Neither was distracted by emotion or the ravings of the often hysterical British media. Marsh was not talking about anyone in particular, as I remember, when he brought Sobers into the discussion. Adam Hollioake's name might have come up, certainly as a one-day player and captain. No doubt that of Nasser Hussain did too. Marsh's point was that application, hard work, commitment - all the boring stuff - could turn a decent first-class player into a more valuable and more permanent member of an international side than someone with a greater array of strokes or more potential as a bowler who, for a variety of reasons, could not live up to expectations.
Marsh had seen it first-hand. He played in an era when Rick McCosker, for instance, made the most of his talent while the more gifted Paul Sheahan did not.
He saw Gary Gilmour promise a lot and deliver less. Indeed, Marsh himself did not start so promisingly. Remember the 'Iron Gloves' jibes? He had to work at his keeping and, by the time he matured into a confident and dangerous batsman, he was near enough the complete Test cricketer. And for all those reasons I think he would be pretty pleased with two players in the current England squad: Paul Collingwood and Ravinder Bopara.
Collingwood, of course, we are familiar with. He has proved repeatedly, through sheer grit, that he is worth his place. I am intrigued by Bopara. The day before England flew out of London to the Caribbean I asked one of the assembled cricket correspondents at the team's Gatwick hotel what he knew about the young man from Essex. He bats with combativeness around No. Bopara pulled out of England's second Test squad to play South Africa at Headingley due to unspecified personal reasons.
The right-hander was due to return a week later for the England Lions but left the team on the morning of the match against Australia A at Old Trafford, saying he was not ready to return. The match at Colchester will be Bopara's first since he made a second-ball duck for Essex against Somerset on July Cricket Domestic Essex News.
I've got to make sure I do it by scoring heavily in county cricket and making it impossible for them not to pick me. Such passion may seem at odds with the image of Bopara as laid-back to the point of being comatose. But whatever he used to be like, he feels the experience of spending time with successful people from outside the world of cricket has given him greater perspective and better tools for coping with the stresses and strains of life.
But it is the past. I'm working harder than ever now. I did feel, for a while, as if I lost all my energy. But I've rediscovered that.
I'm honestly more determined and focused than ever. It wasn't organised by Essex or the ECB. It just happened, really, and it's lucky that it did. They showed me how organised you have to be and how calm they were under pressure. They were so determined and so positive and the whole experience made me a better cricketer and a better, more honourable man. Because now, if I say I'm going to do something, I do it.
I've learned a lot. Bopara's last experience with the Test team ended after the first Test of the series against South Africa in when, for personal reasons, he felt a need to take a break from cricket. But we go away for months at a time and that can cause a lot of problems.
The schedule isn't conducive to normal family life. If there's something going on that needs sorting at home, well you've got to go and sort it. But no-one should mistake Bopara's decision as a demonstration of any lack of commitment. It's more than what I do; it's what I am. So it is number one for me.
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