Bitter much? Aussies turned down beer with England after Ashes loss

Creag

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Anderson said England and New Zealand had shared a drink after each hard-fought match of their drawn test series

by Ian Ransom | 14 July 2015

A sore and defeated Australia turned down an invitation from England to share a post-match beer after the tourists' humbling loss in the first Ashes test in Cardiff, paceman James Anderson said.

Captain Alastair Cook was rebuffed by Australia skipper Clarke after England's 169-run win on Saturday, though the match was played in good spirit.

Anderson said England and New Zealand had shared a drink after each hard-fought match of their drawn test series earlier in the summer and Cook had wanted to continue the ritual with Clarke's team.

"It was Cooky's idea and he went and asked them after the game," Anderson told British media.

"We were all happy to do it. I don't know why they didn't come in. Maybe they wanted to carry on doing things their way. You'll have to ask them. It's their prerogative.

"We had a beer with the New Zealand team after both tests and we found it an enjoyable thing to do after a hard test.

"It didn't matter whether we won or lost, we did it and it's something we want to carry on doing."

Win, lose or draw, Australia and England once shared a drink after the final day's play of each test but Ricky Ponting put paid to the tradition after his team lost the 2005 series.

The hard-bitten Tasmanian felt his players may have lost their competitive edge by being too friendly with their opponents and since, the teams have generally held off mixing with each other until the end of a series.

In contrast to the tetchy 2013/14 series in Australia, where the hosts won 5-0 and both teams engaged in some heated exchanges out in the middle, the Cardiff test passed without incident.

"The spirit was different from our point of view because we weren't fussed about trying to start any battles," Anderson said.

"We were really focussed on what we were going to do and when you rack up runs generally the opposition are quiet whoever you're playing against." - Reuters

Source: RDM.co.za | http://www.rdm.co.za/sport/2015/07/...urned-down-beer-with-england-after-ashes-loss
 

Cray

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Really can't understand the the Aussie point of view, as if professional players would play at less than their best cause they have had a beer with the opposition. What about all the cross country friendships that are formed during the IPL....
 

Ho3n3r

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Really can't understand the the Aussie point of view, as if professional players would play at less than their best cause they have had a beer with the opposition. What about all the cross country friendships that are formed during the IPL....

Because the Aussie dictionary doesn't contain the word "sportsmanship".

They can take a leaf out of the Springboks-All Blacks rivalry. HARD on the field, chilled and mates off it. The Aussies just always have this "we're better than you, leave us alone" vibe in their sports teams. Except Daniel Ricciardo. His parents must be Kiwis.
 

theratman

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Isn't it tradition to only have drinks after the last ashes game is played?
 

Cray

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Isn't it tradition to only have drinks after the last ashes game is played?

Did some reading, apparently they previous tours they had a drink at the end of the series, wonder if this is a bit of gamesmanship on the part of the English, knowing the Aussies would refuse and then running to the papers..
 
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