It's fair to say that 2005 was not a good year. There was hurricane Katrina, the bombings on London's public transport, the death of civil rights poster girl Rosa Parkes and England won the Ashes.

It may seem a little insensitive to lump the results of a handful of cricket matches in with those other dreadful events, and it is, but winning the Ashes did something that none of the others could do. It gave hope where none had any right to exist.

English cricket is barren ground on which to sow the seeds of a nation’s aspirations but, based on that one improbable series, a whole crop of expectation was planted - only to inevitably wither and die like most English sporting endeavours.

'England are playing some of the most turgid, boring cricket to be witnessed in many years'


For a while though, England were the second best side in the world, although one suspects that result said more about the competition than it did about England. Leading up to the 2005 Ashes, England had won five straight series, including two away, and won seven of their last nine.

Of course, the true test of a side’s standing in international cricket is how a side performs against Australia, and it was here that the bubble became over-inflated. A narrow series win against an underperforming Aussie side that was minus the services of Glenn McGrath in the two games that England won, flattered to deceive.

Suddenly, people thought they were the real deal. The English media, the fans, even the government went over the top. Honours were bestowed and, cruelly, people were moved to dream of a period of English domination. Surely, they should have known better.

The loss of Simon Jones during that 2005 Ashes series signalled the beginning of the inexorable slide to what many would argue is their rightful place in world rankings. It’s almost as if the skiddy Welsh paceman was their mojo.

Since then, England has gone from bad to worse, culminating in the dreadful 5-0 capitulation to the Aussies in the Ashes re-match and only interspersed with wins against the lowly West Indies and enigmatic Pakistan, both at home.

Following the disastrous tour of Aus, the knives were out. Duncan Fletcher was axed and an uncompromising review was held into the parlous state of England cricket by Ken Schofield. The report, as with all such efforts, contained a mixture of pointless symbolism and a healthy dose of the bleeding obvious and made no difference whatsoever.

Two years on and England are touring New Zealand and playing some of the most turgid, boring cricket to be witnessed in many years. Not only did they not deserve to win the last game against the Kiwis, they actually deserved to have been beaten by a greater margin because of the disservice that they are doing to the game.

It takes some considerable effort to make players like Kevin Pietersen look ordinary, to suppress his natural flair and aggression. If this is what happens after careful review, planning and having the finest cricketing minds in the nation looking at a way to move forward, then it’s terrifying to think where they would be without such insight. Probably much better off.

So, where are England in comparison to Australia, India and South Africa – the  ‘big boys’ of world cricket? They’re right where they belong, behind them and heading in the opposite direction.