Australia cricket coach Mickey Arthur has demanded some mongrel spirit in Tuesday’s final one-day match after giving the team some home truths following the series loss to England.
The home side cruised to a comfortable eight-wicket win on Saturday in Durham after Australia made just nine for 200 in their 50 overs, England reaching the modest target with 13 balls to spare.
They were never threatened as Ian Bell made 69 and Jonathan Trott 64 not out.
Aussie skipper Michael Clarke later rued how his team cannot find a recipe for victory.
Arthur didn’t lay blame on individuals but he was especially annoyed at how his players have failed to translate good preparation into performance.
“I’m disappointed and really shocked (at the results),” Arthur told reporters.
“We haven’t played anywhere near our real potential.
“That could be to the fact we haven’t been allowed to play to our potential or haven’t grasped the moments when they’ve been there.
“We haven’t found a way to put England under any sort of pressure and that’s disappointing and infuriating me.
“We’ve been outplayed and we’re better than that. That’s the real disappointing thing.
“I’ve just had a real good meeting with the team, a tough meeting, a hard meeting,” Arthur added.
“Spoke some home truths. I want to see how they respond on Tuesday. I’m looking to see how they stand up, how they respond to that. I’ve got no issues with losing – I’ve said that a million times – teams are going to play better than us. That happens.
“I want to see a bit of mongrel come Tuesday, I really do.
“We’ve been a bit submissive this whole series. We’ve been allowed to be bullied, and we’re better than that.”
Arthur’s frankness may sound peculiar given Australia are still holding the top world ranking in one-day internationals, but he emphasised they are a team in transition.
“This is not a character assassination of our team,” he said.
“I’m just looking for answers that are going to strengthen our team and lift us again.
“For us, as management, it’s about finding that balance between their talent and performance.
“But somehow they are just not transforming that. That is what is perplexing me a little bit.”
