England then and now

One of the standout features of the current England team is its professionalism. They are single-mindedly focused on winning games and there are none of the off-field shenanigans that have distracted previous England sides. On his England cricket blog, Ted Corbett contrasts the start of the team's tour of India with the first time he covered England.

Yesterday there was no Botham figure, no brooding captain like Willis, no Duke of Buckingham type like Insole. Midway through the tour, I heard years later, he had told another reporter that the players were taking drugs. "They wouldn't dare," snapped that reporter - who more properly belonged in the 18th century - but it was the start of all the troubles afflicted England for the next 15 years.