On the Thorpe retirement
Lesson: You do not announce you are going to call it quits before a series. It could shut the doors closer than you think.
England’s best batsman since Graham Thorpe has had probably the worst exit. It does not damage any of Thorpe’s reputation but it is not the way he would have liked to have ended it. I gave kudos to the English selectors for selecting Pieterson after Thorpe’s declaration to call it quits at the end of the English summer and wrote then:
It may not help in winning the Ashes but it is the perfect attitude. Choose a youngster raring to go rather than a soldier with history of nothing from past Ashes spoils, playing a last battle, having already announced his retirement. I never understand the concept of announcing a retirement before a series or test match or a season or a tournament. It smacks of irresponsibility and shifts, if some times only partly, the attention from the actual battle at hand to a mere soldier. Don’t show a desire to quit before a major battle. There are other players raring to go with more rush in the blood.
Pieterson has grabbed his chance but Atherton, who always gives a logical insight gets it spot on:
If Thorpe wasn’t going to play against Australia he shouldn’t have been playing against Bangladesh. If Ian Bell was to be pencilled in for the Ashes he would have been much further down the road to being a complete, battle-hardened cricketer had he, and not Robert Key, toured South Africa.
Even though Graveney now states that there was no disputing the fact that Pieterson would be playing the first test and not Thorpe now, and calls it more of a media debate, I am very sceptical if the selection was as simple. Thorpe quits saying he was not given any signs by the selectors and Graveney maintains the selectors had not ruled out Thorpe for the future.
What is done is done and the contemplative Thorpe analyses the situation currently far better than he analysed situations a few weeks back:
To be honest, I myself thought that going back to me after having left me out of the first Test would be a backward step. Far better to remove the uncertainty.
The uncertainty has indeed been removed.
On a different note, internet connection comes back to my room which means more consistent blogging from yours truly.
Tags: Ashes 2005, English Cricket.
