England go into Thursday’s second T20I in Canberra needing nothing less than a win to maintain their hopes of salvaging a drawn series after four consecutive losses. But their on-field struggles have been overshadowed by the team’s alleged response to Hartley’s criticism of their fitness levels, which began with their T20 World Cup exit in October.
“The reason I said that they were not as fit as Australia is because I want them to compete with Australia,” Hartley had added. “I want them to be better than Australia, and I want them to win Ashes and World Cups. I’m giving my opinion, and I’ve been given the cold shoulder from the England team ever since.”
Replying to the row, Jones acknowledged that the squad had fallen well short of its own expectations during the Ashes, but denied that the players had taken Hartley’s comments personally.
“I don’t think it is the case,” Jones said. “I think we all respect that commentators have their own opinions and it’s Alex’s job to say how she feels. And I think we all respect that. Hartley’s a great personality, and we have a lot of love for her within the group. So, I definitely don’t think that’s the case.”
Jones herself has been a qualified success in a misfiring batting line-up, making three 30-plus scores in four innings to date, including an unbeaten 47 in a low-scoring ODI in Melbourne.
“That one in particular was hard to take, for many reasons,” Jones said. “I felt emotionally drained afterwards [because], with the obvious mistake at the end, you definitely feel responsible for the loss. But the support from all the girls and the staff emphasised that long games don’t often come down to one specific moment, so I guess that definitely helped.
“I’ve obviously made contributions along the way, but as a player, you definitely judge yourself on matchwinning contributions. I’ve been lucky to be in a position where I could have really helped influence a few of those games, especially in the ODIs, and I’m disappointed not to be able to get the team over the line. There’s a lot of learnings in there.”
Even with the series all but lost, Jones says that the squad will be sticking to the same mantras and methods that have been in place since the start of Jon Lewis’ tenure as head coach, in particular their desire to “inspire and entertain” – traits that have arguably been in scarce supply in a dispiriting campaign.
“We’re still working hard at training and in team meetings to try and put our best foot forward,” Jones said. “We’ll be very excited to come out play tomorrow, and hopefully get some points on the board.
“There was a bit of reconnection after the second ODI about how we want to play, making sure we’re still trying to inspire and entertain,” she added. “That’s worked really well for us in the past, and it’s something that all of us connect to really well.
“It brings out more of a fearless playing style, which suits us. I think we’ve lifted a bit away from that, and so reconnecting to that is important for us. We play our best when we take the game on, put their bowlers under pressure with the bat, and have a wicket-taking mindset with the ball. In the field, it’s around energy and enjoyment. When all those things come together, we’re obviously a very good side.”
