Justin Langer: Most disappointing part of England’s feeble Brisbane effort was body language and attitude

“Attitude is contagious, is yours worth catching?” It’s a catch cry tattooed into my brain from the great Australian cricket teams I have been a part of over the last 35 years. This philosophy, married wit, “if we wake up every day looking to get better, I, and we, will get better”. The strength of this second approach was that it pushed every player towards excellence, while sending an ominous warning to our opponents. A positive, never-say-die attitude, focused on constant improvement results in champion body language, which lifts a player, and therefore their team, through their personal actions. The best of the best know that every ball matters. They become so engrossed in the contest of every ball, that it’s apparent they are in their own world of concentration. Whether playing or training, the champions are on all the time, not just some of the time. The collective effect of this is that champion teams make their opposition feel like a bloodied fish in a shiver of sharks. So, where am I going with this? The most disappointing part of England’s feeble effort in Brisbane was their body language and attitude. These are two controllable commodities. Take Joe Root and Ben Stokes out of it, and England were poor. Root epitomises champion spirit, as does Stokes. His runs speak for themselves, his first-innings century was sublime. Stokes fought hard with bat and ball. There is no doubting his fighting instinct. But what was worrying, apart from England’s lack of footwork with the bat, and control with the ball, was the obvious lack of intent and fight that is supposed to be the hallmark of England’s “style” of play. As a coach I often look for the little things in a team. These include energy in the field, throwing efficiency back to the wicketkeeper, running between the wickets, the dynamism of the batter ‘after’ they have played their shot and how a team celebrates a wicket. It has been bred into me that the way a team fields reflect its attitude and athleticism, as does the way they run between the wickets. These are non-negotiables. Through this Test match we witnessed two extremes. England dropped catches, dropped their shoulders, dropped their intensity whilst running between the wickets and showed little excitement or joy when they did take an Australian wicket. Some may point to an introverted group of personalities, but I simply do not buy that. In the Australian team, Scott Boland, Mitchell Starc, Michael Neser, Steve Smith, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis, Cam Green and Brendan Doggett are all introverted, humble personalities, but in them, in this Test alone, we saw men who were pumped every time they or their teammates did well. They were in the fight every ball. They caught well, stayed disciplined in the field and Josh Inglis’ brilliant run out of Stokes in the first innings was a highlight of the game. Even when Stokes and Will Jacks dug in on day four, it seemed a matter of time before the discipline and control shown by Australia would be rewarded. And it was. Smith took a spectacular catch at slip, as did Carey behind the stumps. It must be said, Carey’s wicketkeeping reaches new heights every season. He is sublime and a perfect reminder of Australia cricket’s legacy approach of “constant improvement”. Worryingly for England, and particularly Stokes and Brendon McCullum, are that their example isn’t being replicated by their team. When a wicket fell, Stokes was up and about. He wasn’t faking that energy, he is immersed in the contest and knows what it means to win and lose an Ashes series. It looked like he was trying to drag his mates out of the mud, but to no avail. There was little elation at the fall of Australian wickets, mediocre energy in the field and lazy dismissals with the bat. These are the opposite reflection of how Stokes plays the game. In McCullum, I know a strong competitor, who played with a bold flair, competed hard and instilled very strong disciplines and practices in the New Zealand teams he captained. New Zealand under his leadership were humble, displayed outstanding sportsmanship and punched well above their weight in all forms of the game. His teams chased balls to the boundary like their lives depended upon it, caught skilfully, were clearly proud to represent their flag and cap and never, ever gave in. His legacy, with Stephen Fleming, was one of an underdog team who reached great heights through attitude, desire, work ethic and humility. A legacy that lives on today. He and Stokes must be scratching their heads at how their team has played these first two test matches. Their performance has been so lacklustre. That’s being kind. Post game Stokes said their performance was due to a lack of talent or skill. In essence he was pointing at their attitude, mindset and body language. Jofra Archer firing up at captain Smith when the game was done, reminded me of the player in pre-season who runs last in every run through and then wins the last one. This never made sense to me. If you can win the last one, why aren’t you winning every run? Archer against Smith was an enthralling and fiery contest. Smith won, but I am certain Stokes and McCullum must want that level of fire every time; not just from Archer and their fast bowlers, but from every one of their players. They will put a positive public slant on things but knowing these two leaders they will be frustrated and worried behind closed doors. Test cricket, Ashes cricket demands a fight; a fight that often goes to the last round. If England don’t start fighting, this contest will replicate so many than we have seen before here in Australia. This humble, disciplined Australian team has turned the tide after day one in Perth and will be ready to throw a flurry of knockout punches in Adelaide. England better get their hands up and throw a few back or they will be knocked out as they were in Brisbane.