Can the new England rule?
In the last couple of years England has grown into a strong side, driven on by a smiling captain who understands sportsmen, by a coach whose solemn face camouflages an active brain and with talent to spare, writes Ted Corbett in the Sportstar .
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
In the last couple of years England has grown into a strong side, driven on by a smiling captain who understands sportsmen, by a coach whose solemn face camouflages an active brain and with talent to spare, writes Ted Corbett in the Sportstar.
So much is growing within this New England that they can beat India — perhaps by no more than 1-0 in the four-Test series — and set off towards global supremacy for the next half dozen years.
England not only have a talented and settled line-up but perhaps the best reserve strength since the mid-1950s when Peter May and his selection panels could leave out highly skilled men like Fred Trueman, Peter Loader, Frank Tyson, Tom Graveney, Willie Watson and a dozen more and still beat Australia and anyone else in sight. Look at their skill base of 2011 in detail and you will see what I mean.
Akhila Ranganna is assistant editor (Audio) at ESPNcricinfo