Winter of optimism degenerates into summer of discontent

A winter of rosy optimism has degenerated into a summer of discontent at precisely the wrong moment for English cricket lovers.

With the Ashes series against Australia on the horizon, a temporary malaise has gripped the summer game in the brief break between premier league soccer seasons.

Old-fashioned incompetence has been one factor as the national team stumbled to an 11th consecutive one-day defeat on Thursday.

New-style violence is another.

Two triangular series one-day matches between England and Pakistan ended in chaos after pitch invasions by Pakistan fans.

Australia captain Steve Waugh led his team off the field on Tuesday after a firework exploded near his express bowler Brett Lee.

Australian Cricket Board chief executive Malcolm Speed subsequently confirmed Australia would have no hesitation in forfeiting Saturday's final against Pakistan if there was any repetition.

And in the background disturbing echoes of the match-fixing scandal resonate.

International Cricket Council Anti-Corruption Unit head Paul Condon expressed his frustration this month that acting England captain Alec Stewart had not been in contact to discuss allegations of taking money for information.

Stewart, who has denied the allegations from Indian bookmaker Mukesh Gupta, countered through his solicitor by saying he would fix a date this week.

ENGLAND REVIVAL

Australians observed with interest the English reaction to consecutive series wins against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the northern winter.

"When Steve Waugh's boys arrived late this month everyone over here seemed really chirpy about the big England revival," wrote former Australia fast bowler Jeff Thomson, the scourge of England during the 1970s.

"Players, fans and media were full of themselves. Well, what a difference three weeks have made."

Three weeks have been enough to show the enormous gulf between England and Australia in the one-day arena.

Waugh has set full attacking fields, seldom witnessed in one-day cricket, for the remorseless Glenn McGrath and the increasingly swift Lee.

A fleeting smile from McGrath on Thursday after he had bowled Marcus Trescothick from around the wicket for a duck showed he believes he has worked out one more key opponent.

And, Michael Vaughan, another comparative newcomer, will not be brimming with confidence after scraping together seven runs in four one-day innings.

COMPLETE MASTERY

Australia's mastery over England in the final group game at The Oval on Thursday was complete.

Their pacemen swept aside the inadequate England batting for 176. Australia reached their target from 30.1 overs for the loss of only one wicket. Nobody doubted they could have reached it in 25 if they had wished, half the number available.

England supporters argue that key players, captain Nasser Hussain and all-rounder Craig White, were missing through injury while their best defensive batsman Mike Atherton is not in the one-day team.

The Australians agree that the five-match Ashes series will be a different challenge altogether but for the moment they have unquestionably seized a decisive psychological advantage.

The pitch invasions during the triangular series forced the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) to think the previously unthinkable and consider plastic netting for Saturday's final.

They rejected the option on Friday and will rely instead on increasing the number of police and stewards plus "robust" body searches.

Pitch invasions have occupied the minds of the game's authorities and media commentators.

"My view is that young Pakistanis are making the game an avenue of social and political expression," wrote Muslim journalist Faisal Bodi in Thursday's The Guardian. "In supporting Pakistan they are underlining and celebrating their alienation from mainstream society.

"Rejecting those who don't accept you is a common reaction of excluded groups. The heightened jubilation when Pakistan beat England is a clear indication of this trait."

Bodi conceded that sociological explanations would offer little comfort to the players and Waugh spoke with feeling about the spectators on Friday.

"It's not just about player safety but also about crowd safety," he said. "I wouldn't want my family in a stand with firecrackers going off."

Mail Cricket Editor