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What challenges is English cricket currently facing?
Now, back to Waitley. Shall we take a moment to ponder English cricket? There'll be university courses dedicated to studying this basball regime. The key protagonists have found an uneasy peace ahead of the third and deciding test against New Zealand tonight. It all looks preposterous from the outside, but for now, inside the bubble, the melodrama is without end.
Such is the way this cult has operated. Ben Stokes will return to the field at Trent Bridge tonight, not only as captain... but as the people's champion. Cricket's Robin Hood. A good, honest bloke persecuted by the establishment for going on a nightclub bender. What could be more English than that? Leave him alone, you bastards.
The English cricket board had a mind to sack Stokes but had neither the will nor the way to do so and didn't have the stock to replace him. So on they march to a test match that should be regulation on home soil but serves as something of a referendum. Stokes reflected that this team has achieved extraordinary things in his tenure and seeks to further that legacy.
Suspension of belief is the way in England these days. And so it will be when Stokes strides to the middle to a hero's reception. It is a spectacle beyond compare.
Chaotic is probably a good word to describe it. I think it's great, first and foremost, that I'm back here and I'm playing. You know, the tough two weeks for, you know, a number of people, not only myself, but I think me and Gus are glad the process is done. We've gone through it all and we're back here in our...
our roles in this team and I'm back as captain and Gus is back as one of the senior players and our focus is fully on what we need to do this week. How much responsibility do you take for what's happened in the last two weeks? One thing about being a leader is it's very easy to be able to take the You know, everything good that comes with that.
You know, when you get praise for results, when you get praise for this and that and the other, it's then taking, being able to be man enough to take responsibility for something that has an effect on the wider group. And there's absolutely no doubt that I appreciate that.
And it was one thing that I had to do when I got back into the changing room in front of everyone yesterday was acknowledge that. Adding up to that, look everyone in the eye and appreciate that. It did have an effect on a team and people that I care for and want to do extremely well.
And that's one of the hard things that I had to cope with over the last two weeks was seeing how something that I was involved in affected a team that I care deeply about. So, you know, I just feel that's a huge part of leadership, which is, you know, accepting things for what they are, owning them.
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