Fishing net

Netting the thoughts of a wavering mind...

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Can the English Cricket team ever accept defeat gracefully?

I had really wished that the English cricket team come in full strength so that they don't get an opportunity to put the blame on absence of key players. To an extent I do agree that the current English team is slightly weaker than the team which took on the Aussies but none of the players who are absent from the current squad could have made a big difference. None of them can play spinners well, leave alone playing spinners in India. And as far as Simon Jones is concerned, he played well just in one series and I personally felt that too much was made out of his reverse swing. He could have taken a couple of wickets but I don't think that it would have prevented India from winning. And regarding Ashley Giles, I don't know how English can dream of winning a series in India with a spinner whose main aim is to bowl negatively. His bowling was so negative that after the England series of 2001/02, a new rule was framed to restrict such kind of bowling.English cricket teams never accept defeats in India gracefully. In the 1992-93 series, Graham Gooch's side blamed pollution, food and weather for its defeat!!!
I really would have liked to see Sehwag and Sachin take Giles apart in India....