Cricket: I'D WALK AWAY IF I GOT STICK LIKE THAT; What state will

IT would be easy to gloat over England's position in the Ashes series and even easier to stick the knife in, as everyone else seems to be doing just now.

To be honest, the criticism that intensified following our win in the second Test at Lord's has shocked even us.

And while you look to take advantage of any given situation, I can't help but sympathise with England's cause.

It is a far cry from the optimism of the English when we arrived in the country and everyone seemed to get behind their cause. Talk of a home victory dominated the papers.

Don't get me wrong, there is no better feeling on Earth than trouncing the English in their own backyard and, as I've been at pains to stress from the outset, we came here determined to win the series, and win it in style.

But if we Aussies were experiencing a difficult time back home and the situation was reversed, I'd walk away from the game if my country turned on me with such aggression.

I'm not just talking about the media's fierce criticism but England's own followers, who seem to think their sportsmen are no longer worthy to pull on the national shirt.

In defence of England they have paid a heavy price for misfortune and untimely injuries.

But that should take nothing away from us. Our preparations have been first class throughout and no stone has been left unturned to bring victory our way. But at such a difficult time, and with the crucial third Test on the horizon, how can England's cricketers be expected to mount a serious salvage job when they are viewed as little more than a joke by their own people?

Talk about demoralising tactics! We couldn't have done a better job ourselves of destroying the confidence of the opposition. What state will they be in by Thursday?

It's certainly no way to lift your spirits. I'm not going soft, I simply don't agree with some people that England have become a bad team overnight - and I'd be distraught if my country reacted the same way.

Of course you expect some criticism, that's natural. But you need to draw the line somewhere - you need to believe in your country and you need to give your players the confidence to go out in a positive frame of mind.

I remember a few weeks ago reading a column from one of the English players insisting that the country needed to compete with Australia. What on earth was he talking about? The only thing at stake is victory.

Last week someone suggested England should go out and play for pride. Well, if they don't have pride in the first place what does that say for them?

Every time I pull on the Australia shirt the pride that it brings burns a hole in my heart. I don't need to find pride, it's there - and if it wasn't I wouldn't be playing.

I wouldn't go so far as to say we've had it easy against the English, far from it. But we are the world's top team and we have a reputation to protect. Failure is not tolerated in our ranks. We don't talk about failure, and we don't think about it. It might come as a shock to some people to hear this, but as far as we are concerned winning the Ashes is much more important than winning any World Cup.

Of course we don't want it easy. We want to face strong opposition, to meet the challenge and walk away with the honours.

But unless the English get behind their team, I reckon we will become only the second Australian team to win by a whitewash.

Taking into consideration that only one player in our ranks knows what it's like to lose an Ashes series, it's no surprise that Steve Waugh stresses that no member of the squad wants to experience that pain.

Steve, who is thorough in every aspect of our preparations, uses that as a lethal weapon. No opportunity passes by without him mentioning the fact - and if the pain is half as bad as he claims, you can stuff that.

Maybe that's what makes us more complete than any other nation. We have incredibly talented players, gifted individuals and tactical geniuses who are prepared for any given situation.

The underlying fear, though, is losing. And will it happen at Trent Bridge? To hell with that!

England have their work cut out to turn the corner in this series and with so many things conspiring to undermine them, they may need divine intervention.

It would be unthinkable to let our lead slip at this stage.

Of course the neutral would like to see us lose the next Test for the excitement it would bring. But we're not complacent. With every Test our confidence grows.

Besides, we enjoy celebrating - and if we wrap things up at Trent Bridge, we will make previous celebrations look like a kid's birthday party.

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