'These guys deserve medals, not criticism' - Paul Collingwood defends England after dismal Ashes performance

Former England captain Paul Collingwood has come out in support of the England side despite a horrific performance in the Ashes and credited the players for accepting a five-match Test series in the tough bio bubble circumstances. England found it tough against the Australian side in the recent Ashes as they suffered a 0-4 defeat and managed to draw just the fourth Test.

England did miss their trump card from their previous Ashes, Jofra Archer to an extent, while the batting order looked clueless against the Australian pace attack. The visitors had a tough schedule as well as they had to undergo a 14-day quarantine and had just two days of practice time going into the series.

A lot of cricketers have complained about the mental stress involved in the bio bubble situations and Collingwood wants to reduce the heat on the English side.

Collingwood feels Australia should have split up the five-match Tests

Collingwood admitted that England did make a lot of mistakes in terms of tosses and team selection but noted that they should be rewarded for sticking to the bio bubble and completing the five Tests. He added that Australia should have considered splitting up the five Tests into two last year and three in the present year with a much-needed break in between due to the bio bubble fatigue.

“Yes, we made mistakes, 100%. We made selection mistakes, we made toss mistakes, but the fact we actually turned up and agreed to a five-match Ashes series, the guys should be given medals for that. It would’ve been much better if we’d done two matches and then three next year. That would’ve been a great compromise,” Collingwood was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Collingwood added that the England side deserves a pat on their back for being brave enough to undergo a five-match Test series without any complaints and gave an example from a football scenario.

“But no, Australia were not bothered that they were going to receive an England team who were mentally fatigued, they just wanted to get the product out there. They just wanted the Ashes. These guys deserve medals, not criticism. They should be told ‘well done’ for even going.

“It’s the equivalent of the England football team being asked to go to a World Cup, then from that bubble into the Euros. Would you expect a performance from that scenario? It’s ludicrous,” he added.