The fourth test at was uncomfortable viewing for any England fan, However as I watched three days of dreadful English cricket my overriding concern was, not that we had picked the wrong team, that Bopara is woefully inadequate, or that Harmison was bowling too short. It was something far worse, I simply did not care all that much. I admit to not being the most patriotic of people but rather unlike with the Football team I have always been able go get behind out cricket team, especially in an ashes summer but this year I have not found the same enthusiasm.
That is not to say that I do not want England to win, of course and being at Lords on the Monday was a great experience, but that morning aside I have been rather underwhelmed by this series. It was always going to be difficult to reach the heights of 2005. or even the sheer disappointment and humiliation of 2006. But the problem is not really the cricket itself, which I have enjoyed, but this particular England side. While watching the second day Henry (Sledger) and I were discussing how this England team lacked any real character, indeed without Flintoff and Pietersen this current side is the blandest England side I have ever watched.
By character I do not mean mental toughness or desire but more a certain likability, a feeling that this was my team. Ever since I first properly started watching cricket in the mid 90’s I have felt that England had this character, they have never been a great side, often they have been very poor one, but they were always a side with individuals that I wanted to do well, be it Atherton, Smith, Stewart or Thorpe, England always had batsman that I wanted to succeed. Whenever Ramps came to the crease I was desperate for him to do well, why do I not feel the same sense of disappointment when Ravi of Bell trudge back to the pavilion having failed again? I always loved watching Nasser scrap his way to a priceless century. I get no such enjoyment from watching Collingwood play a similar innings. Then there was the bowling line-up full of different characters, Gough and Caddick made a great odd couple opening partnership, backed up by the likes of Angus Fraser, Dominic Cork and Phil Tufnell. Then there was the unique Jack Russell. By 2005 when England was a far better and more professional side but were still characters that I loved, and not just the Freddy. Hoggard and Giles who took us to victory at Trent Bridge are two such examples.
This may in large part be nostalgia (I am 21 I should not be saying everything was better in my day already) but Flintoff and Pietersen aside I see no such character in this England side. I like Strauss and I want him to do well but and the same goes for Anderson but neither drum up the level of affection I felt towards Mike Atherton or Angus Fraser. Most of this team I am totally indifferent to, they seem like nice guys but have almost no opinion on players such as Alistair Cook or Graham Onions. In some ways I thought a similar thing might have happened to Australia, deprives of some of the greatest characters in the history of cricket. However as this series draws to an end I have seen new characters, Johnson has been a great story throughout the series, as has Hauritz in some ways. But most notable of all has been Ricky Ponting, like him or not (I do) Ponting is a character and along with Flintof he has been in many ways the central figure of this series, I cannot help but feel the constant booing and barracking he has received from the England supporters in some ways a result of the lack of characters on their own side.
So this is just me or are others struggling to really get behind this particular England side?
That is not to say that I do not want England to win, of course and being at Lords on the Monday was a great experience, but that morning aside I have been rather underwhelmed by this series. It was always going to be difficult to reach the heights of 2005. or even the sheer disappointment and humiliation of 2006. But the problem is not really the cricket itself, which I have enjoyed, but this particular England side. While watching the second day Henry (Sledger) and I were discussing how this England team lacked any real character, indeed without Flintoff and Pietersen this current side is the blandest England side I have ever watched.
By character I do not mean mental toughness or desire but more a certain likability, a feeling that this was my team. Ever since I first properly started watching cricket in the mid 90’s I have felt that England had this character, they have never been a great side, often they have been very poor one, but they were always a side with individuals that I wanted to do well, be it Atherton, Smith, Stewart or Thorpe, England always had batsman that I wanted to succeed. Whenever Ramps came to the crease I was desperate for him to do well, why do I not feel the same sense of disappointment when Ravi of Bell trudge back to the pavilion having failed again? I always loved watching Nasser scrap his way to a priceless century. I get no such enjoyment from watching Collingwood play a similar innings. Then there was the bowling line-up full of different characters, Gough and Caddick made a great odd couple opening partnership, backed up by the likes of Angus Fraser, Dominic Cork and Phil Tufnell. Then there was the unique Jack Russell. By 2005 when England was a far better and more professional side but were still characters that I loved, and not just the Freddy. Hoggard and Giles who took us to victory at Trent Bridge are two such examples.
This may in large part be nostalgia (I am 21 I should not be saying everything was better in my day already) but Flintoff and Pietersen aside I see no such character in this England side. I like Strauss and I want him to do well but and the same goes for Anderson but neither drum up the level of affection I felt towards Mike Atherton or Angus Fraser. Most of this team I am totally indifferent to, they seem like nice guys but have almost no opinion on players such as Alistair Cook or Graham Onions. In some ways I thought a similar thing might have happened to Australia, deprives of some of the greatest characters in the history of cricket. However as this series draws to an end I have seen new characters, Johnson has been a great story throughout the series, as has Hauritz in some ways. But most notable of all has been Ricky Ponting, like him or not (I do) Ponting is a character and along with Flintof he has been in many ways the central figure of this series, I cannot help but feel the constant booing and barracking he has received from the England supporters in some ways a result of the lack of characters on their own side.
So this is just me or are others struggling to really get behind this particular England side?
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