The Ashes remains the contest that defines careers. This is the series that will be remembered – can be remembered – long after a player has finished
George Dobell in Cardiff06-Jul-2015As cricketers become better paid, as their utterances become more controlled and their appearances more stage-managed, so the distance between them and the paying spectator can appear to grow.Players and coaches, fearful of being caught out by media desperate for a quick fix, speak in clichés and platitudes. Having learned that any sign of character or originality will be used against them, they become robotic and homogenised. We moan that the characters have left the game; they moan that the media are jackals.So how refreshing, on the eve of the Ashes, to be reminded how much this encounter means to the players of both sides. How encouraging to be reminded that the players, for all their studied control in the spotlight, retain the same passion for the contest as they did when they were young.And how ironic that it took Investec’s We Are England video to demonstrate it. At a time when almost every moment of this Ashes series – this Investec Ashes series – has been monetised, this video underlined how much this encounter still means to the players.It would be easy to be cynical but it showed the pride and humility that this team feel for the challenge in front of them. However aloof they may seem when confronted by cameras and microphones, they remain – to a man – thrilled to be part of the latest instalment in one of sport’s great sagas.So when Alastair Cook talks of staring at the three lions on his shirt and it reminding him of all the players who have gone before – the likes of Gooch and Gower and Hutton and Hobbs – you know he means it. When he talks of “trying to make sure you don’t let those guys down,” you know he means it. You know that he feels he is part of something much bigger, much longer-lasting, much more significant than another series. This is the series that defines careers. This is the series that will be remembered – can be remembered – long after they have gone.It is a message that has been reinforced in recent times. The players have been struck by the outpouring of support they have received since their success in the ODI series against New Zealand. They feel, for the first time in a while, that the country is behind them. That is not just them and their team-mates against Australia, but England – its former players, its history, its hopes and dreams – against Australia. As James Anderson put it: “It’s not just your cap; it’s everyone. You play for everyone.”So it came to be that Ian Botham talked to the England team on Sunday night. The England management have been keen for a while to re-engage with former players; to utilise their knowledge and experience and also to ensure they feel they are still valued and respected. Once an England player, always an England player.Not one member of this England team was born when Botham performed his miracles in 1981. Not one of them saw the recovery of Headingly, the brilliance of Old Trafford or the drama of Edgbaston.For them, the first memory of England’s finest post-war allrounder would be either as the slightly tubby opening batsman and medium-pacer who helped England to the final of the 1992 World Cup, or the Sky commentator and charity walker. As a player, he belonged to the time of their parents.Royalty drops in on Ashes preparation
There were several surprising faces at Cardiff as England prepared to face Australia in the first Test of the Investec Ashes in Cardiff.
Jamie Overton, the Somerset fast bowler who was recently called into the limited-overs squad, was one of the men asked to help the batsmen prepare for the pace barrage than many anticipate.
One of the others was Olly Pike. Pike is a 17-year-old seamer from Bridgend whose father is a long-term Glamorgan member and supporter. But he is probably better known as the cousin of Gareth Bale, the Wales and Read Madrid footballer. Pike has just signed a development contract with Glamorgan.
And Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, was also introduced to both teams. “He lent us his support and wished us luck,” James Anderson said.
And while it is true that some sport, when viewed decades later, can appear faintly ridiculous – think of goalkeepers who refuse to get their knees muddy, cricketers who look like your grandparents and tennis players who look as if they are on their way to a society ball – the deeds of Botham and co. remain relevant and respected. His name is as synonymous with the Ashes as the names of Harold Larwood or Don Bradman; as Jim Laker or Dennis Lillee; as Mitchell Johnson or FR Foster.So when he spoke to the England players, they listened. And while the stories may have had little to do with cricket – “his favourite stories seem to involve rest days,” Jos Buttler noted – they will have been infused with one common theme: a love of life; a love of cricket; a love of the Ashes and a love – an unashamed love – of England. No-one has ever presented their country with more pride.It is too late for Botham to teach the bowlers to swing the ball as he could. It is too late for him to teach them to play fearless cricket. Nobody can recreate that character.But it is not too late to inspire and enthuse. It is not too late to assure them that the country is behind them and encourage them to play the style of cricket that provoked such a reaction in the limited-overs series.Buttler once queued to get Botham’s autograph. As a man steeped in Somerset history – he was coached by Botham’s former team-mate Dennis Breakwell and played in front of The Sir Ian Botham Stand at Taunton for several years – he admits he was “pinching himself” during the experience.”It was like story time with your granddad,” Buttler said with a smile as he reflected on Botham’s visit. “Everyone sat around listening to stories of the rock-star life he led. It was great. Situations like that arise and you pinch yourself. He was one of the greats.”It was quite different the way he went about it as to our how our preparation has been. He seemed to have used copious amounts more red wine. And I don’t think he warmed up as much as we do. He just had a warm bath in the morning and got straight into his whites.”And he liked to have a putt on the outfield. We won’t see any of that this week, but that was his preparation. He seemed to think rest days were the best invention ever.”Botham is not the only former player to have been invited to talk to the players. Andrew Flintoff did so spoke to the World Cup squad and Nasser Hussain spoke to the Test squad in the Caribbean. And Buttler was equally impressed by the chance to work with Matt Prior, the man he has replaced in the team.”I found it invaluable to talk to Matt,” Buttler said. “He is someone who has been there and done it. He is probably the best keeper-batsman we’ve had. To pick his brains both technically and mentally about wicket-keeping and, more specifically, the Ashes series was a brilliant experience for me.”Like many in England, Buttler’s first Ashes memories are painful. He recalls the grim days of the late 1990s and the early days of this century, when England rarely challenged and never won a series.But he was inspired by 2005. He admits to growing up trying to bat like Marcus Trescothick and Kevin Pietersen – men with whom he would go on to share a changing room – and says the memories of that series continue to inspire him.”2005 is when I stood up and took notice of Ashes cricket,” he says. “Like everyone I was gripped by that cricket. I had tickets to The Oval but couldn’t go as I’d just joined a new school and we had lessons on a Saturday. It’s 10 years and memories from that series makes the hair stand up. That is my overriding memory of Ashes cricket.”Now Buttler, his hand healed and playing the first Ashes cricket of his career, has his chance to replicate his heroes. He and his England colleagues know that, if they are successful in the next seven weeks, their names will pass into Ashes folklore alongside the likes of Botham and Gower. Now is their moment. They just have to seize it.