The Australian leg-spinning wizard Shane Warne has slammed the Ashes-winning captain Allistair Cook, claiming England retained cricket's prized trophy despite, rather than because of Cook's overly defensive captaincy.
England sealed the five-match series when they won the fourth test earlier this week by 74 runs with more than a day to spare after Australia collapsed spectacularly in their chase for 299.
Cook has lost only one test in 12 as England captain, and Warne's former Australian team-mate Glenn McGrath, covering the series for the Guardian newspaper, said there was a hint of the old "Baggy Green mentality" in the current England side who are riding high on self belief.
