The 110th Percent

England cricketers don’t retire quietly. Of the last five long-term test captains (Strauss, Hussain, Vaughan, Stewart & Atherton) only Alec Stewart does not regularly occupy a commentary box. If you throw in Boycott, Botham & Tony Greig, then the captains from well over a quarter of England’s 953 tests are represented in the commentary box. Despite lacking the platform of the commentary box, Graeme Swann has managed to keep his voice echoing around public consciousness. His passionate, patriotic, opinionated and eloquent reflections on English cricket distinguish his viewpoints from the lifeless opinions that plague so many sports. His talent matched his mouth too. He is undoubtedly England’s best spinner of the last 30 years, & I believe a case could be made that he is our greatest ever spin bowler. In a recent column, Swann indicated that England should revamp the top of their 50 over line-up. “Cook, Bell and Ballance are not players who will win you a World ...

Despite England’s failure to qualify for the World Cup in 1994, England was full of striking options between the flops of ‘94, and the near-fairytale side of ’96. Had we known, 20 years later, exactly how thin our options would be, perhaps we would have savoured them a little more. Comparing eras is difficult, even only 20 years apart. But this is hardly chalk and cheese; it’s hardly comparing Gareth Bale to Stanley Matthews. The mid-90s Premier League was more British and more physical, with less rotation and whinging. But the goals per game rate has increased by a significant amount. Between 93 and 97, the scoring rate never exceeded 2.6. The last five Premiership season have hovered around or above 2.8 goals per game. Whilst being aware of the differences in eras, however small, the chasm between the strikers is staggering. By the time Euro ’96 rolled around, Terry Venables had a choice from 11 English strikers with at least one 20 goal season behind them. I’ve ignored player...