London: English cricketers are lazy, crave the friendship of rival players and start making excuses when things go wrong, the Daily Telegraph has reported, quoting an Australian Ashes dossier.
The document, containing the thoughts of Somerset captain and former Aussie opener Justine Langer, was handed to the entire Australian squad before the first Test of the current Ashes series against England, the newspaper said.
The document says English cricketers are "lazy", "shallow" and "flat" - players who "love being comfortable".
Fast bowler James Anderson is described as "a bit of a pussy" if things do not go his way and skipper Andrew Strauss as too "conservative".
"English players rarely believe in themselves," says Langer.
"Many of them stare a lot and chat a lot but this is very shallow. They will retreat very quickly. Aggressive batting, running and body language will soon have them staring at their bootlaces rather than in the eyes of their opponent--it is just how they are built."
"Because of the way they are programmed, they will be up when things are going well, but they will taper off very quickly if you wear them down."
"Because they play so much cricket, as soon as it gets a bit hard you just have to watch their body language and see how flat and lazy they get," says Langer.
"This is also a time when most of them make all sorts of excuses and start looking around to point the finger at everyone else--it is a classic English trait from my experience."
The Daily Telegraph said the document warns the current Australian side not to be too friendly with the England team, as they did in 2005 when England won the biennial series 2-1.
"They (English cricketers) like being friendly and 'matey' because it makes them feel comfortable," Langer says.
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"In essence this is maybe the key to the whole English psyche - they love being comfortable. Take them out of their comfort zone and they don't like it for one second."
Langer is also quoted as advising Aussie cricketers to sledge England wicketkeeper Matt Prior.
"I would chip away at him about his wicketkeeping. I would be reminding him about how it could see him out of the team. I would definitely work his ego."
Langer's plan for batsman Ravi Bopara, the paper said, was silence: "He is sure to wind the boys up by his strutting around, but I would leave him alone."
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