As far as Geoffrey Boycott is concerned, the shoe at Trent Bridge was on the other foot: It was England that failed to show application; English batsmen who didn't show the stomach to dig deep and battle it out in adverse conditions - all criticisms that have been leveled against India (with considerable justification, too). Boycs rounds it off with this other point many will agree with - this constant chatter teams indulge in these days under the guise of ‘gamesmanship' is getting to be one big yawn.Another person who finds the natter tiresome is Derek Pringle, who goes on to wonder if the entry into the game of younger players has something to do with it.
Since the inception of England's Cricket Academy (now re-branded as the National Performance Centre), younger and younger cricketers have been sucked into a system that has little contact with the real world.
The England bubble, as many have dubbed it, produces good cricketers but mono-dimensional people that seem to take longer to grow up than their contemporaries out in the real world. It is unlikely to improve either if Leicestershire's chairman, Neil Davidson, gets his wish of ensnaring talented youngsters by the time they are 17.
Alistair Cook, one of the suspects Scotland Yard wants to question in the jellybean case, says it has all been blown up out of proportion, and is merely part of playing cricket with ‘intensity'.
You've got to remember that every player out there is playing for his country. England have a proud record to defend in Test matches, especially at home, and I think it is right that we should play our cricket with intensity and positive energy and we'll look to continue that at the Oval next week.
Hmmm - okay, you need to be aware that you are playing for the country, and play with passion and with pride. Still not clear to me, though, how pranks that would provoke bored looks and some exasperation in an average high school fall into that category.
Image: Alistair Cook during the England nets session at the VCA Stadium on February 27, 2006 in Nagpur.
Also read: Sachin Tendulkar on the Test win
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