Poms and the Cricket

Well it's nearly Test Time again, and if the selectors have any sense at all: Freddie will be sacked as captain, Monty will be in for Gilo and Read will be in for Jones.

However, the selectors have no sense, so it will probably be the same line up again.

This is an interesting story, which suggests that Aussies are generally more relaxed over their sports than Poms, for a simple reason: they're more likely to win. But there is another point too. Given that we're a nation which really does not play sport anymore, why do we get bothered at all? I think it is because we're still playing out the long downward march of our country and victories in sport hold it off for a while and say "erm, hello? Hello? This place is still here!" This might be why we tend to get so arrogant when we win. Yes, I am mainly talking about England, rather than Britain. Would the dissolution of the union make a difference? The need to put England back on the map (metaphorically) would perhaps generate a renewed sporting patriotism, such as the Aussies have - but then again, getting ourselves off the sofa would be the problem. So maybe Sky TV could shut itself down, in the interests of the people, and force people to get out and play sport instead. Oh yes - and the internet would have be closed too, for obvious, though not very savoury, reasons.