Wheels wrote:
I don't know about you lot, but I feel bloody privileged to be watching such a dominant England test match team in their prime.
It's a joy to watch.
Fantastic! I've waited nearly forty years for this. Luckily the ECB (unlike their Indian counterparts) prioritises the Test Match game. The boffins who calculate the Test Match rankings have backdated all their results and apparently the last time England was No.1 was under Ray Illingworth in the late 60's/early 70's, and even then there was the proviso that the brilliant South Africa side of Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock, Mike Procter etc. was barred during the Apartheid era. Going back further we were last the best from 1953-59.
Once again, while I'd like to stress it's great England are so excellent, it's a shame the Indians don't seem to take the Test game as seriously as we do, which might have made for a more compelling series. England's preparations for last Winter's Ashes series were excellent. A two month break after our domestic season followed by a series of proper First Class matches in Australia ahead of the First Test. India, in this series, resemble the England ODI team that pitched up for the World Cup: some players worn out from months of continuous cricket, others undercooked - as a team, strangely jaded yet unprepared for the prevailing conditions. The ODI World Cup, the IPL, a tour of West Indies all squeezed into the last four months or so.
It's sad the BCCI didn't take this tour of England as seriously as the ECB took the tour of Australia.
