Has It Really Been Ten Years?

Back in September 2009, I played a social cricket match somewhere just outside London. I can’t remember the exact date, or the exact location, but I remember having a conversation about cricket blogging with our illustrious skipper, a certain Maxie Allen esq, in the pub afterwards.

After drinking a couple of ales we decided to start our own blog. And after briefly flirting with the name It’s Just Cricket, we decided that The Full Toss sounded more robust and memorable. It also sounded a bit more subversive (if that’s the right word) and in tune with both our village cricket roots and English cricket’s grass roots in general.

We finally got the blog off the ground at the end of the year when England were touring South Africa. It was a fantastic series, with the champagne moment(s) belonging to Graham Onions, who famously blocked out the final over at both Centurion and Cape Town to earn England an unlikely series draw.

Maxie and I loved covering the series – although we used to be thrilled when traffic reached three figures per day back then (!) – and The Full Toss was up and running. We even published our very first logo. Remember this little fella? It’s so bad it might’ve been created by the ECB’s own marketing agency. We were very pleased with it at the time though.

I can’t believe the blog is still going ten years later. Maxie has long since retired to the stands – unlike me he took the sensible decision to focus on his career and his family – but I’ve managed to keep things going with a little help from guest writers along the way. Thanks so much for all your help. And thanks to all those regular readers and subscribers who have kept the debate going in the comments. This place wouldn’t be the same without you.

The blog is now stronger than ever, with two to three thousand unique visitors every week, nearly one thousand subscribers, plus a growing presence on Twitter and more recently Facebook. After a brief experiment with advertising last month, I’ve calculated that I could give up my day job and run this site full time if I can increase TFT’s audience tenfold. Considering where we were in 2010, that doesn’t seem as fanciful as it might sound.

So what’s happened over the last decade? Obviously a lot. Some of it fantastic – we won The Ashes down under in 2010/11, briefly reached No.1 in the world Test rankings, and won both the T20 and ODI World Cups – but there have inevitably been lows too.

The particular lowlights were losing the Ashes 0-5 and 0-4 down under, failing badly in the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, and two corrosive off-field controversies that violently damaged the relationship between supporters and the ECB. I’m referring, of course, to the sacking of Kevin Pietersen (which was handled deplorably) and the introduction of The Hundred next year, which was done without any fan consultation whatsoever.

A continuous theme had also been the slow decline (some would say the managed decline) of first class cricket on our shores – which is precisely why we started the decade as a strong Test team but will finish it as a weak one showing no signs of improvement. What’s more, looking at the domestic schedule for 2020, it’s pretty clear to me that things are going to get worse before they get better. Indeed, the very future of our county structure looks bleak because it’s being attacked by the very administrators who are supposed to protect it.

Who’d have thought back in 2010 that the biggest existential threat to the English game would turn out to be those actually governing that game? It’s a perplexing state of affairs.

Consequently, although there has been some brilliant cricket played over the last decade, the most significant development in my humble opinion has been the growing disconnect between those who run the sport and those who watch it. And that’s a massive, massive shame.

When Maxie and I founded TFT at the end of 2009, we saw the ECB as custodians who, despite occasional mistakes, genuinely wanted the same things as supporters – a thriving domestic product centred around the county championship, a strong England Test team, and a competitive white ball outfit that could compete for international trophies. It’s worth pointing out that Test and white ball success don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In 2010 we won the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and The Ashes down under in the same year.

Unfortunately the ECB seems to have very different priorities to supporters these days. And they don’t particularly care what opposition they encounter when pursuing these sometimes very controversial objectives. The disconnect I described earlier has therefore evolved into hostility and cynicism. As supporters we’ve learned that our views really don’t count. We’re simply there to buy tickets, wear the merchandise, fork out for our Sky subscriptions (remember that Sky are now described as the board’s ‘strategic partners’), and if we don’t like the ECB’s ideas then they’ll find a whole new audience instead – or at least try to.

For me this has been the most troubling change of the last decade. When Pietersen was sacked without a satisfactory explanation from the board – there were just whispers, a terrible PR campaign, and a cynical attempt to frame the controversy as a Cook versus KP war (an account now debunked by Cook himself who felt unfairly hung out to dry) – I never thought the board would swoop so low again.

Unfortunately I was wrong. The nonsensical, unnecessary, and totally unjustified introduction of The Hundred has been even worse. When we heard Graves and Harrison tell MPs at the DCMS committee that The Hundred was necessary in order to get cricket back on terrestrial television, even though the BBC signed up when it was scheduled to be a T20 tournament, we knew for sure that those in charge of English cricket simply can’t be trusted.

Unfortunately, because the ECB want to move the game in a different direction from supporters, cricket doesn’t really feel like our game anymore. I’ve been trying to think of parallels with other sports and the best comparison I can think of is when Wimbledon FC were moved to Milton Keynes by aloof Norwegian owners back in 2003. The Norwegians argued that the club needed to move on to survive – sound familiar? – and so they stole it from the community in order to increase profits. The subsequently success of AFC Wimbledon, which was founded by supporters thereafter and has slowly climbed its way back up the leagues, proved that the Norwegians’ claims at the time were entirely false.

