'Greed is killing the game'
Ian Botham hits out at the proliferation of Twenty20, the idiots who booed Ponting, and all the talk of pressure
Interview by Sam Pilger
23-Nov-2009
"What pressure? Pressure makes kettles whistle. If you don't like pressure, do another job" • Getty Images
Can you see any sporting heroes in the current England team?
Well, my new book is about the 50 greatest sportsmen from Britain and Ireland that I have ever seen and there are none of them in the current England side.
Well, my new book is about the 50 greatest sportsmen from Britain and Ireland that I have ever seen and there are none of them in the current England side.
Can England become the best Test team in the world?
Never mind about getting to No. 1, we're No. 5 at the moment. Let's move up a few places first. They are nowhere near being the best Test side in the world at present. In South Africa, if England have the right bowlers and they are all fit, and the batsmen turn up, and the top five and six all fire, then we have a chance. Our batsmen don't make enough runs. In the Ashes, Andrew Strauss carried the batting until Jonathan Trott turned up at The Oval.
Never mind about getting to No. 1, we're No. 5 at the moment. Let's move up a few places first. They are nowhere near being the best Test side in the world at present. In South Africa, if England have the right bowlers and they are all fit, and the batsmen turn up, and the top five and six all fire, then we have a chance. Our batsmen don't make enough runs. In the Ashes, Andrew Strauss carried the batting until Jonathan Trott turned up at The Oval.
How would you assess Strauss's first year as captain?
What he has done best is get better with the bat. He will learn to be a better captain, too, and I just hope he doesn't get too negative. England were too defensive in the West Indies earlier in the year, and we were only slightly better against Australia. Strauss needs to have confidence in his players to be aggressive. He can't be bold if the rest of the team don't play. I don't think he is absolutely confident that he can set them challenges.
What he has done best is get better with the bat. He will learn to be a better captain, too, and I just hope he doesn't get too negative. England were too defensive in the West Indies earlier in the year, and we were only slightly better against Australia. Strauss needs to have confidence in his players to be aggressive. He can't be bold if the rest of the team don't play. I don't think he is absolutely confident that he can set them challenges.
Is there any truth in Justin Langer's opinions about England players?
This is the same Australian and English bull**** that has been going on for centuries. I don't really care what Justin Langer thinks.
This is the same Australian and English bull**** that has been going on for centuries. I don't really care what Justin Langer thinks.
Does England have enough young talent coming through the ranks?
The problem with these kids is that they don't play enough. I know everyone whinges about the amount of international cricket, but if you don't play it and you're not actually in the team, you don't play a lot of cricket. Some of these guys would do a lot better to learn their skills and trade. I am all for central contracts, but under Duncan Fletcher they were abused. These days county cricketers play a lot more than international players and yet England players talk about pressure. What pressure? Pressure makes kettles whistle. If you don't like pressure, do another job. Pressure is where you should want to be. You should want to be in the intensity and the fire.
The problem with these kids is that they don't play enough. I know everyone whinges about the amount of international cricket, but if you don't play it and you're not actually in the team, you don't play a lot of cricket. Some of these guys would do a lot better to learn their skills and trade. I am all for central contracts, but under Duncan Fletcher they were abused. These days county cricketers play a lot more than international players and yet England players talk about pressure. What pressure? Pressure makes kettles whistle. If you don't like pressure, do another job. Pressure is where you should want to be. You should want to be in the intensity and the fire.
"Twenty20 has its place but not on the international stage. It is a domestic and franchise sport. I don't want to see the best players in the world standing there and slogging. Twenty20 is bastardising the game"
Has losing the captaincy changed Kevin Pietersen?
Kevin is fine; he is bigger than that. He doesn't have any lessons to learn from it because none of it was his doing. He was quite rightly hurt and puzzled by what happened. It was the poorest piece of man-management I have seen in my entire professional sporting career... it was a total cock-up. KP is a very ambitious man. He wants to be the best at everything he does. It wouldn't surprise me if Kevin became England captain in two or three years' time.
Kevin is fine; he is bigger than that. He doesn't have any lessons to learn from it because none of it was his doing. He was quite rightly hurt and puzzled by what happened. It was the poorest piece of man-management I have seen in my entire professional sporting career... it was a total cock-up. KP is a very ambitious man. He wants to be the best at everything he does. It wouldn't surprise me if Kevin became England captain in two or three years' time.
What does the future hold for Australia in the wake of losing the Ashes?
I don't care about the Australians. They aren't my problem. All I hope is that we hammer them every single time we play them. Ricky Ponting will be wondering what happened in the Ashes. They scored eight centuries to England's two and they had the top four wicket-takers, but England won two or three important sessions and with that the Ashes. Ponting will be so frustrated and annoyed. The people in the England crowd who booed him when he walked to the wicket are idiots. That really annoyed me. It was no way to treat one of the game's greatest players.
I don't care about the Australians. They aren't my problem. All I hope is that we hammer them every single time we play them. Ricky Ponting will be wondering what happened in the Ashes. They scored eight centuries to England's two and they had the top four wicket-takers, but England won two or three important sessions and with that the Ashes. Ponting will be so frustrated and annoyed. The people in the England crowd who booed him when he walked to the wicket are idiots. That really annoyed me. It was no way to treat one of the game's greatest players.
Do you agree with MCC that Test cricket could be dying?
It didn't look like it was dying this summer with the Ashes, did it? They are playing too much Twenty20 right now. We have just had a Twenty20 World Cup and within a year we're going to have another in the Caribbean. It is greed, greed, greed. That is what will kill the game, the greed of the authorities. Twenty20 has its place but not on the international stage. It is a domestic and franchise sport. I don't want to see the best players in the world standing there and slogging. Twenty20 is bastardising the game.
It didn't look like it was dying this summer with the Ashes, did it? They are playing too much Twenty20 right now. We have just had a Twenty20 World Cup and within a year we're going to have another in the Caribbean. It is greed, greed, greed. That is what will kill the game, the greed of the authorities. Twenty20 has its place but not on the international stage. It is a domestic and franchise sport. I don't want to see the best players in the world standing there and slogging. Twenty20 is bastardising the game.
If you were ECB chairman what would you do on your first day?
There would be a hell of a lot of people looking for other jobs.
There would be a hell of a lot of people looking for other jobs.
This article was first published in the December 2009 issue of the Wisden Cricketer. Subscribe here