England hope to be inspired by the spirit of Christchurch as they take the next step in their World Cup campaign
George Dobell22-Feb-20151:09
‘Amazing how people have come together to put sport back on in Christchurch’ – Bell
England hope to be inspired by the spirit of Christchurch as they take the next step in their World Cup campaign.After a thumping defeat in Melbourne and a humiliation in Wellington, England arrived in the South Island of New Zealand with spirits understandably low. As one of the coaching staff put it, “The players are hurting and they should be hurting. It was not good enough.”But what they have seen here has provided a reminder, firstly of the relatively trivial nature of their own difficulties and secondly, of what can be achieved in the face of adversity by those with courage and resilience.Four years ago to the day, Christchurch was devastated by an earthquake. One hundred and eighty five people were killed and nearly 7000 more were injured. It remains the second-worst natural disaster – after the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake – in the history of New Zealand.On Saturday, Michael Henstock, a principal advisor to the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority gave a 25-minute talk to the England team. He told them about the loss of life. He told about the destruction of buildings – 100,000 homes, 50% of the city centre properties were damaged and the cricket ground was destroyed. And he told about the loss of infrastructure – nearly 900 km of roads, 300 km of sewage pipes and 124 km of water mains required rebuilding. It is estimated that it may take the economy of New Zealand a century to recover.And then he told them what had been achieved in the recovery operation. He told of the new roads and pipelines and homes. He told of the shopping centre made from containers, the improved cricket ground in the park and how important it was that high-profile sport – and just a little normality and joy – returned to an area that has experienced terrible pain. There is a great deal more to be done, but he told them of a city, of a people, that refused to be broken.It would be crass to compare England’s challenges to those of the people of Christchurch and Canterbury. But there are lessons to be learned and inspirations to be gained from such examples. If nothing else, England’s players might gain a fresh perspective on their situation.”It was incredible to listen to what actually happened here,” Ian Bell said, “and how they are now going forward.We can take from that as a team. It can help us understand that we can move on as well. It’s certainly a good thing.”Bell made no attempt to diminish the poverty of England’s performance at Regional Stadium. A party to good times and bad, he admitted that, by any standards, the defeat in Wellington was “embarrassing.””We’ve been well off the pace,” he said, “to go to out and play like we did was embarrassing. The fact we have to apologise to people about our cricket is not acceptable. It’s really disappointing what we’ve done, but hopefully the next four games we’ve got in this group we can put it right and start playing the type of cricket that everyone knows we can.’We don’t want to take a backward step and [just] survive’ – Ian Bell•Getty Images
“There was outstanding cricket from New Zealand, but that’s not taking away from how bad we were. It’s difficult to say what actually happened. There were some nerves at the MCG, but the talent in the group is there to put this right.”We have to go back to doing the simple things right. When we do that we are a dangerous side. We certainly can’t play like we have in the past two games.”You might expect a team that has been bowled out in 13 of their last 19 ODI innings to adopt a safety-first approach. But Bell has insisted that England should try to rediscover the bold spirit they talked about ahead of the tournament.”You want to bat through the innings, but there’s no point just trying to survive,” he said. “You’ve got to play aggressively – that’s where one-day cricket is going – but that doesn’t mean slogging. It doesn’t mean you try and hit every ball for six. It’s about being smart and there is a blend to that.”We don’t want to take a backward step and [just] survive and build a total and go hard in the last 10. We want to play aggressive cricket. That’s not just with the bat, that’s with the bowling and the fielding. That’s where we want to take English cricket. We don’t want to take any backward steps now.”Saying that we have to be smart and we have to play the conditions in front of you. There’s no point trying to get away from being aggressive. We’ve got some good players and we’ve got to let them go out and play with their instinct and take people on.”It is true that England have talked a lot about fearless cricket of late. But, when the games have begun, they have looked timid and uncertain. If there has been any mitigation it has been in the quality of their opponents.The match against Scotland provides a different test. It will test England’s character in a situation where they have everything to lose and nothing to gain.Maybe, just maybe, as they look around the rubble of this city centre and witness the efforts to rebuild, they might realise they have nothing to fear. Maybe, just maybe, they will play with the freedom and joy that has been absent from their performances in the tournament so far. Maybe, just maybe, the spirit of Christchurch can inspire them.