If we are honest the English are not exactly great at sport, but some of us (minority) like to see them be successful. I guess it is like beating the odds as their successes are very few and far between. The press build them up as world beaters and the results never match the write ups. The English Premiership is only that good because of the overseas players as when we see the English football team play it is rather obvious they have no depth in the key positions.
English cricket hitting an all time low having not won a single match in the ICC 2025 Champions Trophy. Cricket is starting to mirror all other English sporting teams who are just not good enough. Football, Rugby and now Cricket and you have to be asking where is this all going wrong? The England team seemed decent enough a few years ago so what happened?
The obvious answer is the grass roots level and how many players continue after they have finished schooling. I played league cricket in Sussex when I lived in the UK and the overall standard was not great. The mindset of the players in the team that they could always play for a losing draw in a limited overs match was always mind boggling for myself to comprehend and shows the mentality was not about winning and dominating. School sports is where the competitive edge is learned and if the sports are only being played at club level and not in the schools then the competition is not as fierce.
Grassroots in SA is alive and well in most sports due to the schools and the local rivalries we have. Playing with your friends against other schools takes on a whole new dimension and these days the matches are even televised. The government schools play each other including private schools so the competition is fierce right from the 9 year olds up to the 18 year olds. Some schools are fielding up to 10 teams in each age group and Saturday mornings sees thousands of sporting fans going to watch these games. I used to look forward to Saturday school games and used to attend as an adult.
This is lacking in the UK as mot school kids have to join a local club if they want to play sport and means the parents have to be involved. This unfortunately excludes thousands of kids playing sport and those that take up sport later have missed out on the basics.
If you break down the players in the various national teams in cricket and rugby especially you will see the majority of players came from government schools whereas England you will find from private schools. This is where the problem lies and it will not improve as school sports is very limited in the UK. This was one of the reasons why we moved back to SA as the opportunities are just not available for kids in the UK.
I read a stat that says 70% of kids stop playing sport by the age of 11 which is not wat we see here in SA as sports are encouraged and friendships are what keeps you active. Yes I would say that 80% stop playing after school and only those that are regarded as decent players continue. This is normal so one can understand the English having a very small pool of players continuing after school and why the resources are stretched when fielding a national team.
Australia, New Zealand also have competitive school sports linked with local sports clubs so the players are continuously coming through the various age groups. The UK does not have this and why it reflects across all sports and why unless they have a special group of players they will always struggle as the talent pool is rather thin.