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Botham bashes Aussies over Ashes failure

Australia's greatest Ashes nemesis Ian Botham has taken great delight in rubbing in the home team's capitulation in the fourth Test in Melbourne.

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Source: AAP


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Former England skipper Botham said England "broke" the Australian team and he was particularly scathing of captain Ricky Ponting for his lengthy tirade at the two on-field umpires over a failed referral.

"Where Australia go from here, I really don't care," wrote Botham in British tabloid The Mirror.

"But it was a shame to see such a great player like Ricky Ponting behave the way he did with the umpires in this game.

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"The truth of the matter though is that he has got far more on his mind than complaining about a review.

"Three Ashes series defeats as captain doesn't look pretty on any CV."

Botham can speak from a position of strength, having played in five series wins from six Ashes series.

And he said Australia had plenty of wounds to lick after a demoralising innings and 157-run loss at the MCG which ensured England retained the precious urn.

"At the biggest ground, on the biggest stage, and when it mattered most, England broke Australia," he wrote.

"If you're an England cricketer nothing beats the feeling of travelling halfway around the world just to point out to the Aussies that they are not quite up to scratch. That really hurts.

"The passion and the fire are still there, like they are with any Aussie wearing the baggy green cap, but you need more than just a bit of colourful headwear to mix it with this England side."

Botham took 148 wickets and scored 1673 runs across 36 Tests against Australia, and not surprisingly, Australia's 16-year Ashes domination from 1989 coincided with the back-end of Botham's Test career.


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