Sports Letters: Boring, boring England
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Your recent correspondents are right in drawing attention to the joylessness of life in Britain (Dull Britannia, 5 Sept), a fact which has recently been amply demonstrated by the England cricket team.
The Test match at Headingley was hailed by the likes of Geoffrey Boycott as an achievement on a par with the Battle of Britain but, for the average spectator, the painful accumulation of runs, mostly through prods, pokes and squirts to some point backward of square, was about as entertaining as root canal work. At The Oval, by contrast, we saw a side which came on to the front foot and took the game to the opposition with grace, flair and fluency; the only problem was, it wasn't England. The idea that sport, or life, might be intrinsically pleasurable is, quite literally, foreign to us. Our aim is not to lose, a depressingly negative attitude. It may seem simplistic to say so, but I'm sure much of the blame for this must lie with our dismal climate. Up here in "Boycott country" we have just endured three months of summer containing one-and-a-half days worthy of the description. Is it surprising so many of us feel embattled?
Peter McAdie
North Yorkshire.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments