Nasser Hussain has branded the decision making of Chris Silverwood and Joe Root as ‘shocking’ and ‘abysmal’ after England were once again blown away by rivals at Australia.
The Australians inflicted more misery on the travelling side, as they bowled out England for an embarrassing 68 in the third Test at the MCG to win by an innings and 14 runs in Melbourne.
Victory means the hosts moved 3-0 ahead in the series and therefore retained their Ashes title with two Tests still to play.
It was yet another dismal day for the England setup in what has been a bleak winter tour for Silverwood, Root and co.
In the hours that have passed since Australia’s demolition job, England’s senior members have been heavily criticised by many, including former Test captain Nasser Hussain.
Talking to Sky Sports, Hussain slammed the decision making and selection of the England team as shocking, reiterating a point made by former teammate Michael Atherton.
Hussain said: “As Athers [Michael Atherton] said at the top of this podcast, some of the decisions have been shocking really.
“Athers went through the fundamentals there, he didn’t mention the decision making.”
He then went on to compare England's mistakes to the successful moves of Australia, and outlined the clear gulf between the two sides when it came to making match-winning decisions.
He continued: “Australia at Brisbane played the right side, Adelaide they played the right side. They bring in Richardson for that Test he gets five-fer, they bring in Boland [for Melbourne], horses for courses.
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“They are selecting the right horses for courses. We are selecting the right horses for courses but at the wrong venues.
“You know, it’s just like the decision making in this tour has been abysmal.”
Hussain also believes these issues have now shown for this winter’s tour down under, and have plagued the England setup throughout 2021.
“It’s not just this tour,” he added.
“You got back to Ahmedabad, there were four seamers under lights and 28 of the 30 wickets fall to spin and the game is over in two days.
“So there is a history of errors and decision making. You go back to Lords against New Zealand where there is a full house and the potential of a run chase, and Joe Root and Chris Silverwood feel we are not good enough to even try for an hour to chase down that score.”
The 53-year-old referenced back to the somewhat defensive style of play England chose to adopt in order to protect a draw against New Zealand rather than chase the win earlier this summer.
As a result the former England skipper believes this tells you all you need to know about how Root’s team are struggling with their game mentally.
He continued: “That tells you somewhere of where this team thinks they are mentally, that they are not even going to think about chasing down that game and score against New Zealand.
Whilst the Sky Sports pundit openly criticised head coach Silverwood he did offer some sympathy due to the outstanding COVID-19 circumstances Test cricket has found itself in recently.
Hussain commented: “He [Silverwood] does have to look after the wellbeing and the mental welfare of his players, and he has done that and I applaud him for that.
“But it has left him in a very precarious position because we all know that you are judged by results and performance, and both have been shocking.”
