England want to give Australia a dose of their own medicine this week, but the visitors know they’ll need to drastically improve their skills if they are to achieve their goal.
England’s poor batting, bowling and fielding have cost them dearly during their disastrous tour of Australia.
Alastair Cook’s men lost the Ashes 5-0, and they’re in danger of copping another series whitewash after dropping the opening three games of the one-day series.
Australia’s ruthlessness has been a key feature of the summer, and England spinner James Tredwell wants to dish back some of the punishment when the teams meet at the WACA Ground on Friday.
“We’ve spoken a lot about pushing back and giving them a bit of their medicine, but that’s not always easy when the skills aren’t up to scratch,” Tredwell said.
“If we are really honest about it, that’s been the issue this winter.”
Tredwell said the team needed to be strong and turn things around – not just for Friday’s clash but looking forward to the World Cup.
“We’re a young team – there’s no beating around the bush there,” he said.
“We want to improve our skills as a group.
“No-one likes losing. The Aussies have shown that.
“They’ve spoken about how the pain can drive you. We’ll certainly be trying to use that to our advantage.”
England’s poor form could result in opener Alastair Cook stepping down as captain from the one-day side.
But Tredwell revealed the team had urged Cook to remain at the helm.
“We were all down after the last game … Alastair more than most,” Tredwell said of the seven-wicket loss in Sydney.
“As captain you do tend to take a lot of that on yourself.
“But we’ve had a really good chat and he was at the forefront of that, and we want him to take charge going forward.”
Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson says his side will be trying to secure a 5-0 clean sweep of the series.
“England have destroyed us in the past,” Johnson said.
“We’ve been asked if we feel sorry for them, and we’ve all said no because of that reason.
“Hopefully we can win this one-day series 5-0 as well, and send them home without a victory against us.”