By Chris Humpleby

Last updated at 12:53, Tuesday, 02 December 2008

As the BBC Sports Personality of the year 2008 looms, the almost certain absence of English cricketers on the shortlist should set some alarm bells ringing.

It has been a squalid year for the national side: the hammering by South Africa; our humiliation in Antigua and a series thumping by India was a pitiful sight.

The whole direction of our national summer sport has been confused, with the Stanford Super Series epitomising all that is wrong with modern day cricket.

Players were cash hungry, with the lure of finance taking prime precedence over the desire to be wearing three lions, albeit if those lions are currently yawning, rather than roaring.

The behaviour of the sponsor, Sir Allen Stanford, also left much to be desired...

What is certain is that English cricket needs an injection of spirit.

The 2005 Ashes series saw a united XI, hell bent on flooring the Aussies with style, grit and panache.

The 2008 side sees 11 lonely souls, at times not entirely sure which end of the bat they should actually be holding.

England need to pick up their pride that has been trampled into the floor, show a stiff upper lip and resurrect the winning ways of glorious summers gone-by.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) need to accept the fact that they cannot continue charging in excess of £50 per ticket when the side returns home, if the hard working public are going to be subjected to a shambolic display and one-sided matches in which England are lucky to come second.

In terms of the players, Kevin Pietersen and his men cannot escape the fact that the Ashes series is a mere eight, short months away.

The clock is ticking before the Aussies come knocking and this time, the ghosts of test matches past may come rushing back to haunt them.

•  Chris Humpleby, 17, is a Year 12 student at the Richard Rose Central Academy

First published at 11:24, Tuesday, 02 December 2008
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk