England should draw inspiration from the 2005 Ashes series: Robert Key

The England cricket team was thrashed by 9 wickets by the Australian side in the 1st Ashes Test match at The Gabba. And, former England cricketer Robert Key has asked the Joe Root led outfit to seek inspiration from the performance of the England side in the 2005 Ashes series.

Key added that the England side was decimated at Lord’s in 2005, but the then Michael Vaughan-led outfit decided that even if they were going down, they would go down defiantly. Key feels that due to this mindset, England scored a total of 407 in the Test match at Edgbaston.

“We talk a lot about 2005 when the Ashes are on, but that is a great series for England to draw upon. At Lord’s, they were thrashed and everyone thought, ‘here we go again’. But, thanks to Michael Vaughan’s leadership, they made the decision that if they were going down, they would do so swinging. The result was smashing 407 on the opening day at Edgbaston. It is easy to think ‘we are not as good as those guys were, we can’t do that’,” wrote Robert Key for The Evening Standard.

There is no value in going into a bunker mentality: Robert Key

Robert Key also opined that it is important for the England side to employ a positive mindset. Key even added that the England side will not gain anything by having a ‘bunker mentality’, and concluded by stating that former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting revealed to him that when the bowlers were on top, he would counter that by playing more aggressively.

“I never understand that. At least employ that mindset. I can’t play golf like Tiger Woods, but I can think like he does. You might laugh at that, but who should I think like — Tiger or the bloke who loses eight balls per round? There is no value in going into a bunker mentality — and I’m no longer talking about golf. Ricky Ponting once told me that when the ball did more, he responded by playing more shots,” concluded Key.