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Boy scouts versus Dad’s Army

By Will 4 years ago, mid-July Add your comment below

November’s Ashes series, the most hyped in memory, promises to be a battle between young and old, between inexperience and gnarled old pros. So often the side who sent pensioners to Australia in recent series, it is England who will be by far the younger side as they were last year.

I was reading Tim de Lisle’s piece in today’s Times over several coffees this afternoon. In it he makes mention of England’s “young old guard”:

On Thursday, England’s captain will be Andrew Strauss, a man who made his Test debut only 27 months ago. Their gnarliest veteran will be Marcus Trescothick, aged 30. The most prized wicket will be that of Kevin Pietersen, a Test cricketer for only a year. Five of the likely squad — Alastair Cook, Jamie Dalrymple, Liam Plunkett, Sajid Mahmood and Monty Panesar — are new since the Ashes series and only Trescothick and Matthew Hoggard have Test careers stretching back three years

The situation England find themselves in is a potential precipice: they could fall spectacularly against Pakistan, or move confidently away from the edge and find young talent who have the bottle to battle their way in Australia. Replacing England’s key players in the winter were the likes of Alastair Cook, Monty Panesar and Owais Shah – none of whom were in the slightest bit fazed or overawed. They performed as they have for their counties, with little fuss and no less shortage of skill and flair (with Monty’s and Cook’s fielding the only worrying aspect).

All is not lost. In fact, I’m reminded of last September when my mate said “Well that’s that then. We’re f***** for the next Ashes.” Amid all the celebration and relief in watching England’s players lap up their victory, it was an odd angle to take. When asked to reason his oddness, he said “We weren’t expected to win it this year [2005]; we’re now favourites for next winter and it’s all going to go belly up.”

He has a point. As a nation, we’re the best, most ankle-snapping of underdogs. I don’t think expectation necessarily sits comfortably in the minds of British sportsmen and women. Think Tim Henman; think England’s Rugby Union squad after winning the World Cup; England’s footballers, well, the less said about them the better. And to that list you can add the England cricket team. So maybe (he says, clutching armfuls of straw) England’s current woes might stand them in better stead for the future than we believe. The thought of having the 2005 squad back together again is fanciful; it won’t happen, and England could well be thankful for that so long as the young replacements mature quickly and rid themselves of, well, the “replacements” tag.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this series against Pakistan in the rebuilding of England. It’s massive, and promises to be absolutely fascinating.

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5 Responses to “Boy scouts versus Dad’s Army”

  • Warwick Todd wrote:
    July 9th, 2006 at 1.05 am

    Australia does have an ageing squad. After this AShes series & the World Cup I would expect a lot of retirements. WARWICK TODD predicts this will be Australia’s XI for Brisbane.

    Langer
    Hayden
    Ponting
    Martyn
    Clarke
    Hussey
    Gilchrist
    Lee
    Warne
    Clarke
    MacGill

    Gillespie 12th man.

    A formidable side. I would like to see Lee bat in front of Warne. Jacques would be the 1st replacement batsman & MacGill to play in Adelaide and Sydney.

  • Scott wrote:
    July 9th, 2006 at 10.10 am

    I’m surprised that Mr. Todd, (doffs his cap in respect) thinks that Glenn McGrath won’t make the 12.

    But I agree that England do need to do well against Pakistan and that these 4 Tests will be absolutely rivetting to watch.

  • Warwick Todd wrote:
    July 9th, 2006 at 10.15 am

    You got me there Scott, McGrath for MacGill. Anyone care to predict what England’s XI will be in Brisbane? You have to feel sorry for Gillespie, scored 200-odd not out in his last innings but probably will not play in Brisbane.

  • SpryCorpse wrote:
    July 9th, 2006 at 11.55 pm

    I’m not sure if I agree with Will’s England-as-wonderful-underdogs theory. They were underdogs for about 15 years before they came good.

  • Warwick Todd wrote:
    July 10th, 2006 at 6.25 am

    Even if Australia win this Ashes series, and I expect them to do so easily, there is still hope for England. Australia will have a very green squad for the 2009 Ashes series. I do not think it will be another 16 year period of domination.

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