Ashes Paper Talk: View from Australian press after England's win
Saturday 8 August 2015 23:01, UK
A round-up of the reaction to Australia's Ashes defeat from the back pages of Sunday's newspapers down under.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Mike Coleman reflects sympathetically on Australia captain Michael Clarke’s decision to retire from international cricket after the series, writing: "It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
"It should have been with a triumphant lap of the SCG, waving to the adoring crowd, blowing a kiss to the beautiful wife in the stand and walking out the gate to a new chapter of the storybook life.
"Instead, Michael Clarke was seated at a corner table in a dark, gloomy bar in Nottingham; head down, deep in conversation with his mate Shane Warne, just another bloke in jeans and T-shirt, drowning his sorrows after a crap day at the office."
In the same paper, Ben Horne is understanding of Clarke’s decision: "His leadership throughout the Phillip Hughes tragedy was extraordinary and will forever form part of his legacy.
"But losing such a close mate has taken its toll.
"In a different respect, Clarke’s against-the-odds fightback to lead Australia through the World Cup has left him physically spent."
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
But Brendan McArdle focuses on Australia’s failure on the pitch, calling on their cricketers to "take responsibility for their own flaws".
"Australians are starting to make an art form of finding excuses for failure. There was whingeing after Cardiff that the wicket was too slow, whingeing last year about flat wickets in the UAE after losing to Pakistan, and we are never happy with the conditions in India unless they are under the banner of the IPL.
"The truth is that Australia has a poor record in conditions that don't suit the style of cricket they like to play. There seems to be an unwillingness to adapt technically and mentally when things are tough, as was evident on Thursday night. The fault lies with both the players and the management of them."
THE AGE
For Greg Baum, the attention must quickly turn from Clarke to the fifth Test at the Oval: "One of Clarke's many mantras is that the team comes first. He is retiring because, on his own cognisance and forming his only regret, he has let the team down. Yet he will play another game anyway. At least runs, made or unmade, won't matter now.
"But now that reformation is upon Australia, they do not have even a match to waste. The Oval should be played not as the last Test of this series, but the first trial for the next. This is now Steve Smith's team, and Smith's time, and every decision should show it."
