NEWS
Follow UsPaul Collingwood is genuinely worried about players’ mental health after constantly switching from one bubble to another. England were smashed 0-4 in the recently-concluded Ashes series in Australia but Collingwood feels that the players “deserve medals, not criticism” considering what they have been going through for the last few months.
"I don't think people have understood the impact and the effects that these bubbles have had. Going to the Ashes off the back of a tough bubble in Dubai, I think was literally one step too far," said Collingwood, who is currently in Barbados with the England T20I set-up, standing in for head coach Chris Silverwood.
"You can't even explain what it's like until you experience it. The simple fact is you cannot walk out of your front door and as soon as you're told that you cannot do something as simple as going for a coffee, and you are penned in with the same guys. A lot of people will say 'that must be fun' and 'you've got a lovely hotel' [but] it hits you.
"Take someone like Chris Woakes, the most loveable and down-to-earth guy. I have seen him in some serious mental states. We have seen Ben Stokes, someone we consider to be the most mentally tough cricketer in the world, being hit by this. I just hope there are no ramifications moving forward because when they come, they won't be obvious next week or the week after. These are things that might come out down the line. That's what scares me."
The England players had to undergo strict quarantine on the Gold Coast and could only manage two full days of match practice prior to the opening Test. England managed to draw the fourth Test but were hammered in the other four games.
I reckon if you had given us the best England cricketers in the Ashes from the last 100 years and put them in the same environment that those boys have lived in over the past two years with the preparation that we had going into this Ashes even they wouldn't have had a chance," said Collingwood.
“I almost think it is too late to get these messages across. These sorts of things should have been brought out in the middle of last summer. We saw the signs then when boys were fading, and it is not healthy for the game. This isn't just us. We have obviously played the most amount of cricket, but it will catch up with other teams as well."
Collingwood didn't shy away from accepting that England made mistakes at the toss and in selection, but also suggested that Cricket Australia should have agreed to a compromise and would have played two Tests this year and the remaining three in the next year.
"You are burnt out from the start after your team has been in the intense environment of a World Cup. It wasn't club cricket that these players were coming from. Then there's just two days of preparation before going into the Ashes. Australia is the hardest place to go to when you've got your best team in form and everyone's playing consistently. We've seen that from the past.
"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.
"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."
