Quote, Unqoute and The Second English Renaissance

The World Cup is often preceded by boastful speeches, erratic quotes, and many heated exchanges among players and ex-players. Such was a scathing comment by the ex-English fast bowler, Darren Gough, that one could easily believe he has led an austere life after being let go of (Indians are known to be polite) by the English national team. Being let go of by a team like England, in the times Gough played, is one of the greatest cricketing insults I could think of.

However, Darren Gough has been dancing a bit of late and has found something worthwhile to do off the pitch. He is also widely quoted and the most recent of his ludicrous quotes is one of the driving forces behind this article.

"For me, we're the best team in the world at this moment. I've watched the South Africa-India series and I see nothing to worry about. India is fantastic in their own country and have some great individuals, but I'd fancy this England side to beat them every day of the week." - Darren Gough

Well, all being said, and without taking the incredibly absurd element away from this quote, for all you know, England may have a significant role to play this time. They have undergone a transformation since Andy Flintoff pulled off that historic Ashes win in 2005. Although they were humiliated in Australia by Australia - who saw all-time greats like McGrath and Warne, and an elegant Justin Langer playing their last Test Series for the country - in the very next Ashes, the English team has since then been learning. They have been working hard, and for one, they have stopped resorting on those Adam Holiokish, good for nothing, half-hearted all-rounders. They have realised that to be the best in the world you need real batsmen and real bowlers, the ones who can perform not only against the counties in the British isles, but also across the Atlantic. England have found discipline in their game after decades of being deprived of it, they have a few individuals in Andrew Strauss, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood who can work hard to produce good results for the team, and in Kevin Peterson and James Anderson who would boast about being two of the very few world class players England have produced in the last twenty years.

All in all, English cricket has undergone a renaissance, but would this help England establish a superiority in the world - in a different sense, of course - as the one that lasted a span of three centuries did? England are in with a chance here, certainly their best chance since 1992. Yet, I would not count them as the top favourites. The conditions in the Indian subcontinent are far from the comfort of their country. Let alone, India, I'd tend to think that if England happen to meet a devastated Pakistan in the quarter-finals, which is a possibility, then Pakistan would be in with a greater chance to reach the semis, and at worst, playing at home, even Bangladesh might upset England in the group stages. I say this purely because how much ever batting-friendly do the pitches get, spin will remain an unavoidable factor in the subcontinent.

When England meet India, against a crowd of 90,000 frenzied devotees growling at them at the Eden Gardens, on the 27th of February, it would be interesting for Darren Gough to note which day of the week it is.