ENGLISH CRICKET DIES IN AUSTRALIA.

The spectacular decline of the England cricket team has been quite a story.

 

A few months ago, loud-mouthed pundits, such as Ian Botham, were predicting that England would win the 2 Ashes series 10-0. Admittedly, they did win 3-0 in the summer but, even, then, there was evidence that things would not be quite the same in the return series. Now we know.

 

England have been comprehensively thumped in the first 3 tests of the series and there have been few bright spots. The batting has, with only 2 or 3 isolated exceptions, been abysmal, while the bowling has simply proved to be not up to the job. Even the fielding has been, at best, lacklustre. What has gone wrong ?

 

Firstly, captain Cook is no captain. His leadership appears to consist mostly of pulling anguished faces or covering his head with his hands; there is little in the way of contact with his players, little obvious and real encouragement or advice. Pietersen remains a law unto himself, occasionally a brilliant match winner but as much use as a chocolate teapot when the heat's on. Michael Carberry has shown some ability and Ian Bell has been more reliable than others, but Matt Prior, the vice -captain, has been as much use as his boss, scoring few runs while missing catches and stumpings. When it comes to the bowling, the much vaunted attack of Anderson, Broad and Swann has had little bite. The absence of a genuinely fast bowler has been a huge disadvantage and one wonders what's happened to Steven Finn.

 

This England team appears old, tired and disjointed. It lacks leadership and passion. It may well be that its players lack real match practice, as they rarely have any chance to play regularly. A constant round of a few Test Matches interlaced with assorted limited overs slogs is no way to develop top class players; the frequent suggestion that they need a rest after a few games is laughable.

 

Jonathan Trott's mental problems may be an indicator of even deeper problems in the overall set-up but whatever the truth, something is wrong and something needs to be done about it. This is yet another example of money and vested interests taking precedence over all else, and the end result is the demise of our national summer game.