INTERVIEW: Ryan Sidebottom discusses England post-CWC15

Alam Khan - Reporter 05:17 12/03/2015
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  • Ryan Sidebottom has recently extended his deal with Yorkshire

    “We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse,” reads a famous quote from British author Rudyard Kipling. Rather apt really in the aftermath of England’s embarrassing exit from the World Cup, before the first stage has even come to a conclusion and following defeat to Bangladesh.

    Ryan Sidebottom sighs as he assesses where it has gone wrong for a side he served proudly over a nine-year spell in Tests and one-dayers, and helped win the World T20 title in 2010 – just a year after they were humbled by minnows Holland in the same tournament. 

    “We should be better and we have the players to do better, no doubt,” he answers. “But we just haven’t been at the races.

    “Maybe we have taken our eye off the ball as regards the formats. We have got T20 cricket with the Indian Premier League, the Big Bash and the West Indies one, with all the razzmattaz it brings.

    “It has certainly improved T20 and one-day cricket and we have a lot of our players playing in them, but none are playing in this World Cup. So that would be my argument. Why is that?

    Sidebottom helped England to Twenty20 success in 2010

    “After 2009 and Holland, we changed the set-up a bit, changed the way we played and those who had played in the IPL helped – players like Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb took it to the opposition every game.

    “It was a big turnaround in 2010, but it wasn’t a major overhaul in the way of the players. We picked players that played T20 cricket and were good at T20 cricket. We hammered everybody and we have to get back to that, in the one-day team, the T20 team and Test team. Something needs to be done.”

    Coach Peter Moores, not surprisingly, is in the firing line despite his desire to remain in charge. Sidebottom was first coached by him for the England A team in 2001 and then in the 2007 Tests against the West Indies – six years on from his debut.

    And he said: “His man-management was excellent, his biggest strength – he made me feel on top of the world.

    “I think he needs time. You can’t keep chopping and changing the coach. “Can we have an England Premier League? That would be the key for me. Maybe have 10 teams and get the best players in the world over here. I think we have been left behind by other countries and taken our eye off the ball.”

    A recall for Kevin Pietersen then after 14 months out? “We’ve missed him haven’t we? He’s amazing,” adds Sidebottom, who quit international cricket in 2010.

    “He’s had a lot highlighted in the media, but he was absolutely amazing with me and brilliant with the young kids.

    “I can’t have a bad word said about him to be honest, he is a brilliant bloke. Yes, sometimes he does speak out of turn, sometimes he speaks the truth and sometimes people don’t like honesty.

    “[New ECB chairman] Colin Graves has said it, if he is playing well in county cricket and scoring runs and people want him back, then get him in the side.”

    And fellow Yorkshireman Joe Root to succeed Eoin Morgan as captain?

    “While he’s played for England and probably been the best performer, do we really need a young lad like that now, throwing him in at the deep end?” asks Sidebottom.

    “You know what we are like, the English, as soon as he fails we love to bring him down a peg or two. I’m sure he will be a captain in the future, but do we want Joe Root now as captain, I’m not so sure. It could knock him back.”

    There is a sense that a fear of failure, and losing their place, has damaged confidence and contributed greatly to England’s struggles.

    “I do sense a bit of that,” says Sidebottom. “Just watching them against Bangladesh, we upped so many balls and sort of panicked.

    “We do have a little bit of fear of not getting selected. If you are in for four games and then dropped, how are you ever positive? When we won the T20 World Cup we had a positive attitude and approach.

    “We had all bases covered, looked at all the little things, and under Paul Collingwood we played with freedom. We should have gone on from strength to strength after that and it’s disappointing we didn’t.

    “The bowling attack is very much same old, same old, and we had an ideal opportunity with all these players playing in the Big Bash and performing, like Ben Stokes, Luke Wright, and we chose not to pick them. We set our sights on the World Cup for 18 months, preparing and it’s not got us anywhere.”

    Ben Stokes was a major England omission for 2015 Cricket World Cup

    That hurts Sidebottom. He never gave up hope of playing for his country again after the wicketless debut against Pakistan. Nor did he give up on his cricketing dream despite being told as a youngster that he wouldn’t make it, and jibes that he was only getting opportunities because of his father – former Yorkshire and England bowler Arnie Sidebottom.

    “It hurt a great deal and that could have turned my head and made me give up the sport,” he recalls. “As a youngster I got a lot of abuse from parents and kids. You either sulk or say ‘right, I am going to prove you wrong’.

    “Dad’s advice helped. He said do you want go stamp brochures or play cricket, your No1 love and be a professional?”

    That determination has been reflected in Sidebottom’s impact since rejoining English County Champions Yorkshire in 2011.

    He has extended his contract until 2016 and the 37-year-old said: “I think age is talked about too much. You look at the likes of Jamie Peacock and Kevin Sinfield for Leeds Rhinos [rugby league team] and they are still going strong in the hardest game you will possibly ever play.

    “I’d love to play until I am at least 39 because that will mean I have done 20 years as a professional and that would mean a great deal. I love playing, I want to win, I want to take wickets, I’m passionate.”

    Sidebottom is keen to show that in the UAE with Yorkshire for the Emirates Airline T20 tournament on March 20 and season curtainraiser against the MCC at Zayed Cricket Stadium two days later. He is hoping the trip will lead to another special season and successful era.

    “It would be very special as a unit if we could create our own legacy,” he says. “If we won the title two or three times then that would be amazing and there’s no reason why not. We could dominate, it would be down to us.”

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