7th January 2012
As an England cricket supporter you cannot help but look back over 2011 with a smile. It was the year that England, under the 'two Andrew's' achieved the impossible - retaining the Ashes in Australia, white-washing India and becoming world number 1. 2011 was also the year that I let my father explain cricket to me and became simply obsessed.
This England side has every ingredient to satisfy any young female cricket fan; talent, determination, good-looks and excellent banter. It's hard not to have a favourite, but us women, we all do. Stuart Broad's floppy blond hair and cheeky side-smile is enough to give any female cricket fan the shivers as he runs to the crease, and there's even something there for the men - Broady's talent. I remember watching the England batting line up collapse to India's bowlers at Trent Bridge whilst sitting next to my father who, having been an England fan for over 40 years, took Morgan's duck and Prior's 1 as an indication that it was "all over" for the team. Then Broad stepped out. I don't know whether it was the fact that my father had seen England fail so often after achieving glory or whether he is a secretly pessimistic cricket fan, but he certainly didn't believe that a man coming into bat at number 9 was going to save England. Boy, how wrong he was.
Broad made 64 that day, nothing compared to Alastair Cook's "daddy hundreds" of the series, but I believe that it was Broad's come back that sent the message to England, India and the fans, that this England team fights to the end and does not fizzle away into dust like teams of old. This was the first of many signs that world domination was achievable and could be ours.
I believe that the change in the team mentality came at the German pre-ashes boot camp. When the news broke that Jimmy Anderson had suffered a broken rib, I think it's fair to say that many questioned England's new 'get tough' regime and saw it as being very far away from traditional cricket preparation. However, 2011 suggests that it was this rugged fighting spirit, discovered in a German forest, that accounted for part of England's success. The stark difference between England and their opposition, in both Australia and India, was astounding. Australia were battered so harshly by England that it was humiliating, England towered over them exposing every crack. Likewise, the Indian team was reduced to nothingness by England and not even the 'little master' could shine through. Notice my choice of words here, "reduced", I do not share the media's view that India turned up not looking for a fight, I believe that they tried to fight but England were simply too good to let them. Look at Dhoni, Dravid, Laxman, Sreesanth and Kumar - they all showed determination and drive it's just that, ironically, the wall that they hit was the wall of England.
So where does this leave our boys now? I think it's simple, they must win against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They must use Graeme Swann wisely to keep his economy low and wickets high and most importantly Broad and Anderson must support Swanny, with Monty there to take the weight off. It's finding the balance that'll be tough and a especially with Bresnan's absence.
But, news from the UAE: Broad 4-46 in the first warm up match against the ICC...a sign? You decide.
Until next time, The Seam-Mistress
As an England cricket supporter you cannot help but look back over 2011 with a smile. It was the year that England, under the 'two Andrew's' achieved the impossible - retaining the Ashes in Australia, white-washing India and becoming world number 1. 2011 was also the year that I let my father explain cricket to me and became simply obsessed.
This England side has every ingredient to satisfy any young female cricket fan; talent, determination, good-looks and excellent banter. It's hard not to have a favourite, but us women, we all do. Stuart Broad's floppy blond hair and cheeky side-smile is enough to give any female cricket fan the shivers as he runs to the crease, and there's even something there for the men - Broady's talent. I remember watching the England batting line up collapse to India's bowlers at Trent Bridge whilst sitting next to my father who, having been an England fan for over 40 years, took Morgan's duck and Prior's 1 as an indication that it was "all over" for the team. Then Broad stepped out. I don't know whether it was the fact that my father had seen England fail so often after achieving glory or whether he is a secretly pessimistic cricket fan, but he certainly didn't believe that a man coming into bat at number 9 was going to save England. Boy, how wrong he was.
Broad made 64 that day, nothing compared to Alastair Cook's "daddy hundreds" of the series, but I believe that it was Broad's come back that sent the message to England, India and the fans, that this England team fights to the end and does not fizzle away into dust like teams of old. This was the first of many signs that world domination was achievable and could be ours.
I believe that the change in the team mentality came at the German pre-ashes boot camp. When the news broke that Jimmy Anderson had suffered a broken rib, I think it's fair to say that many questioned England's new 'get tough' regime and saw it as being very far away from traditional cricket preparation. However, 2011 suggests that it was this rugged fighting spirit, discovered in a German forest, that accounted for part of England's success. The stark difference between England and their opposition, in both Australia and India, was astounding. Australia were battered so harshly by England that it was humiliating, England towered over them exposing every crack. Likewise, the Indian team was reduced to nothingness by England and not even the 'little master' could shine through. Notice my choice of words here, "reduced", I do not share the media's view that India turned up not looking for a fight, I believe that they tried to fight but England were simply too good to let them. Look at Dhoni, Dravid, Laxman, Sreesanth and Kumar - they all showed determination and drive it's just that, ironically, the wall that they hit was the wall of England.
So where does this leave our boys now? I think it's simple, they must win against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They must use Graeme Swann wisely to keep his economy low and wickets high and most importantly Broad and Anderson must support Swanny, with Monty there to take the weight off. It's finding the balance that'll be tough and a especially with Bresnan's absence.
But, news from the UAE: Broad 4-46 in the first warm up match against the ICC...a sign? You decide.
Until next time, The Seam-Mistress
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