Australia‘re-urn’ Ashes
We were just sick of losing, says skipper Clarke after third Test win
ECSTACY: Australia regained the Ashes just four months after the last series defeat in England by completing a third comprehensive Test victory on home soil. PHOTO: REUTERS
PERTH:
Australia's transformation over the last three months came about because the players simply got fed up with losing and decided to put in the hard work to turn their fortunes around, said captain Michael Clarke after they won the Ashes on Tuesday.
In March, Clarke was captain of an Australia team in crisis with as many off-field problems as they had on it and soon to lose their coach after a 4-0 series drubbing in India.
In August having conceded a third straight Ashes series to the English, he was in charge of a team that had played 10 Tests, lost seven, drawn two and won one in 2013.
On Tuesday, though, he was celebrating winning back the earthenware symbol of Anglo-Australian sporting rivalry with emphatic victories in the first three tests of the series.
"I can only put it down to hard work," he told reporters. "The way the guys have trained and prepared, that's not just batting in the nets or bowling in the nets. The guys are fitter, they're stronger.”
Clarke, who keeps to his line in news conferences as well as his bowlers did in the 150-run victory at the WACA which sealed one of the best moments of his 100-Test career, warmed to his theme.
"If you don't have success, if you're not performing as you'd like as an individual player or as a team, you get to a place where you get sick of losing, or sick of not getting runs, or not taking wickets," he added.
“Individual players have put the team first on every occasion and that's why we sit here as winners today."
Although reluctant to single out individuals for credit, Clarke was prepared to pay tribute to the work done by a bowling unit spearheaded by Mitchell Johnson.
"The other guys have played a big part to allow Mitch to bowl the way he's bowled. This game is a really good example, his pace probably wasn't as high as the first two Test matches, but he executed with his skill and he's got natural variation. That's the class of Mitchell Johnson."
Crestfallen Cook not embarrassed by England's effort
Crestfallen England captain Alastair Cook admitted losing the Ashes was the low point of his 100-test career but said he was not embarrassed by the performance of his team in giving up the urn in three Tests.
“The dressing room is hurting like hell,” Cook told reporters.
“It's a tough place to be. We've had plenty of success and this is the other end of it.
“We haven't been good enough, that's the reason we lost. However, I'll never be embarrassed for the way we go about things and the effort the lads put in.”
Australia's transformation over the last three months came about because the players simply got fed up with losing and decided to put in the hard work to turn their fortunes around, said captain Michael Clarke after they won the Ashes on Tuesday.
In March, Clarke was captain of an Australia team in crisis with as many off-field problems as they had on it and soon to lose their coach after a 4-0 series drubbing in India.
In August having conceded a third straight Ashes series to the English, he was in charge of a team that had played 10 Tests, lost seven, drawn two and won one in 2013.
On Tuesday, though, he was celebrating winning back the earthenware symbol of Anglo-Australian sporting rivalry with emphatic victories in the first three tests of the series.
"I can only put it down to hard work," he told reporters. "The way the guys have trained and prepared, that's not just batting in the nets or bowling in the nets. The guys are fitter, they're stronger.”
Clarke, who keeps to his line in news conferences as well as his bowlers did in the 150-run victory at the WACA which sealed one of the best moments of his 100-Test career, warmed to his theme.
"If you don't have success, if you're not performing as you'd like as an individual player or as a team, you get to a place where you get sick of losing, or sick of not getting runs, or not taking wickets," he added.
“Individual players have put the team first on every occasion and that's why we sit here as winners today."
Although reluctant to single out individuals for credit, Clarke was prepared to pay tribute to the work done by a bowling unit spearheaded by Mitchell Johnson.
"The other guys have played a big part to allow Mitch to bowl the way he's bowled. This game is a really good example, his pace probably wasn't as high as the first two Test matches, but he executed with his skill and he's got natural variation. That's the class of Mitchell Johnson."
Crestfallen Cook not embarrassed by England's effort
Crestfallen England captain Alastair Cook admitted losing the Ashes was the low point of his 100-test career but said he was not embarrassed by the performance of his team in giving up the urn in three Tests.
“The dressing room is hurting like hell,” Cook told reporters.
“It's a tough place to be. We've had plenty of success and this is the other end of it.
“We haven't been good enough, that's the reason we lost. However, I'll never be embarrassed for the way we go about things and the effort the lads put in.”