Australia expose England’s ‘short memory’ over complaints about ‘unjust’ Ashes washout

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Australia’s cricketers might not yet be celebrating retaining the Ashes, with the fifth Test to come this week.

But England’s tears over the washed-out Manchester Test have sustained fans and even one Aussie great, with hypocritical comments at the centre of it all.

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Merv Hughes wasted little time resuming his feud with Piers Morgan on Monday morning.

Commenting on Australian captain Pat Cummins’ remark that retaining the urn via a washout was “weird”, Morgan said: “No s*** sherlock.”

“I’d be too embarrassed to even speak to the media if I retained the Ashes in such a dismal way,” he wrote.

Aussies soak up ‘strange’ feeling as washout retains Ashes

Yet 10 years ago he was loving when the weather came to play and helped England retain the Ashes: “BOOM! #Rain.”

Hughes shared a screenshot of that 2013 tweet and, in response to Morgan’s attack on Cummins, wrote: “Short memory, flog!”

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Morgan had earlier questioned whether there had ever been a “less deserved retention of the Ashes” than Australia this series, tapping into England’s view that they ‘won’ the first Test.

Veteran paceman Stuart Broad’s reaction to the 2013 washout also resurfaced.

“We have retained the Ashes and it feels magnificent!” he wrote.

This week, he argued “it would be unjust” if the weather decided the Ashes.

“It would be such a damp squib, such an unemotional way for a series between two great rivals to be defined,” Broad said.

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While he’s not necessarily wrong that the series deserved a full-fledged finish, SEN cricket commentator Gerard Whateley felt Australia did not need to apologise for anything.

“Hindsight would suggest Australia cut its cloth not to lose an abbreviated match and were comprehensively outplayed by an opponent facing the necessity to play bull-at-a-gate cricket,” he said.

“But seriously cry me a river England. The bleating coming from the other side of the world is too much to bear.

“You’d think there had never before been a Test match washed away and that the cliched bleak English weather had never assisted the home team’s endeavors previously.

“This exact circumstance presented for England 10 years ago and they rejoiced unapologetically.

“Like so much in this series the English are very selective in memory.

“By winning the opening two Test matches Australia tipped all the benefits in their favour, and that came home to roost overnight.”

England’s hopes faded with two defeats in the first two matches and disappeared with the rain. Credit: Nick Potts/AP

Meanwhile, Ben Stokes defended England’s declaration in Manchester with a bizarre claim that critics don’t know cricket like he does.

England were denied the chance to pursue a win that would have kept their Ashes hopes alive in Manchester, with no play available on the final day of the fourth Test due to rain.

Stokes is adamant his side played a near-perfect game in the fourth Test, after bowling Australia out for 317 in the first innings and hitting 592 in reply.

England also had Australia 4-113 after day three and 5-214 following a rain-interrupted day four, before Sunday’s frustration.

But questions have been asked about whether Stokes should have declared earlier in England’s first innings, knowing rain was coming for the final two days.

At one stage before lunch on day three, England led by 170 in the first innings but they went on to bat for an extra hour as Jonny Bairstow plundered his way to 99no.

It was conceivable to think England could have given themselves two sessions to try to bowl Australia out for less than 170 on Friday, wrapping the game up before the rain-sodden weekend.

That, though, is a point Stokes does not agree with.

Stokes has few regrets in the series. Credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images

“Regardless of what we did, we would have ended up in the same situation,” Stokes told BBC.

“Anyone who is going to question the declaration in this game probably doesn’t understand the game as well as we do.

“It’s rained, we have got three hours of cricket in two days. I don’t think, whatever we did, we would have been able to force a result in this game.

“And that’s just unfortunately due to the weather.”

While Stokes did not regret the call, history showed England were always likely to rue going 2-0 down early in the series.

Only once has a side come from 2-0 down to win an Ashes series – Sir Donald Bradman’s Australians in 1936-37.

Manchester’s weather was partly proof of why it is so difficult to do.

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England also had their chances to win the first two Tests, most notably when the hosts began day one at Edgbaston with 8-393 before declaring and losing the match.

They lost control of the Lord’s Test through their aggressive batting in the first innings, after being 1-188 in reply to Australia’s 416 with Nathan Lyon off the field for the tourists.

But Stokes said the only regret from the opening two losses was his drop of Lyon late on the final day at Edgbaston, before the spinner and Pat Cummins hit Australia to a two-wicket victory.

“The catch that I dropped off Nathan Lyon, honestly. That’s probably the biggest (regret),” Stokes told reporters.

– with AAP