*Points and laughs at England*
Revenge is oh so sweet.
2005 was, in no uncertain terms, the best test series I have ever witnessed. The level of skill, passion and sportsmanship made that series the gold standard against which I will compare all future test series. But 2005 annoyed me in a manner I can’t explain. It was not the result; as much as I’ve traditionally found the English cricket team annoying (and snobbish), I found that under Michael Vaughn’s leadership and Flintoff’s inspiration, English crickethad finally acquired the heart, the smile, and – above all – the balls needed to compete in test cricket. I even cheered for them, happy to see that somebody could give Australia a taste of their own medicine.
Then, following England’s Ashes victory, came the media hype. Suddenly the English cricket team was the greatest team ever, even though they hadn’t achieved half the things that Australia has in this decade of dominance. Suddenly, cricket was sexy in England, pushing football to the backpages. Suddenly, cricket was attracting new fans – the idiot kind; the ones who love the word ‘Fad’. Like a balloon, England’s chances of regaining the Ashes were being blown to levels that bordered on the silly.
The team themselves didn’t do themselves any favours. Throughout the next 16 months they played with mixed results. Everytime they won, the media blew it up even more (Yes, we all wanted to know what song Flintoff played to his team before leading them out to the famous victory in India). Everytime they lost, the media, the public and, above all, the team dismissed the match itself as insignificant – especially true when the match was an One Day International (Hoggard famously said that he didn’t care what happened as long as they win the Ashes).
During the ICC Champions Trophy – a marketing gimmick parading as the second world cup - England didn’t display an iota of interest in the tournament. Australia, on the other hand, were a team possessed led by a man who was possessed. The Ashes loss of the previous year had galvanised the team. Every match, every tournament, no matter how insignificant, was given the importance it deserved.
And it all led to today. There was a certain sense of inevitability about the result, but how the Aussies must love it all the same. The marketing hogs can now retreat to football. The idiot fans will desert the game. And England is back to being the very epitome of snobbery and incompetence.
Revenge is so bloody sweet.
I shall end this rant in an extremly profound manner.
*Points and laughs at England*
Disclaimer: This post was written as soon as the author woke up and witnessed the result of the Ashes. Grammar, spellings, courtsey to readers (especially the ones who support(ed?)England, or don’t plain like Australia) was disregarded. He makes no apologies.
2 Comments
January 6, 2007 at 4:53 am
Agreed – the English sporting press is stupid. A little success and they go insane. It’s worse when they report on the England football team. They really do write as if they’re the best in the world.
The Ashes was disappointing though. I think everyone was expecting a better show. It’s sad when something so hotly anticipated turns out to be a total anticlimax.
June 18, 2009 at 11:42 am
May be things will swing back the other way and the ashes will be coming home? who knows but I predict a close one!