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Mike-Atherton
Batsman in good press shock
By Rich Abbott 5 days ago, in the early evening, 2 Comments »
A slightly edited extract from Mike Atherton’s Bangladesh tour diary:
As the formal practice ends, Player x remains in the nets batting against a posse of local bowlers, none aged more than twenty. A lovely ten minutes follows: Player x engages with them fully, asking them what fields they would have and they set him a stiff target to chase. He hits some massive sixes but just fails in his task which brings great joy to the bowlers. At the end, he shakes their hands, signs autographs and poses for photos.
Guess who Player x is? It’s not England’s all-round good guy Paul Collingwood, nor is it old-friend Freddie Flintoff popping in to visit his chums – it’s Kevin Pietersen, revealing a side to him rarely documented. Atherton goes on:
Pietersen has been the subject of many unflattering portraits in England, but I have always found him to be unfailingly polite and respectful and well-mannered.
Having seen him operate at close quarters on the South Africa tour, Atherton’s KP portrait sounds familiar. In my limited experience, Pietersen seemed hard-working, polite and obliging to fans – and that whilst struggling for form in a country in which he’s vilified.
2 Comments »Strauss deserves a break
By Rich Abbott 2 months ago, 2 Comments »
Not just from the cricket, but also from those criticising the move to rest him for the upcoming Bangladesh tour.
This time last year, England were in some disarray. Having waded through the debris of the Pietersen-Moores debacle, confirmation of their struggles was about to manifest itself in the form of a Test series defeat in the West Indies. The one plus of this trying period was the form of Andrew Strauss, which improved with his newly-acquired captaincy.
With the hundreds flowing – including three consecutive tons in the West Indies – he proved a strong and popular leader. His influence on the Ashes last summer was as great as Flintoff’s in 2005, and achieved without anywhere near the same level of help from his teammates. As England’s only reliable batsman at this time, he returned to the ODI set-up, in a move that will see him lead England at the next World Cup. In South Africa, England lost only two matches under his charge, but at last signs of weariness began to show – mainly in his batting.
He’s had a hell of a year, and but for him, England may have had the year from hell. With no commitments until the start of the county season, his batteries will be suitably recharged for another packed summer, not to mention the next Ashes, only ten months away.
The life of any England captain is finite. Strauss’s is likely to end through tear-stained eyes at some press conference in the future, and England need to prolong that date for as long as possible. Cook will have a chance to lead the side against Bangladesh, which makes sense, because as Atherton himself hints, it would be nice to have an indication that England have a replacement ready for when Strauss finally does call it a day.
2 Comments »Cape Town, day three: revenge of the bravado
By Rich Abbott 2 months ago, 5 Comments »
It was hard work sitting in the Cape Town sun today (no really), let alone running around in it. And England were given the run around by Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla and, latterly, Jacques Kallis.
For the first time in the match, the South African supporters relaxed. Finally, as Smith bedded in for what would become his nineteenth Test hundred, a belief swept through the Newlands crowd. It was a pity, from England’s point of view, that it didn’t bring a breeze with it. In the southern hemisphere, belief soon becomes bravado, and all of a sudden hapless fielders were being goaded and the barmy army had a rival in the noise department. At last! This is how I imagined Test cricket in South Africa to be.
Smith’s was a special innings. Eight of his Test hundreds have exceeded 150, and half of those have come against England. In fact, in the same way that M&S don’t just do food, they do M&S food, against England, Smith doesn’t just do hundreds, he does bloody big hundreds. When he passes three figures against England, he always adds another fifty or two for good measure.
Bar a few nervous moments in the nineties, it was vintage: brutal, inevitable, a captain’s innings. England will need to call upon the spirit of another captain’s innings tomorrow and on Thursday: Mike Atherton’s famous 185 not out in Jo’burg, fifteen years ago. A truly epic rearguard, Atherton batted 643 minutes and faced a staggering 492 balls for his Test high score.
