Hymn for weak end

ROOT ON HOT AND COLD PLAY

- GARY FITZGERALD

JOE ROOT shrugged off England’s humbling final Test defeat by comparing the team to “Coldplay” and said: “We can’t be No.1 every week.”

But two other former captains accused the team of getting “hammered” by Sri Lanka and failing their biggest test of the summer when they finally came up against “real competition”.

Sir Alastair Cook and Michael Vaughan stuck the boot in, questioning and criticising the players’ attitude and ability as hopes of a 6-0 Test clean sweep were wrecked.

Ollie Pope and his men were left licking their wounds as they finally had to accept the taste of defeat.

The received a nasty “reality check” in the Third Test as the confidence boost and adulation of winning the first five games of the campaign was replaced by disappointment and a bit of soul searching.