When are England going to learn?
Last year Jimmy Anderson said this England team could be the best England team of all time
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Last year Jimmy Anderson said this England team could be the best England team of all time. My answer to that is: “Don’t make us laugh, Jimmy.” You and your mates can’t go on pretending you are the best team in the world now, never mind ever, writes Geoff Boycott in the Telegraph.
If we can’t win in the sub-continent then England are a one-dimensional team. We are very good if pitches are true and the seamers can dominate. As soon as the pitch becomes a slow turner and demands adjustment in technique and temperament from the batsmen we make silly mistakes ...
When are England going to learn? We have so many backroom staff now. There is a full-time batting coach in Graham Gooch and a full-time senior coach in Andy Flower. Both have excellent Test match records yet nothing has changed.
In the Guardian, Mike Selvey says Monty Panesar can catch, but he is more successful when he has less time to think about it.
It would be remiss to suggest that Panesar cannot catch a cricket ball, that he has the coordination of new-born foal. Of course he can catch. He does it in practice all the time. And so he should for he has hands the size of baseball mitts, the equivalent of the average person attempting to catch a golf ball. Ask the Australian opener Ed Cowan if Panesar can catch. In Hobart, before the last Ashes series, with England playing Australia A, it was Panesar's reflex one-handed diving catch at midwicket that ended Cowan's bid for a place in the Test series.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo