"They have reminded me of some of the students who have passed through the school where I teach: they get into the upper sixths and they're first-team cricketers, the big boys, very confident, dominating the team, playing good cricket, think they've cracked the code. Then they have a gap year and go travelling, and suddenly they realise there's a whole world out there, that life can be tough and things can be done differently."
"That might seem an odd statement given the experience in this team, but so much of their approach to cricket and to this series has been anything but mature. The leadership around this team has produced a lot of memorable rhetoric across the last few years running towards the danger, see ball hit ball, we don't play for draws, taking the aggressive option but here, in the disappointment of defeat, were signs that they are on the verge of producing something actually meaningful."
"What an extraordinary admission: his time in charge has been all about taking away pressure and freeing the players from fear, and here was the coach admitting that when it came to the crunch, to the biggest and toughest series his players are going to have to deal with, his methods had completely failed. I was gobsmacked by that."
England lost the series but produced an improved performance in the final two days of the third Test, displaying renewed resolve. The team endured a challenging 11 days of Test cricket and only belatedly began to find form. The side resembled students who mature after leaving comfort zones, suggesting rapid personal and professional growth. Much of the team's prior approach relied on aggressive rhetoric and risk-taking rather than measured maturity. Coach Brendon McCullum acknowledged that the players had been overdriven, which had constrained their skills and that his pressure-relief methods failed in the toughest series. The late response indicates potential for meaningful progress.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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