England coach responds to Alex Hartley's fitness criticism after Women's Ashes defeat
England coach responds to Alex Hartley's fitness criticism after Women's Ashes defeat
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Former England spinner Hartley claimed she had been given the ‘cold shoulder’ by the team after her comments questioning the athleticism of Jon Lewis’s squad. England cricket coach Jon Lewis has admitted that Australia cricket’s players are superior athletes to his side, though insisted that it is not the reason for their Women’s Ashes dominance.
![[England coach Jon Lewis has denied fitness is to blame for his side’s Ashes failings]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/12/12/1545c3b79e47daef7687fb93c2d72890Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMxNDk4ODU2-2.76189286.jpg)
The hosts have won every match in the multi-format series so far, establishing an unassailable 10-0 lead with one T20I and the four-day Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to come. Past criticism of England’s fitness has been brought back into the spotlight both by a number of poor fielding performances and the treatment of former England spinner and pundit Alex Hartley, who claimed that she had been given the “cold shoulder” by members of the squad after previous comments.
Hartley was heavily critical of the fitness standards of some individuals after England’s T20 World Cup exit to the West Indies last year, and claimed that Sophie Ecclestone had refused a television interview with her after the first T20I in Sydney.
Lewis had issued a strong rebuttal to Hartley’s comments in the wake of the World Cup exit, but admitted that the Australian squad had shown athletic advantages in the series. The under-pressure England head coach does not, however, believe that it is the primary factor for their series defeat.
