Skulking into Wellington...
It's been a sorry looking bunch of who've been skulking into Wellington over the last 24 hours with the still fresh in their memories.
Yeah, England lose plenty of Test matches abroad, and , but the whole Sunday morning capitulation after we'd witnessed the stirring deeds of Ryan Sidebottom and his band of fantastic catchers in Saturday's post-tea session has made defeat even more difficult to swallow.
But more of that later.
What's been more painful than the defeat for a lot of England's followers out here has been their foolish failure to comply with the three S's that every Kiwi aged 2 to 102 knows: you Slip, you Slap, and you Slop for a day at the cricket!
With a relative overcast first day too many visitors took advantage of Seddon Park's seductive yet unshaded grass bank unprotected from a sun that, although seemingly tucked away behind the clouds, can do some serious damage over the course of a day at the cricket to those not following the Kiwi sun mantra.
I've watched cricket in some hot places around the world but although the actual temperature at Seddon Park never got anywhere near 30C the sheer ferocity of the sun on exposed skin felt like it was being sliced open by the sun's rays.
The sunburn to the shins and feet of one supporter (who shall remain nameless!) on that first day were so bad he had to be taken, hobbling, to A&E at a Hamilton hospital to have the burns dressed and then redressed on subsequent days. It has to be said that is no way to start any tour!
As I made the eight-hour journey from Hamilton to Wellington by coach yesterday such was the peeling skin on the arms and faces of some of the England supporters onboard I thought I'd accidently stumbled onto a walk-on addition for The Singing Detective!
Finally I can't finish without a small word of praise for . England hat-tricks don't come along very often (11 in their history) so when they do it's always nice to claim an 'I was there' moment. I was lucky enough to see in Sydney in early 1999 and although the crowd might not have been as big or as boisterous in Hamilton the collective roar when the umpire's finger was slowly raised to send Jacob Oram on his way LBW was as loud a noise as they've heard in these parts for a while!
Backed up by some stupendous catching - take a bow Alistair Cook - our performance on Saturday made Sunday's events even more galling. But we've been here many, many times before with England on tour.
The England fans who got caught out by the sun in Hamilton won't be making the same mistakes again but will Peter Moore's team?
Roll on the Second Test at !
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England to win 2-1 ...the real England will emerge and beat this mediocre New Zealand side...England will be back to number 2 in the world in quick time...the better team always wins
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That's the attitude Jonathan. When all else fails stick your head in the cool sand. Roll on NZ 3-zip.
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England look as flat now as they did after Nasser retired. There is a hole in their side, the fire has gone out.
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I must say as a spectator in Hamilton during the first cricket test I would like to offer a Kiwi prospective on the event. The result was of course to my liking but the test as a spectacle was something special.
I think the English media has over reacted in condemning the English performance. The insistence that anything other than victory indicates a poor performance is a little narrow in its analyses. After day 4 the test was very evenly balanced. This is test cricket yet many scribes insist that if the scoring rate is not around 4 runs an over then the batsmen鈥檚 effort is lacking. Comparing test cricket to 50 over cricket is like comparing draughts to chest. Yes England has problems with is bowling attack however the rest of their performance was up there with the exception to their 5th day capitulation.
If I could pass an observation this English side looked scared. I don鈥檛 mean scared of NZ but scared of failure, scared of media/fan condemnation and quite frankly this appears to have brought on performance anxiety. The one country they had to beat was NZ. The media had told them they were a young inexperienced side ready for the taking, not in the same league so a 3-0 whitewash was a formality. I don鈥檛 think the English team bought into that but was expected to deliver on these expectations. The media never consider that to win you have to play better than the opposition. The opposition is not a country but 11 men who have considerable cricketing skills.
In the last 12 months the NZ cricket side has handed 10 wicket hidings to both England and Australia in the 50 over game so for your media to write-off this side is na茂ve. I don鈥檛 mention this to gloat but to emphasise there is a real test series to be fought out between two very even teams
I know for some to believe that England has plummeted to the depth of NZ is unpalatable but here in NZ we believe NZ has lifted its game to the level of Australia. It鈥檚 amazing how you perform when you are psychologically in a different headspace. The England鈥檚 media has to concede that they are largely responsible for their side鈥檚 performance anxiety and this seems epidemic throughout English sport.
The second test will be a beauty. The Basin reserve is a seamer鈥檚 wicket so both pace attacks will have to perform.
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agree - the English media love to see the english teams fail because that sells the most newspapers.
I am English but now live in Australia and it's amazing how the public attitude differs when supporting the national side.
Unbelievably, the public and media support the national sides, want them to win and don't rip them apart if they lose. Result? National teams that have no fear of failure and generally give 150% and hence dominate a handful of world sports.
Even the sports they are very inexperienced at they seem to do well in - recent football world cup is a great example. Until we actually give our full backing and support to our national sides, they'll never win a thing!
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Well done George.
That is the best analysis of a stupid media's role in English sport that I have ever read!
I think you are right also on your judgement of the 2 teams.
However, the various teams in English sport should not be fooled by media expectations into being cowed.
There is also something about the English psyche that seems unable to fight through the fear of failure once you pull on the country's jersey.
Hopefully, they will be able to overcome the problem and make it a series worth watching!
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you are a very rave man Jonathon
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all out for 110 in the 1st test.
drop 2 bowlers for the 2nd test.
am i missing something here?!