Of course, any of the class of 2010 attempting to emulate this feat, will require dogged assistance from a number of teammates. In 1995, Atherton had Jack Russell, whose often forgotten contribution, 29 not out, lasted 274 minutes and 235 balls – that’s eight balls (and 133 runs) less than Smith today.
Such talk is premature, and no doubt foolish. The sun must have gone to my head.
5 Comments »The use of technology in cricket, part 17
By Will last year, at the end of December, 3 Comments »
And so the dreaded decision review system is back. It’s matured enough to be own its own acronym, DRS, but not enough to quell the doubters such as me, nor more eloquent observers of the game: Mike Atherton.
Those who would wish to watch the relentless march of perfectionism — the ultimate endgame of professionalism — should ask themselves what watching sport without human error would be like. And to those who say that if sport is worth playing, then it is worth playing properly, I would simply quote Gideon Haigh, occasionally of this parish: “When cricket is thought to be too important to be left to mere humans, then it is in danger of mattering too much to be enjoyed.”
Cricket has lost something rare and precious and it was not what Collingwood or those in thrall to automated perfectionism were searching for.
The entire article deserves your attention, even if you’re in favour of the relentless march towards isolating the on-field umpires in pursuit of apparent perfection. Such a notion, as Atherton points out, is entirely false in a breed of entertainment which thrives on risk and chance and derring do and bravery such as sport.
What saddens me most with technology in cricket, apart from the speed with which it has changed the sport in the past ten years, is understanding who it is supposed to benefit. It isn’t the spectators, on TV or at the ground. It might once have been to protect the on-field umpires, but has instead stripped them of the powers bestowed on them by the laws of the game. Their word was once final, but not any longer. So what purpose – other than counting to six; stretching their arms horizontally and vertically; occasionally standing on one leg; drawing an imaginary TV screen in the shape of a square or helping to calm angry players – do they now serve?
The impact has so far been that more players – fractionally more, because the reviews are limited in number – are receiving the correct decision, and near-total justice has been achieved. But the system isn’t yet (and won’t be for years, if ever) foolproof enough to ever allow officials to be 100% certain about each decision, which makes you wonder why we ever went down this path in the first place. Well, it ought not make us wonder. We know who runs the game, and it’s certainly not the ICC.
Since when did sport, a mere game – harmless folly between one human being and another – become in need of a judicial system thereby ostracising the very people it was invented to help entertain?
3 Comments »Flintoff: should he, shouldn’t he?
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of May, 9 Comments »
Apologies for the lack of updates. I’ve been down in sunny, rainy, windy Hove. While I was down there, much discussion took place in the press box about Mike Atherton’s debut as The Times’ chief cricket correspondent, namely his interview with Michael Vaughan. The England captain alluded to the likelihood of Andrew Flintoff returning for the first Test against New Zealand, which most media outlets picked up on.
I think it’s both inevitable that it will happen, and a positive for England. I am less convinced he will survive the whole summer – on landing, his ankle still points awkwardly and unnaturally away to the off side, which can only exhaserbate the problems he has had – but I’d rather he broke down playing for England than Lancashire. He’s bowled well enough for his club so far this season, and although he’s not scored any runs, his influence with the ball is still great enough to warrant his inclusion. Hell, Justin Langer – no stranger to OTT remarks – still considers him the best fast bowler in the world, though that was on the back of receiving a battering from Flintoff last week.
So where do you stand? Should Fred play the first Test, or bide his time with Lancashire until the South Africans arrive? Leave a comment and vote at the site.
9 Comments »Is 50 the new 40?
By Will 2 years ago, at the end of March, 7 Comments »
I don’t listen to TMS nearly as much as I used to, as we’re usually plugged into Sky (for obvious reasons), so it’s been like welcoming back an old friend this Test, flicking it on for the first session. One statistically-minded listened just wrote into Aggers and co wondering why they (and the media in general) gripe and moan about our batsmen when each of them averages 40 – the benchmark of a fine player. Or is it?
