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It’s often said that young players are choosing T20 over Tests because of the huge financial rewards on offer. We happen to think that’s bullshit.
Yes, there are undoubtedly a few players who set out to specialise, but a far greater number find themselves doing so unwillingly. It is something that happens by stealth as a by-product of a whole series of mundane no-brainers.
There is one very, very straightforward reason why this happens so regularly to promising young England players.
Clickbait klaxon! Find out what that reason is in our latest article for Wisden.
It is a very good piece, KC.
I have even shared it on my Facebook timeline…
…and I don’t share much (apart from me own).
Thanks Ged. Really appreciate it whenever people share our stuff.
I hope it’s generated some hits on Wisden for you, Alex. It sure as hell has kicked off a conversation amongst my old school friends on my Facebook item. I had no idea that some of those guys chiming in were even faintly interested in cricket.
I have just linked through to a couple of the pieces on this site – so you might get a few more visits here too.
Glad to have hit a nerve. No idea how it’s doing on Wisden. Nothing jaw dropping on social media, but that’s sometimes the case at weekends. Hopefully they give it another push on Monday.
The linked article is a well though-out, well written, thought-provoking piece.
I hope there will be no such nonsense on this site.
No, whenever anything like that wells up in our brain we just fob it off on someone else to keep it nice and crisp and unspoilt on here.
Re multiple forms of the game.
Slightly bizarre incident on the BBC commentary at the end of the game where James Anderson is asked to agree that the ODI side (which he isn’t in) is better than the Test side (which he is in) and circumstances compel him to agree wholeheartedly.
Harsh.
Oof.
His own fault, I suppose, for agreeing to commentate on his erstwhile and current team-mates – always found it a bit weird when current, or even recently active, players do that.
Getting ready for his post-game career of sticking the boot into people he was playing alongside six months prior.
If people want to join in the bun fight that kicked off on my Facebook page about this, feel free to have a look and a natter:
https://www.facebook.com/ian.l.harris.3/posts/10155910853827165
And/or to keep the debate fresh over here (and to help answer a question I cannot answer)…
…my friend Fran asks:
“On a separate line, I am concerned about the effects that being included in the Test team seems to have on promising county batsmen. In their effort to find a suitable partner for Alistair Cook I have seen so many come and go, ending up losing their form once in the team and returning to their county side a demoralised shadow of their former selves. I could name plenty. Why do the one day teams seem to keep the morale of their players better than the five day team?”
I’ll redirect Fran and others here for answers to that one.
Hm. A couple of ideas.
When somebody gets dropped from the Test team, he’s usually dogged with questions about his technique. Most famously, inability to play balls outside off-stump. (Read in Geoffrey Boycott’s accent for added authenticity.) So he probably goes back to county cricket with his mind full of this, and that affects his confidence. Meanwhile, if you’ve been dropped/rested from the current LO squad, it probably doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you: there are just better options. The unspoken request is that you keep doing what got you selected, only better.
The other idea is that the attitude’s probably better in the LO dressing room than the Test one at the minute. Apart from Eoieoieoin Morgan apparently being a good man-manager, the team’s simply been more successful. So you probably come back with better stories and better feelings, and thus more (again) confidence, than after a Test drop.