51 reasons for despair....

(Pic: see you later mate - Pietersen has his off stump removed by Jerome "the body" taylor)

The fallout from England's anhiliation by the West Indies is beginning in earnest. Surprise, Suprise...everyone from Nassar Hussain, Bob Willis (has there ever been anyone more annoying in the game?) to Bob Woolmer (via a weeja board) have chipped in with their two cents about what this all means for English cricket. Incidently, despite being dead for almost 2 years, Bob still managed to offer the best of the advice to England. His calling for "calm amidst the storm" was seen by many as a "refreshing view" of what England should do next. Reports cannot be confirmed whether Bob was still wrapped naked in a towel at the time of these comments....

So what next? According to some Wick members - interviewed by Jimmy C last night in Clapham - it's time to bring in Owais Shah, Samit Patel and, in what would be a surprise selection, a recall for the Australian-born bricklayer Darren Pattinson. The sense was that these players would add the necessary "aggro" to help England get back to winning ways.

In my opinion, now is not the time for rash decisions. Sure, it is a setback for the Andrew Strauss-led England. But, as wiser people have said before me many years ago, "Rome wasn't built in a day". The "revolution" that Strauss is trying to create will take time. Just for those of you who need a quick recap, the revolution includes:

• giving players greater responsibility out on the field (i.e. don't let me make any decisions, if you bowl or bat badly....it's your own fault)
• encouraging batsmen to score "millions of runs", despite mathematical improbability
• getting back to what England does best: winning test matches
• an in-depth strategy for winning matches which, on closer inspection, only says "winning" is the strategy.

But this revolution will take time. It needs to grow roots. Some people call the above revolution "insane" and "poorly thought through", but it's important to remember that people used to think that the earth was flat too! People who said it was spherical were derided as naysayers at the time. We now know that the world is spherical (largely)....which just shows that maybe Strauss is onto something....something new and exciting.

Wickman Junior