However, I don’t want to dwell on the big negative forever. The last decade has also provided moments of joy to savour. We’ve seen some great games, great players, and great moments. Here are the ones which stand out for me ….

Moment Of The Decade – “Put the Beer away, put the champagne on ice”.

Remember these immortal words? This is how Nasser Hussain’s reacted in the commentary box when Chris Tremlett bowled debutant Michael Beer and England won the Ashes at Sydney in January 2011. “Twenty-four years of pain in Australia … finally they are beaten at home by England”.

As someone who was just ten years old when Mike Gatting’s team triumphed back in 1986, this remains my first (and only) experience of England winning the trophy that matters most down under. Yes the Aussies were at a low ebb at the time, but Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower’s game plan of batting with patience and bowling with discipline worked a treat.

In many ways this was a victory for traditionalism. England’s batsmen at the time knew how to knuckle down, and the bowling attack lacked X-factor but made up for it with persistence and accuracy. Jimmy Anderson, Chris Tremlett, and Tim Bresnan weren’t quick, and Graeme Swann wasn’t particularly effective on the tour either, but they played as a unit and exposed Australia’s frailties and lack of togetherness.

Series Performance Of The Decade – Alastair Cook, India 2012

There were so many candidates but ultimately this one sticks in my memory. Long-term readers of this blog will know that I was never a massive fan of Cook the batsman but he was superhuman when England won in India in the winter of 2012. Although Pietersen’s heroics at Mumbai, and the bowling of Swann / Panesar received most of the plaudits, Cook was the glue that held everything together.

Alastair scored 176 in a losing cause in the first test, 122 in the KP game at Mumbai in the second test as England pulled level, and 190 in the third test as England went 2-1 ahead. Overall he scored 562 runs in 4 Tests at an average of 80. That was over two hundred runs more than England’s second leading run scorer (Pietersen) who scored 338. For a young captain to bat like that was phenomenal. And he skippered the side pretty well too.

Individual Match Performance Of The Decade – Ben Stokes, Headingley 2019

I’ve seen numerous publications give this honour to Stuart Broad for his 8-15 at Trent Bridge. However, much as I thoroughly enjoyed Stu Pot’s rampage, the pitch was very green that morning and he merely ‘used the facilities’ effectively. Instead, therefore, I looked at batting performances when conditions were tougher.

Joe Root has made some lovely hundreds but I can’t think of one that really stands out. Instead, therefore, I was tempted to give Pietersen the award for his epic at Mumbai, his brilliance against South Africa at Headlingley in the “it’s tough being me” game, or even his century in sweltering conditions in Sri Lanka (perhaps his most underrated hundred).

But at the end of the day I just can’t resist Stokes at Leeds this year. He won the game on his own, in the 4th innings, against a very good attack, when the game seemed totally lost. I still can’t believe we won that match. It was remarkable.

Player Of The Decade – Jimmy Anderson

I don’t think I’ve admired a bowler more than I admire Jimmy. He’s never been especially quick, he’s not especially tall, but what he does possess are special skills – not to mention incredible athleticism and longevity.

The amazing thing about Anderson is that he seemed to keep improving as he got older. Most bowlers are washed up when they’re 34. Jimmy is currently 37 and he’s averaged 24, 18, and 23 in his last three years in Test cricket. He averages 30 this year but has only played a handful of games due to injury. He hasn’t lost any pace so I don’t see any reason why he won’t continue to take hatfuls of wickets if he stays fit.

Rumour has it that Anderson might be the one to make way for Dom Bess at Cape Town. I would find this remarkable. How can England even consider leaving out their most prolific seamer of all time for Somerset’s No.2 (or arguably No.3) spinner? England need to find room for a slow bowler but Anderson should NOT be the one to make way. Judging him on one game (his first after 5 months out) rather than his 577 Test wickets over 150 games would be incredibly silly. So silly, in fact, that I expect Root and Silverwood might actually do it.

England Team Of The Decade

These things are usually quite subjective exercises but on this occasion I think the team basically picks itself: Cook, Strauss, Trott, Root, Pietersen, Stokes, Prior, Swann, Broad, Tremlett, Anderson. 12th man: Ian Bell.

The only contentious pick here is obviously Tremlett. However, in the absence of anyone genuinely quick (Archer is still wet behind the ears) I’ve gone for someone who was uber reliable when at his very best. Tremlett was quick enough, got unsettling bounce, and also offered good control. I’m obviously thinking of the 2010/11 Tremlett when he took 17 wickets at 23 on Australian wickets with that Kookaburra ball.

That’s it from me for now. Happy new year folks. And thanks again for all your support over the last decade. It’s been emotional.

Cheers,

James