Long ago, the English ruled the world, literally.

And as befits all rulers they would win at all sports they play with the colonial natives. At first it was very easy since they were the only ones who knew the rules , but soon everybody started catching up.

As that happened they would invent another game which they would continue to win until the rest of the world figured out the rules.  Unfortunately this had to come to an end sometime and England were banned from inventing more sports as Olympics could only go on for 15 days.

'I doubt England will regain the Ashes in the next 25 years. I think they surprised themselves when they won the urn in 2005'


So England were forced to compete with the rest of the world on a regular basis on equal terms. It was all good , but the only problem was that winning is not that important to British. Yes, indeed that is one thing we definitely inherited from them here in India, apart from our impeccable English, our bureacracy and our railways, we also inherited their indifference to winning.

 In many ways the greatest moments in British history for its people are its dramatic defeats.  Why the British even apologised for Bodyline , the greatest tactical cricket victory of all times. 

Yes , the Australians have a 'win at all costs' attitude  but come on, are you asking the convicts who were shipped to Australia to have the same culture level?

Heck , the prison libraries in those days , were hardly anything like today. 

Which brings to this question, how far are England  from the big boys from India, Australia and South Africa. Talent wise not very far , they have Andrew Flintoff, who can definitely lay claim to being the greatest all rounder in the world after Shaun Pollock’s retirement. The batting line up has both depth and strength. The bowlers are young and full of potential.

Having said that, I doubt they will regain the Ashes in the next 25 years. I think they surprised themselves when they won the urn in 2005.

And what of the over-celebrating Indians who win one tournament and who are the next best thing since sliced bread?

England will not be able to beat India in India although in England it's closer. South Africa is at the top of its game, While England can run the Proteas close in Tests, in ODIs the teams are not in the same league (unless they meet in a tournament finals when the South Africans would lose even to St. Alphonso’s girls middle school Hyderabad.

So the big three are a tad bit out of England’s reach. They should concentrate on playing Bangladesh, West Indies , and occasionally Sri Lanka , Pakistan and New Zealand.
Yes I know the same Englishmen, who do not like to win too much, just kicked our butts in hockey, and we will be sitting at home for the Olympics for the first time in 80 years.

And for that reason, this article is also a bit of a rant.