My colleague and I have debated this for some time, and agree that 50 is now the new 40. Flatter, covered pitches; big, powerful bats and, most importantly of all, the standard of bowling nowadays is not what it once was. Vic Marks made a good point, that averages can’t be compared cross-generation…and I agree, to an extent. But look at someone like Mike Atherton who averaged 37.69. Had he made his debut ten years later, would he have averaged under 40? Unlikely.
But the most intriguing angle of all this is to wonder how the likes of Ian Bell (averaging 43.15) would have coped a decade or 20 years ago…
7 Comments »MCC ‘more human, not so aloof and distant’
By Will 3 years ago, mid-December, 2 Comments »
Mike Atherton meets Mike Brearley, the former England captain who was named as MCC’s new president in May. In a wide-ranging piece, Brearley looks ahead to the future – and Atherton is convinced the MCC could not be in safer hands:
“The appointment of Keith Bradshaw [the Tasmanian chief executive of the MCC] could not have happened 20 years ago. He’s very forward-thinking and keen to keep Lord’s and the MCC relevant. In short, the MCC has become, I think, more obviously human, not so aloof and distant.”
Read the full piece at the Sunday Telegraph.
2 Comments »Atherton moves to The Times
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of October, 2 Comments »
Mike Atherton has been announced as The Times’ chief cricket correspondent, replacing Christopher Martin-Jenkins. Atherton is the foremost player-turned-writer and, at 39, quite young to hold such a prestigious post.
He’s by some distance my favourite writer, as he marries a deep knowledge of the game during his time as a player with the detachment required to write about it. The Times is also my favourite paper, so now there’s no reason to waste any more money on The Telegraph.
2 Comments »Warne’s 50 greatest cricketers
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of August, 10 Comments »
Shane Warne has run out of ideas for his Times column and, like a Channel 4 producer bereft of inspiration, is producing a list. But it ought to be far more entertaining than those interminable countdowns (“100 greatest romantic moments” etc), so take a look. In today’s (50-41) are Mike Atherton (43) and Alec Stewart (44)
10 Comments »Dying embers
By Will 3 years ago, mid-July, 3 Comments »
Even the Lancashire dressing room of my time was inhabited by half-a-dozen or so. Nick Speak, Graham Lloyd, Phil De Freitas, Wasim Akram and Graeme Fowler all paid constant homage to nicotine. Early season Benson and Hedges games, when sponsors not only provided loot but product as well, produced a terrific scramble for those distinctive yellow bricks; even the non-smokers were known to hoard a packet or two to bargain with. How about a few half-volleys in the nets then, Daffy?
Phil Tufnell and Wayne Larkins were the culprits on my first England tour. Because I was a first-time tourist, and because I have no sense of smell, I was forced to room alternately with ‘Tuffers’ and ‘Ned’ for the whole five months.
Another cracking piece from Mike Atherton in The Sunday Telegraph.
3 Comments »If…with Mike Atherton
By Will 3 years ago, at the start of May, 13 Comments »
Has anyone else listened and watched Sky’s advertisement for their all-consuming coverage this summer? It’s fronted (for want of a better word, as it’s a voice over) by Mike Atherton. Now then. Athers is many things, but a voice-over artiste he is not. He sounds about as enthused as a prisoner who’s just been told that, yes, today he is allowed one hour of sunlight as opposed to the usual 45 minutes.
Athers recites Rudyard Kipling’s If and it’s as sickly and inappropriate as it sounds. (not Athers’ fault of course, but Sky’s ferocious marketers)
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!
Incidentally I came across some viewing figures on the Beeb yesterday which make make interesting reading. I put them on CI…will dig them out later.
13 Comments »Atherton on England’s “blind faith”
By Will 3 years ago, mid-April, 9 Comments »
Another supreme piece from Athers in today’s Sunday Telegraph:
England can beat South Africa and the West Indies, but it would be almost a miscarriage of justice if they found themselves in the semi-finals. And in terms of learning lessons for the future, it might not do English cricket much good at all to know that you can turn up relying on hope and blind faith and still go all the way
Read the full thing here.
