1. He wants to convey that the English team had just one practice match in the Australian conditions and that too was disrupted by rain, hence they are underprepared for the conditions and are struggling to adapt.