Alex Hartley was right - England are unfit, rudderless and their siege mentality response to criticism after being embarrassed by Australia proves they still can't handle scrutiny, writes LAWRENCE BOOTH
Alex Hartley was right - England are unfit, rudderless and their siege mentality response to criticism after being embarrassed by Australia proves they still can't handle scrutiny, writes LAWRENCE BOOTH
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Whisper it, but perhaps Alex Hartley was right. Back in October, she called out the fitness of the England women – a brave decision given she had not long made the transition from player to pundit. And here we are now, with the players she criticised enduring another high-profile crisis. When Heather Knight’s team embark on the day/night Ashes Test at the MCG in the small hours of Thursday morning, they will do so hoping to avoid a 16-0 whitewash against an Australian team determined, as all-rounder Grace Harris put it, to ‘embarrass’ them.
![[Sophie Ecclestone refused to be interviewed by Alex Hartley after comments made by the broadcaster (right) last year]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/11/94588559-14332843-Sophie_Ecclestone_refused_to_be_interviewed_by_Alex_Hartley_afte-m-50_1738064562974.jpg)
That ship, you suspect, has long sailed. England have not only lost six white-ball matches out of six, they have often appeared to be playing a different sport altogether. And Hartley’s comments have sounded more pertinent with every misfield, each dropped catch. There have been too many of both, and plenty more besides.
![[England's game management, fielding and fitness has all come under intense scrutiny]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/09/94588571-14332843-image-a-4_1738057352420.jpg)
She had set the ball rolling after England were knocked out of the T20 World Cup in October by a decent but not exceptional West Indies side in Dubai – partly because they dropped six catches, partly because they looked rudderless without Knight, who suffered a hamstring injury while batting and had to watch from the sidelines as her team disintegrated in the field. She was later in tears.
![[Captain Heather Knight has held out but she has been a lone figure and recently sidelined with a hamstring injury]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/09/94588565-14332843-image-a-5_1738057370335.jpg)
Hartley told Test Match Special: ‘Australia have got 15 or 16 genuine athletes. You look at our team – I’m not going to name names, but if you look at them, you know. 'You know who’s blowing a gasket and who isn’t: 80 per cent of the England team are fit and athletic enough, but there are girls in that side that are letting the team down when it comes to fitness.
![[Head coach Jon Lewis has admitted his team are not as athletic as an Australian side determined to 'embarrass' the tourists]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/09/94588573-14332843-image-a-6_1738057456514.jpg)
