England’s crisis is music to my patriotic ears

 
The Intruder Roar Rookie

By The Intruder, 9 Jan 2009 The Intruder is a Roar Rookie

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Sitting in my little office in the heart of London, I can’t help but smile as my English colleagues debate the current cricketing crisis. Just days ago they were goading me about the faltering Australian team, Matt Hayden’s woes, and the demise of our attack.

Now their focus is entirely on their own problems.

Whether the headlines prove to be correct is yet to be seen, but as it stands today, the captaan of the English Cricket team has resigned, and so too has the coach. While at home we have lost consecutive Test series and have some selection issues on our horizon, the news is not all is not that bad in comparison.

Tim Nielson has just earned a contract extension, and though Ricky Ponting is not going to be remembered alongside the greats in terms of captaincy, he has the full support of his team, his coach and his board.

Without the knowledge of the inner workings of the English Cricket team, it is difficult to suggest how much of an impact the dispute between Pieterson and Moores is having on the rest of the team. But one thing is certain, it can’t be a positive.

In such an important year for English cricket, their concentration should be solely on cricket and improving their game so that they can be dangerous against an Australian team which will give it opportunities in the summer.

Their current line up has some quality in its ranks: a good all-rounder, a stable batting line up and a menacing pace pair with Stuart Broad emerging as a world class prospect. They will also most certainly raise a notch when the fight for that magic urn transforms mere men into something so much more come July.

The problem, however, though is that the strengths are mostly theory based and rarely co exist, which is, of course, the reason for the constant English frustration.

Andrew Flintoff, despite his imposing talents, has been constantly below fitness and often carried too much expectation on his broad shoulders. The batting line up, with Ian Bell at three and Collingwood still in the top six, is hardly daunting, especially with the distraction of the captaincy charade involving their only batsman who can dominate an attack.

Though Harmison is back in the fold after a bizarre form slump, fluctuating over the last few years, his new ball partner Stuart Broad has shown promise but also a tendency to break down when needed most.

The others, Jimmy Anderson and off spinners Swan and Panersar, Australia simply don’t fear.

There are men waiting in the wings, with both Ravi Bopara and Owais Shar on the brink of breaking into the team, and by July, one may fill Collingwood’s number six spot. Perhaps even Michael Vaughan remains in contention, and if he can capture even a semblance of form, he will most likely be chosen because of his history of success against Australia and his popularity with his fellow players.

These positives though are, once again, theory based and while certain to be part of the continuing debate of my colleagues, is yet to be proven out on the field where it matters.

Australia’s problems can wait a week or two. Today’s crisis is English and music to my patriotic ears.

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