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all out for 110 in the 1st test.
drop 2 bowlers for the 2nd test.
am i missing something here?!
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when will england learn that 2 silly 15 a side warm up games is totally inadequate..steve harmison has turned up for the last 2 winter tours unfit and incapable of performing to the level expected..
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The comment from George the Kiwi is a breath of fresh air.
It takes someone on the outside to see all the harm done by the media who unfortunately set the tone for the fans. Perhaps fans is too generous a word for those responsible for the outpouring of resentment, hatred, and personal vendettas conducted on websites etc. Something other than sport is happening. It's a witch hunt.
I have been watching games on Australia TV recently and been really struck by the balanced tone of the commentators and general calm analysis of the games.
The lack of hysteria is enlightening. When catches are dropped, or good batsmen get out, there is no wholesale condemnation. And there is a fair amount of praise too for unobtrusive play, not just headline catching stuff.
No wonder the Aussies do so well.
The England team in comparison are playing on a media minefield all the time. Of course they have performance anxiety.
That is the smartest analysis I've read all week.
It is afflicting all our national sports and is the curse of our culture.
Maybe the journalists are just reflecting the general discontentment of the nation and the need to blame someone.
There is a sizeable number however that are beginning to resent the constant media frenzy for failure.
I hope the 91热爆 team will take note.
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Nice to read a number of well balanced and fair posts. As a coach in Junior cricket I see some very talented young cricketers who work their way through the system to reach excellent levels of performance. However a lot of them seem to disappear around the age of 16/17 years.
In terms of England team preparation for tests it does not seem that management has got it right yet. With the financial rewards for the players being so great the management has a duty to make sure that each individual player is fully prepared. If a player like Harmison wants be at home fair enough. His salary could be well spent at grassroots level to find a bowler who can deliver accurately at 90mph.
Finally, media pressure is something that professional sportspeople are trained to cope with but it does appear that English teams (cricket, football and rugby to name three) wilt under the weight of expectation.
I hope England bounce back in the next test by playing more positively.
Come on England!
Paul
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Fair comment that NZ have improved, but to compare them with Australia? I think not.
Eng will be back, no doubt about it.
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I would like to respond to the correspondents (especially Geoff Fern and Paul Hardy) who passed (mostly favourable) comment regarding my opinion on performance anxiety. Geoff you mention that 鈥渢here is something about the English psyche unable to fight through the fear of failure鈥 and Paul, whilst I agree international sports people are given training to cope with media pressure, with respect, I don鈥檛 believe it is as simple as that.
I鈥檓 certainly no expert on English sport so I will pass comment on more familiar ground. The All Black鈥檚 Rugby World Cup Anxiety. Here we had a team who swept all before it during the last decade, a test winning record in excess of 90%. This team was lorded as almost unbeatable during this era, feared no one. Come 3 consecutive World Cups (and in each tournament were installed as raging favourites), they bombed out big time.
There is a very familiar pattern to what is going on with this current English cricket team. Why do top teams fold when all the evidence identifies their superiority to their opposition?
I think we sometimes forget the age of these young sportsmen and is it fair that we charge them as guardians of our emotional wellbeing. Any young person who has been selected to represent their country has exhibited qualities that most of us could only dream of. Their dedication and sacrifices to achieve these goals rarely involve luck or greed. When they pull up short in our eyes they suddenly become gutless, clueless, non-committed, and just in it for the money etc-etc-etc. I doubt there is any training that prepares these young men to the psychological abuse that follows a less than perfect performance. But predicatively, from our couch, we demand they harden up. YEAH RIGHT.
My own couch has been rolled out; the remote is placed on a good length and if the selectors had only picked the team I had suggested, the batsmen bat as I suggested, the bowlers bowl as I suggested, the umpires give the decisions I suggested then NZ is unbeatable. But wouldn鈥檛 you know it they鈥檝e ignore me again. Roll on 10.30 let the 2nd Test begin.
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Comment to Chris C:
The comparison I made of the NZ with Australia related to the players鈥 mind set not talent.
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Comment to Jackie Litherland:
I have yet to see any journalistic investigative research regarding performance anxiety amongst sportspeople. Your comments are well observed especially those referring to the Australian attitude. I recall an Aussie commentator describing the dismissal of Ricky Ponting during the recent Indian series 鈥渁s a majestic pull shot that inexplicitly got an edge鈥 Trust those Aussies they never play a bad shot and we Kiwis are never allowed to forget it.
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It is utterly ridiculous to blame the British media for England's abject capitulation in Hamilton.
I much prefer the logic of Mr Partick Smiddies above.
England and in particular Harm(less)ison turned up completely undercooked and unready to perform.
It is all verey well Sky's David Lloyd praising Harmison for his honesty in his interview with Nasser before the fourth day, but Mr Lloyd is paid to be there to watch the cricket, unlike the vast majority of loyal supporters who've had to scrimp and save to be there to follow their team.
When "honest" Harmison is basically saying he would rather be at home with his young family back in County Durham than playing for England, many of those who have paid to watch him can only feel betrayed.
Neither Harmison or a similar player lacking hunger or the stomach for international cricket, Marcus Trescothick, should ever be paid to wear the Three Lions again, either at home or abroad.
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i was just wondering if the sun burnt fan you mentioned was the larger than life character that is adrian raymound!!!!!
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