9 Comments »“Wait there, mate”?
By Will 3 years ago, mid-April, 31 Comments »
Michael Clarke does it. Andrew Symonds utters it far too regularly. Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting have been known to do it too. I’m talking about a new phenomenon creeping into Australia’s cricket: appending “mate” to the end of every “yes,” “no” or “wait” call from the batsmen. Symonds’s laissez faire “nah, mate” was a particular lowlight this evening. Are these pampered prancers playing an international sport or having a Sunday knock around in the park? Granted, with James Anderson and Sajid Mahmood sending down wide after no-ball, it’s hard to tell the difference. But standards are standards; respect is respect and, with my English cap firmly on, I do not like it.
On a similar topic, I always enjoyed the calm, crisp calls from Mike Atherton – my hero as a youngster. There was no mateyness back then – oh no. Just a firm yes, no, or wait. When he really hit his straps, nudging one behind square for a gluttonous two, he’d call “running” to the non-striker which conveyed a batsman in control of proceedings. But still – there was no “yeah mate, two there”.
Outlaw such verbal sloppiness immediately, else ban Australians from playing any form of sport internationally.
NB: potential solution. We stupidly let the whole world speak English – we should’ve rented the language to countries on an annual contract. This is clearly a brilliant idea. Misuse would incur financial penalties and we, as Britons, could charge people for improper use. I need to stop writing this now.
31 Comments »Sport’s glorious futility
By Will 3 years ago, at the end of March, 4 Comments »
No, there is little to be gained by cancelling. Indeed, surely the whole point of sport is to act as a necessary counterpoint to the grim realities of life. We know that death is a part of life because we see it, in one form or another, every day. Like drugs and alcohol, sport provides an escape from the routine absurdity of everyday existence – and thankfully without any of the side effects.
It gives us the chance to experience the best that life has to offer, usually without serious consequences. We win, we lose, and then we go home and get on with life.
We submit to sport’s arcane rules and regulations and rituals. We recognise that we will need to show courage and skill, and we train hard for the event knowing that we are undertaking an ultimately futile task. It is this futility that explains sport’s universal appeal, that and the desire to satisfy a basic human urge to play.
Sport loses its appeal when it is invested with fake importance. This is why English football engenders scant respect: the managers who snarl and spit at players and officials from the sidelines; the players who confuse competitiveness with sometimes vicious intent; and the supporters who cannot cope with the fact that in sport there must nearly always be a loser.
They have all clearly forgotten that Bill Shankly had his tongue firmly planted in his Scottish cheek when he said that football was more important than life or death.
Sport is not more important. And it won’t help to bring Woolmer back, but it might help us to cope.
One of the most insightful, and certainly the most reasoned and balanced article that I’ve read so far on the Woolmer murder and why cricket must go on. But it also re-enforces the often forgotten notion that cricket is a game. Predictably, it’s by Atherton, and it’s a superb read.
4 Comments »Andrew Strauss in line for captaincy
By Will 4 years ago, mid-June, 1 Comment »
As soon as he hit a hundred on his debut in 2004, Andrew Strauss was talked of as a future England captain. Since then, despite a recent minor-blip in form, many have spoken that he should have taken over from Michael Vaughan when he missed England’s tour of India and not Andrew Flintoff.
Following England’s defeat in the final Test against Sri Lanka, Flintoff’s “follow me, lads” style of captaincy has received criticism from Mike Atherton, among others, and it’s noteworthy that Strauss has been chosen. This surely represents the first signal that it is he, rather than Flintoff, that Duncan Fletcher and co. want to lead England in the post-Vaughan era (which could come sooner than we think).
England face Ireland tomorrow for the first time, at Stormont, before a Twenty20 against Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl on Thursday ahead of the first one-dayer at Lord’s on Saturday.
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