London, March 26 (IANS) England all-rounder Ravi Bopara has said his team’s cricketers need to “stop being so English” if they want to achieve success in limited overs cricket.
Bopara played just a match in the ongoing World Cup even though he featured regularly in the One-Day-International(ODI) tri-series also involving India and Australia that preceded the World Cup.
The 29-year-old was “angry” at his omission, but says England’s early exit had as much to do with a deep-rooted culture of conservatism as inconsistent selection.
“We need to stop being so English,” Bopara was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Thursday.
“We are really English at times and it feels institutionalised. We need to change our culture and we need to change it quickly. “For too long we have been worried about what people think of us. We should be honest with everyone; say it straight up.”
The right-hand middle order bat believes the other teams have developed their skills a lot faster than his side.
“We weren’t good enough in the World Cup. Other teams have developed their skills a lot faster than we have because they were honest enough to say it earlier.”
Bopara also blames the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the dismal performance at the quadrennial event, saying they unsettled a set team without a proper reason.
“Leading up to the World Cup we had a settled team and we were all ready. We were quite chilled. And then things just changed all of a sudden and I don’t know why. I was surprised (by the team changes) though and I was disappointed,” he said.
According to Bopara the reason for not selecting him was the team management’s thinking that they would not use his bowling and he was not good enough to make the side on his batting strength alone. The management’s observation made him angry.
“I got angry – very angry. Angry with myself and with the guys that made the decision. I said to myself then, ‘Right, from now on I’m going to move ahead and be better than the rest’,” he said.
“The reason I was given was because they said they weren’t going to use my bowling so there was no point me playing.”
“It’s just so frustrating, even sitting here now I am thinking I had no opportunity to make an impact on that World Cup. I would rather have played and had a shocker than not played at all,” he concluded.
