Sport needs deep storylines to be really satisfying for fans – take note, Joe Root and co
Perhaps I won’t have woken up this morning to the sound of clattering England wickets in the Boxing Day heat of Melbourne. Perhaps, by the time you read this, England will have taken control of the game, even after having capitulated lamely in the first two Tests of the Ashes series. But I would not bet on it. Insanity, they say, is doing the same thing again and expecting a different outcome. There is certainly a touch of insanity in watching England play Test cricket.
For those who don’t follow cricket, all this might seem as meaningful as an arcane theological debate over Christmas lunch. England’s travails on the cricket field tell us something, however, about more than just cricket. They illuminate the yearning of our age for immediate highs and instant gratification – and show why that rarely satisfies.