Former England cricket captain Ian Botham says it’s not just Australia which has fallen victim to coaching “mumbo-jumbo”.
Botham says in his playing days English chairman of selectors Ted Dexter asked players to learn a reworked version of the hymn Onward Christian Soldiers to fire the Brits up ahead of an Ashes Test.
“And he wanted us to practise singing it in the bath,” Botham writes in the British tabloid the Daily Mirror.
Australian Test No.4 Shane Watson, in-form quick James Pattinson, reserve batsman Usman Khawaja and back-up paceman Mitchell Johnson have been suspended for failing to meet a deadline for a homework assignment set by coach Mickey Arthur.
Botham on Wednesday said he’d never been a fan of coaching jargon or gimmicks.
“If running a cricket team was as simple as trotting out a load of mumbo-jumbo David Brent would be England coach,” he said referring to the cringe-worthy manager in the TV show The Office.
“We don’t yet know the full story of Australia’s meltdown in India but in my experience cricket is essentially a game of runs, wickets and catches.”
Dexter’s 1989 reworked hymn began: “Onward Gower’s soldiers, striving for a score, With our bats uplifted, we want more and more.”
British newspapers have had a field day with Australia’s woes this week.
Headlines included “Oh, what a crying Shane!”
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