Do Professional Sportsmen Take Professional Sport Seriously Enough?

I've watched this weeks 3 Under-19 ODI internationals with increasing bewilderment. It's had me wondering at what point do our young sportsmen actually realise that professionalism doesn't just mean a great lifestyle compared to most people but it also means actually applying yourself in a professional manner. The third match in the series was the tightest but England had already lost the series by then and it was purely a matter of trying to be competitive to restore some pride.

For me it was all summed up by the attitude of Varun Chopra, England's captain, on Thursday night, when he announced after winning the toss that he was the one to watch. He scored 0 from nine balls faced.

It's not just our younger players who can't play one day cricket, our senior side only have Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh below them in the ODI World Rankings. Remember being told how one day cricket would improve players techniques, how it would have spectators flocking to the grounds? Well the last part is certainly correct but improving techniques? We struggle in most ODI's, at whatever level, to achieve the basics, and it's not the defeats themselves that are humiliating it's the margin of defeat.

In this summers five match series against Sri Lanka our defeats were as follows: (1) 20 runs (2) 46 runs (3) 8 wickets (46 balls left) (4) 33 runs (5) 8 wickets (75 balls left). Not one of those defeats could be classed as close, especially the 3rd and 5th matches where England lost with 7 and 12 overs remaining - that's embarrassing.

Obviously it's not just cricket, look at Athletics, Swimming and tennis, where are the Seb Coe's, Adrian Moorhouse's and Fred Perry's to take us to glory in the next decade?

It's not just me that thinks something is rotten in the kingdom of British sport.

Nigel Mansell recently 'wrote' in The Times that he wondered whether or not Jenson Button has the motivation to win a Grand Prix given that his earnings are in excess of £4 million a year and he never looks like winning. Sue Barker criticised the payments system that is in place for our British tennis players, a system that encourages mediocrity rather then excellence. Colin Jackson criticised lottery funding and the UKA is now introducing legally binding contracts that all athletes who receive funding must sign, athletes will also be required to make a number of public appearances as part of the contract and they are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner. Given the fact that between 400 and 500 athletes will be signing these contracts let's hope that team GB brings home more than the 30 medals it achieved in Athens.

If you look on the Ryder Cup site you will see that Ian Poulter, and I quote, "has a career record that will stand up to scrutiny withanyone's," - yes, any British player. Five tour wins in 12 years as a professional, compare this to Phil Mickleson's record in 14 years as a pro - Mickleson has won 23 PGA events including the PGA Championship once and the Masters twice.




Poulter's appearance merely
highlights rather than conceals
a lack of the winning habit.











I'm not blaming Poulter. I'm blaming the low level of expectancy that thinks winning three fewer majors and 18 fewer Tour events than somebody with two years more experience as a professional is worthy of such hyperbole.

Brian Clough once said that the expectation in many football clubs was so low that they listed their FA Cup Semi Final appearances on the roll of honour board. Professional sport isn't about upholding the old Baron de Coubertin ideal of 'it's the taking part not the winning that counts', professionalism is about being competitive and winning.