LONDON, (Reuters) – Mike Gatting urged England to be merciless in their pursuit of long-term success after he passed on a 24-year-old honour to Andrew Strauss yesterday.
Gatting had been the last England captain to retain the Ashes on Australian soil until Strauss emulated the feat with victory in the fourth test in Melbourne.
The former batsman believes England can become the dominant force of test cricket if they have the will to capitalise on this Ashes success.
“We’ve got to get used to keeping people down and being ruthless; we haven’t really been that way inclined before,” he told the BBC.
“But nothing’s impossible for this team, and if they keep believing and keep working together as a team then they could be one of the teams that could be up there for a long time.”
Gatting led England to a series victory in Australia in 1986/7 to retain the Ashes won in 1985, an achievement that proved beyond a succession of touring groups until England won in Melbourne yesterday to go 2-1 up in the five-match series. The first test ended in a draw.
“It’s a very proud moment and they should all be very proud,” Gatting said.
“To win the Ashes down there is so difficult…so I hope people don’t try to demean this by saying it wasn’t a very good Australian team — I get a bit fed up when I hear Englishman saying that. You never hear the Australians saying that and I hope people don’t.”
NEW DEPTH
The impressive contributions of seam bowlers Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett, neither of whom were in the first-choice England XI at the start of the tour, has underlined the new depth of talent in the English game.
“I am very pleased for Tim,” said Martyn Moxon, the director of cricket at Bresnan’s county, Yorkshire. “He has had to be very patient while waiting for his chance. This is a massive step for him, he has shown his ability and he really rose to the occasion.
“He is a different type of bowler to the other guys in the England attack. He is a bit stockier and offers some variation. I’m delighted to see him do so well.”
Tremlett looked to have missed his chance at international level after a brief flurry three years ago, but a move from Hampshire to Surrey and a change in physique kickstarted his career.
Chris Adams, the Surrey manager and former England batsman, said: “When we got (Tremlett) he was very big in his upper body and we have tried to streamline him.
“We felt he looked quite bulky and he had had some injuries. We thought it may have had an impact on his ability to bowl repetitively. Now he can bowl one or two long spells and he is able to back that up.
“We also sat him down and we told him we wanted him to lead the attack and take responsibility. We wanted to tap into what is a great cricket brain.
“You never know how guys will play, as there is so much pressure involved in playing test cricket, but he…really looks like a test bowler now.”