Toughness has nothing to do with staring or sledging

Former England captain Michael Atherton has said that toughness has nothing to do with staring, sledging or ganging up on the opposition

In words to which the hotheads in the Indian cricket team would do well to pay heed, former England captain Michael Atherton has said that toughness has nothing to do with "staring, sledging or ganging up on the opposition".

Atherton, arguably the most astute and respected England captain in the modern era, wrote in a reference to England fast bowler Stuart Broad: "He is a promising young cricketer, but listening to his comments, he misunderstands the true nature of mental toughness. Maybe other England players do, too."

Broad had said before the fourth Test, which England lost by an innings and 80 runs, that England were a tough team and were "happy to stare Australia in the eye".

Stuart Broad (left) and his England teammates probably mistook the meaning of staring Australia eye to eye, feels former England skipper Michael Atherton.

Atherton wrote: "Toughness has nothing to do with staring, sledging or ganging up on the opposition. It has everything to do with an ability to execute hard-won skills under maximum pressure."

The former captain's words exemplify the mental fortitude of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, even the young Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as contrasted with the ridiculous self-defeating antics of the dyspeptic Harbhajan Singh, S Sreesanth et al, as this column has been pointing out repeatedly.

Atherton continued: "Broad showed how little he understands of the essence of Australia's competitive instinct.
"His wickets camouflaged what was, at best, an all-right bowling performance from him and a shocking one from their team. There was much staring at batsmen, whingeing at umpires, too," Atherton wrote.

As the arch rivals prepare for the decisive Ashes Test starting at the Oval on Thursday, Atherton believes the two teams are evenly matched in skill but the visitors from Down Under boast superior mental toughness and would never roll never like England did in less than three days at Headingley.

"One thing this Australian team have in common with their predecessors is toughness, a soul- deep toughness that, at the critical moment, befriended them again while deserting their opponents," Atherton wrote.

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Meanwhile, South African coach Mickey Arthur has said that South African-born Jonathan Trott may be England's last hope for victory but he is still not good enough to play for his native South Africa.

In a candid appraisal of Jonathan Trott, England's latest Test recruit, who represented the same national under-19 side as Proteas captain Graeme Smith, South Africa's coach Mickey Arthur said Trott would, at best, be playing for his country's Second XI.

Cape Town-born Trott is expected to bat at No 4 at the Oval in place of South African-born star batsman Kevin Pietersen, following the axing of Ravi Bopara from the squad.

Twenty-eight year old Trott, who is averaging 92.06 for Warwickshire this season, will become England's 645th Test player and 9th South African-born Test player for England, following the likes of skippers Tony Greig, Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen.

"He (Trott) had come through the ranks. Certainly Jonathan was good enough to be there or thereabouts, but he certainly wouldn't be replacing anybody in our top six," Arthur said.

"He would probably be pottering about for our SAS (South Africa Seconds) side. For him, it's probably been a good career move to go to England."