Andrew Strauss by Justin Langer

Trust the Australians to hit the England where it hurts. That is exactly what former Aussie opener Justin Langer did in his dossier on the Englishmen. Langer had written that the English cricketers, generally, are “lazy, shallow and flat”. Their fast bowler James Anderson can be “bit of a pussy” if things do not go his way and Strauss can be too “conservative”.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said the dossier was meant for the younger players in the side. “It was not for me because I have played as much against these guys as Justin has, so I knew the personalities and the way a lot of the guys play. I got given a copy of it and gave it a brief read through but it was more for the younger guys in our group to get a feel about their players, ”Ponting said.

He said the players were yet to discuss the dossier in the dressing room. “I am sure they all read every single word in the document but we haven’t sat down in team meetings and talked about that because we have been searching and finding ways in our own group to play our best cricket,” he said.

Australia coach Tim Nielsen had asked Langer to compile a dossier for the English cricketers in which the former opener described Strauss and his teammates in unflattering terms.

However, the English captain Andrew Strauss is clearly not a happy man. He is clearly miffed after the damning dossier on the English cricketers made its way to the local press. Strauss said the Aussies were entitled to their opinions but Langer’s observations were wide off the mark. “You always look for outside people to give you views on the opposition. The Aussies got him to do that but it is not of great interest to us. When you cross that white line anything written on paper becomes irrelevant,” Strauss said.

That it did not go down well with him was evident as Strauss came out in defence of his teammates. “If you look at the cricket we have played in the last nine months, I would contend that (character) is something we see in England teams,” he was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.