Burns' Eye View

I am watching England struggle against Pakistan in the 1st Test in Dubai, and wondering how the Visitors dressing room is dealing with the present circumstances.

With England 35-4, after conceding a 1st innings deficit of 146, the omens look bleak for the team rated as world’s number one rated Cricket nation.

Most interestingly, three of the top 10 batsmen (based on ICC World Rankinings) have made a combined total of 14 runs between them from six innings in this match! Alastair Cook (ranked 3rd) made 3 and 5; Ian Bell (ranked 4) made 0 and 3; and Kevin Pietersen (ranked 10) made 2 and 0.

Captain Andrew Strauss (ranked 26) made 19 and 6 to ensure that four of the top 5 made a gross total of 39 in the match! Has a top order ever scored so few runs in a Test Match before?

At such challenging junctures in a match, players tend to trot out some well-worn cliches and hope to move on as quickly as possible. Form is temporary, class is permanent is one cliche which may be in use right now.

However, each and every England player will be impatient for the next innings. Such desperation can contribute towards a lack of mental balance and the player can start to deploy a mental ‘force’ rather than accomplish the mental ‘flow’ that is present when a player is playing close to their best.

England is in for an uncomfortable few days as they seek to learn some key lessons and work their way back into a series which is only three days old. The portents do not look good, but England has shown over the past two years that it has considerable resilience.  With 3 of the world’s top 4 ranked bowlers at their disposal, England will hope to work their way back into the series. To do so, they will require their batsmen to learn more from their own failings, rather than consult the wisdom and experience of the estimable Graham Gooch and Andy Flower.

However, Pakistan look good and have a calmness about their Cricket to match their idiosyncratic playing quality.

Today at Old Trafford, second-placed Manchester United host table-topping Manchester City in the Premier League, in a repeat of the FA Cup semi-final and FA Community Shield matches recently at Wembley. Much more than ‘local’ bragging rights are at stake. Manchester is buzzing.

Lancashire County Cricket Club won the County Championship for the first time in 77 years this past summer, under the excellent captaincy of Glen Chapple and a team full of Lancastrians.

Manchester City are the FA Cup holders.

Manchester United, three times European Cup winners, are the current FA Premier League Champions, winning their record 19th title in 2010-11) and European Champions League finalists.

BBC  has relocated to Salford from London and the nation’s favorite sporting programme ‘Match of the Day’ will be screened from the new BBC home in Salford in two weeks time.

The Commonwealth Games was a great success when held in Manchester recently.

The International Sports Management (ISM) Company is based in Mere, near Manchester, and (until last week), represents World Golf’s Major Champions in 2011: Rory McIllroy, Darren Clarke, Charl Swartzel, Louis Oosthuisen and previously represented Graham McDowell and Ernie Els, both Golf Major Champions.

British Cycling, is based in Manchester, and has been at the forefront of so many innovations and successes in recent years.

Manchester’s global sporting recognition came to major prominence with hte tragedy of the Munich Air Disaster in 1958, when Sir Matt Busby and his Manchester United ‘Busby Babes’ were involved in a terrible tragedy which took the lives of the legendary Duncan Edwards and other members of the great team who were pioneers in Europe for British Football.

Manchester gave birth to sport’s first rock-star, George Best in the swinging sixties. Sir Bobby Charlton, one of the world’s most respected sportsmen remains a high profile but understated iconic figure at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson is regarded as the most successful British Football Manager of all time. David Beckham, one of the world’s most famous people, was made in Manchester.

The sporting capital of England (and arguably the world) would appear to be Manchester & District!

Today, 23rd October, is the anniversary the death of London County’s original Founder WG Grace.

In 1915, ‘The Great Cricketer’, or ‘The Champion’ as he was known, passed on to the great Pavilion in the sky. He was mourned by one of the largest processions as he was laid to rest in Elmers End cemetry, South London, near his Mottingham home, at the age of 67.

He pioneered back-foot play and his quality of ‘all-round’ cricket transformed the game into a major spectator pastime in England. Grace was ahead of his time and like all geniuses, his legend has grown beyond his death as time marks how incredible his career and life were.

Grace was the first to :

score a triple century;

complete ’The Double’ of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in a season of English First-Class Cricket was in 1874 when he scored 1664 runs and took 139 wickets. He did ‘The Double’ on 7 occasions in total; 

score one thousand runs before the end of May;

score 100 First-Class centuries

score a Test century for England (and on debut);

pair of brothers to open the batting in Tests (1880 v Australia at The Oval with E.M. Grace)

to be involved in a century partnership in Test Cricket (with ‘Bunny’ Lucas);

captain England over the age of 50 (a record which is likely to stand forever);

play 44 seasons of First-Class Cricket;

were among his many ’firsts’ in Cricket.

54,211 runs and 2.809 wickets plus 876 catches (and 5 stumpings!) from 870 First-Class appearances takes some doing!