…at the eleventh hour to play at Headingly certainly brought out its fair share of mixed views on who should be selected and who should not be selected for the mother country.
Former England captain Graham Gooch and cricket commentating guru Jonathan Agnew led the barrage, but all around the English county scene there was almost total disbelief with the selection. Many county players thought Pattinson was an Australian and little wonder with his strong Australian accent, and the fact that his English summers were fill-ins between Australian cricket seasons. The “Aussie” also admitted he harboured no real ambitions to play for England and he was just as surprised as the miffed Steve Harmison, Simon Jones, Chris Tremlett and Matthew Hoggard with the call-up. But for those involved with Irish cricket during the World Cup run in the Caribbean last year wasn’t there a little irony with the comments of some of these so-called pundits?
Without going into who said what, the Irish camp was certainly irked when several of the English commentators started mocking the presence of our Australian and South African qualified players after we dared to beatPakistanand tie with Zimbabwe. After all, perhaps we shouldn’t have such lofty ambitions and we certainly had no right to beat Pakistan and cause all those cancelled bookings for the Super Eight series!
The irony here was that the only England player worthy of world class status in this tournament was Kevin Petersen, as South African as they come!
What’s with the double standards of England cricket experts these days? Most of Pattinson’s critics hone in on his Australian upbringing despite the fact that he was born in Grimsby in the north ofEngland. How can he then be denied the right to play for the country of his birth?
Those same critics claim their objection is due to the fact that he has not “qualified” or committed to the England cricket scene, and cite role models like former foreign players Graham Hick, Robin Smith, Allan Lamb and now the brilliant Petersen as examples of players that have.
But hold on.
Haven’t our own Trent Johnston, Andre Botha, Jeremy Bray and David Langford-Smith “qualified” in similar circumstances, so why the cynical digs at Ireland last year?
The trouble with many of the England commentators is that they have tunnel vision and can’t see past their MCC blazers. The Pattinson affair highlighted not only their double standards, but also the identity crisis that qualifying to play for another country produces. That Ed Joyce could play for Ireland and England in the same competition was in itself confusing, but the fact that he played for and then against Ireland was farcical. In a similar vein, several Irish players may end up in equally confusing circumstances over the next few years if they rise through the country ranks to England test status.
Under ICC regulations this is perfectly acceptable, but ultimately the governing body of world cricket might have to change its ruling. After all, Joyce could now opt back to Irish status and complete a full circle.
Now what would our learned English commentators make of that?
Clarence Hiles
Editor
