Nobody ever thought that England could ever rise back to the top of the world ranking of cricket. For a long time, test match series against Australia and, increasingly, other major test-playing countries, had become occasions of regular national abasement. And that was bad news for cricket itself. Cricket, unlike association football or rugby or golf or even baseball, is not a game that catches on easily. With few exceptions - Denmark, the Netherlands, increasingly Italy - it has only really taken root in parts of the ancient Empire, places where the British stayed long enough to pass on a taste for this demanding, slow-moving game t the natives. It was not likely to grow much further; and if it lost popularity in any of its native soils, that might start a cycle of decline to which no end was easy to see. And that is exactly what was happening in two of its homelands. In England and in the West Indies, popular interest was slowly draining away from the Empire's sometime national game, not only because of the steamroller of soccer (England) and American sports (West Indies), but also because of declining success. Outside of Australia and the Subcontinent, it was not easy to see a bright future for the game.
This tremendous victory may well restore the future of the game. It was not only a long-unexpected victory, it was a victory against a genuinely great team, gained by an even better one. Shane Warne - sorry,![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theregoesmygun - may be a dreadful human being, but all the quality he has is in his fingertips, and he was at his very best in this test, giving Hell to the British attack whenever he had the ball. This morning, he seriously seemed to have finally put paid to England's hopes when he put out the great Flintoff for eight. And yet, this great England team seized the tail of the game and ripped it to pieces. Never was victory better deserved, against a better opponent. And this is a young team, whose best men are likely to last for many years to come. Good days for English cricket are coming, so congratulations to everyone who has done the work; the rewards are only beginning to be picked.
This tremendous victory may well restore the future of the game. It was not only a long-unexpected victory, it was a victory against a genuinely great team, gained by an even better one. Shane Warne - sorry,
theregoesmygun - may be a dreadful human being, but all the quality he has is in his fingertips, and he was at his very best in this test, giving Hell to the British attack whenever he had the ball. This morning, he seriously seemed to have finally put paid to England's hopes when he put out the great Flintoff for eight. And yet, this great England team seized the tail of the game and ripped it to pieces. Never was victory better deserved, against a better opponent. And this is a young team, whose best men are likely to last for many years to come. Good days for English cricket are coming, so congratulations to everyone who has done the work; the rewards are only beginning to be picked.
