Whingers, Whiners...oh and some cricket as well

I turned on the TV the other day to see that an interview with Stuart Broad was taking place and since he has always been someone that I have admired I figured that i'd check it out and see what he had to say, unfortunately he chose to use the interview as a place to moan, bitch and basically whinge about how much cricket they are playing and how much it was impacting on them.

Now usually I just turn the TV off if something like that happens to be on my screen but as Stuart Broad is someone that I admire I wanted to listen and see just what he was saying and it was along the lines of that if he was to continue playing the amount of cricket that they are playing now then in 5 years time (at the age of 28) he will be totally burnt out and his career will be over.

Now there are a few things that I don't agree with there, firstly he is currently 23 years old and between now and the time he reaches 30 he is supposed to be in peak condition and at the height of his fitness, throw in all of the money he makes from playing for England, including all of his sponsorship deals and various outings that earn him money then I don't see what he's whinging about.

Compare that and the amount of work he has to undertake compared to someone that works a full 40-50 hour week on minimum wage and we see exactly where the professional cricketers have it so hard (note the sarcasm). I mean i work a 45 hour week and I for one would give my right arm to be in the England Cricket Team no matter how much that meant I had to practise and play cricket and fulfill duties to the team and sponsors and stuff (I mean it might be hard for me to bat or bowl without my right arm but I'd still give it a go haha)

Elsewhere there was an Indian collapse of English proportions when they slipped to 170 all out in the 6th One Day International and ended up losing the game and the series as the Aussies took an unassailable 4-2 lead. In other action there was heartbreak for Pakistan players as chasing a total of 211 they slumped to 101-9 before a last wicket stand of 103 got them just 7 runs away from the New Zealand total before they lost their last wicket, and you have to wonder whether they would have rather lost by 100 runs than to get so close and then lose.

With the England vs South Africa series starting Friday with the first 20/20 Internationals there was wins for both teams in their warm up games with Andrew Strauss in particular looking in fantastic form with 189 runs under his belt in just the 2 warm up games. So lets hope that he carries that form on and gives the Saffers a taste of their own medicine in the upcoming battle.