England's flight of fancy is a pain for passengers
The performances of the England cricket team since they won the Ashes so memorably in 2005 would lend credence to the notion that their players, even the side's stars in Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, do not walk on water
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
The performances of the England cricket team since they won the Ashes so memorably in 2005 would lend credence to the notion that their players, even the side's stars in Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, do not walk on water. They do, however, enjoy the privilege of magic carpet rides, writes Paul Weaver in the Guardian.
It was by magic carpet that they arrived in St Kitts today for the start of their 10-week tour of the West Indies. Or, at least, a magic carpet of sorts, a Boeing 747 with the Virgin logo spilling all over its tail, as if it had just snagged its famous owner's hot-air balloon. It was magic because Flight VS29 was not meant to go to St Kitts at all, but Barbados. It was rerouted for the specific purpose of unloading the 16 England cricketers and support staff whose tour starts with a three-day fixture against a St Kitts XI on 25 January.
As England prepare for their West Indies tour, now is the time for a jaded side to pull together, writes Andy Bull in the Guardian.
As an example of what that phrase "team spirit" means in practice, just look at the washed-out one-day match between England and Australia at Edgbaston in 2005, when Matthew Hayden exploded into a rage after being hit on the shoulder by Simon Jones' wayward shy at the stumps in his follow-through, and Jones' team-mates rushed to his defence. "It was a big statement on our behalf. In other times, we would probably have all shuffled back to our places," observed Marcus Trescothick in his book Coming Back To Me. "This time four or five of us rushed to the scene to back Simon up." England cannot afford to be "shuffling back to their places" now.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo