A sprawling Michael Kasprowicz tries to stop Mark Butcher picking up a run at The Oval in 1997. England went on to win by 19 runs
Darren Gough
There’s no truth in it at all. There is no such thing as a dead rubber, and I don’t believe players switch off. There’s always something for every player to play for – your place, team rankings points, player ratings points, and your own personal pride, most importantly.
If it was a dead rubber why did Mitchell Starc come back to play in the last Test even if he’d had a heel injury at Melbourne? Because he wanted to take even more wickets.
He was desperate to play. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood played all five Tests, when they could have rested at Sydney. Yes, players can get more tired over the course of a series, but the presence of those three bowlers in the last Test tells you a lot. England wanted to avoid a possible whitewash at Melbourne, and at Sydney they wanted to avoid 4-0.
If you’re going to start saying certain Tests don’t count, are you going to take away Lara’s 375 or 400? How many hundreds have been scored or five-fors taken in ‘dead rubbers’? Where do you stop? You’re messing with the entire history of the game.
Nasser Hussain
They definitely did not switch off in the sides I played in. Invariably we would be trailing and people would be playing for their futures. You are also playing for your country. Also, no one wanted to be remembered as a member of a side that was whitewashed. You owe it to the fans.
That is why when we won at Sydney in 2002/03 we did a little lap of honour. We realised people had paid a lot of hard-earned cash to be out there. The Australians do seem to lose the odd game when they are well ahead.
Take those two catches they dropped on the second morning at Sydney – would that have happened at Brisbane?
Dean Wilson (Daily Mirror cricket correspondent)
An absolute example from James Anderson. Third new ball, at the SCG in brutal heat, fifth Test match of the series, his body is sore, 500-plus on the board, and he is causing all sorts of problems at good pace. What dead rubber?
Steve Smith
Winning at The Oval in 2015 certainly gave us confidence. Just knowing that we could win in foreign conditions. England did their best to get a result at the SCG, and we did everything we could to stop that happening.
"It’s vital that everyone is on board emotionally"
Jason Gillespie
There is no such thing as a dead-rubber Ashes Test. You are representing your country and whether you are an Australian cricketer or a touring Englishman, the prospect of playing in front of nearly 100,000 fans is reason enough to remember this.
Brendon McCullum
When a series has already been decided and there’s still a game to go, the important thing is to remember what got you into that position in the first place. And it’s vital that everyone is on board emotionally.
Huw Turbervill
A case study for me is the sixth Test of the 1997 Ashes. England had cruelly raised our hopes by winning the first Test but the writing was on the wall from the second (which England salvaged a draw from). Afterwards it was the usual McGrath/Warne procession (with Matthew Elliott at the crease). Because of injuries, Shaun Young played because Jason Gillespie and Brendon Julian were injured, and Paul Reiffel was on paternity leave. Young made minimal impact. Phil Tufnell and Andrew Caddick had blinders (too little too late) and an England victory gave the series scoreline (3-2) a respectable sheen. It felt at the time that the tourists had lost a bit of intensity.
Kevin Pietersen
Never quite understood the ‘playing for pride’ when a series is lost. More like, ‘playing for your place in the team because you’ve lost.’ There’s ZERO pride in winning after you’ve lost!
Piers Morgan (journalist and presenter)
Dead rubber innings are never ‘great’ innings.
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