andy Wrote:I never noticed any hostility and derision. I was too busy applauding your superb performances against us.
It's the English way.
Sad, and almost true. 
I applauded Flintoff - he was excellent. As was Harmison, even if he didn't get the returns he deserved (and I was very pleased to see him doing well against Pakistan).
But as for people like Strauss, Vaughan, Bothe-Pietersen, Giles - yeesh. And I'm so glad you finally dropped Geraint bloody Jones. Embarrassing. Even if he is/was an Aussie. No spine. No substance.
Frankly I think the only reason England did so poorly for so long was that your batsmen let your bowlers down. You've always had great bowlers, but the gutless performance of your batsmen (who also had talent but failed to utilise it) removed that spark from the bowling that's the difference between losing and winning.
The reason you won the series last time was because Flintoff was able to shine with both bat and ball and gave everyone some hope. That brought the old Boycott / Botham / Willis / Grieg / Gower steely determination back to the fore... great stuff. I don't include Pietersen in that list because he struck me as the kind of bloke that's going to go to pieces as soon as things turn against him.
Hopefully the win against Pakistan will bring out the old bulldog again.
Meanwhile, Australia continues to await the delivery of customised Zimmer frames to allow the likes of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne to continue bowling...
July - The Running Thread.
