HERE'S an interesting research topic for the surfeit of students taking Sports Science degrees: why is it that the more professional and scientific sport becomes the more people are crocked?

In the days before isotonic drinks were invented and physiotherapists didn't outnumber plumbers by ten to one, the only antidote to dehydration was half an orange at half-time and six pints of best bitter after the match.

The warm-up involved a pot of tea and possibly a bit of running on the spot, and the warm-down amounted to a jug of ale in the dressing room.

Nowadays there are more injuries during the warm-up than there used to be during the action - and I'm not talking about scalding from the tea urn.

It can be argued that professional sport is far more intense these days, with cricketers indulging in sliding stops which result in anterior cruciate ligament injuries threatening a fast bowler's career.

It can also be argued that by the time young professionals are handed a personalised diet sheet to go with their individual fitness regime it is too late.

They have grown up on junk food eaten in front of a screen, resulting in a mental and physical flabbiness which no amount of conditioning will eradicate.

These are the sort of arguments which require urgent research because there is little point going to the expense of sending 16 cricketers to Australia to contest the Ashes if half of them are going to break down.

Although Pom-bashing is evidently still a highly popular spectator sport Down Under, one-sided mismatches are not what sport is all about.

With Darren Gough, it was worth taking the risk because we were never going to be competitive without him. But why did he have to fly to America for reassurance that he doesn't need another operation, and why are our own medical people unable to get Andrew Flintoff's rehabilitation right?

They keep pushing him to ignore the pain, telling him his hernia operation has been a success and he has nothing to fear. This makes him out to be a softie, and perhaps he is. But if he can't perform he should be sent home to rest until he feels right.

Chris Silverwood lasted about as long as you'd expect for a fast bowler who once had highlights in his hair. He has pace and talent, but neither the physical nor mental fortitude to tough it out with the Aussies.

And so we're left with Stephen Harmison. He never knew the joys of going down Ashington pit, but at least he's from hardy stock, has a bit of ticker and seems to be making good progress.

He expected to come home after the third Test for the birth of his second child, but things have become so desperate he's needed for the one-dayers.

Yet, despite the gloom of an impending Ashes whitewash, there is no doubt that the England cricket team has made progress in the last few years, and it is senseless to start casting around for a new captain and calling for yet another inquiry into the workings of our domestic game.

The real inquiry needs to show how cricket's problems mirror society's problems. Clamp down on the slob culture and we might start to produce teams of wholehearted performers who can last the distance.

NEWCASTLE Falcons' plight cannot be blamed on quantity of injuries, possibly because they have one of the best fitness and conditioning men in the business in Steve Black.

But the misfortune to be without Jonny Wilkinson and David Walder does create a big problem. Walder, who provides very adequate back-up for Wilkinson at fly half, and had also developed into an excellent full back, broke a leg in a pre-season friendly.

This can happen to anyone and it's to be hoped it does not interfere with the steady progress he had shown, which others have been unable to match.

Rob Andrew felt his boys were ready to become men and could flourish without further support from the seasoned internationals who departed at the end of last season.

But the route from boyhood to manhood seems to have become a hazardous journey in this country and some of the 22-year-olds in Andrew's squad are struggling to cope.

On current form relegation is a certainty, and the new signings may arrive too late. Only four of the remaining ten Premiership games are at home and two of those are against Leicester and Northampton.

There is something incongruous about dwindling crowds in a developing stadium. But it is happening, and it will gather pace unless the players turn things round or the RFU change tack, as they so often have in the past.

They should admit that Andrew has done more than most to nurture English talent and it would be ridiculous to relegate the Premiership's strategic northern outpost at a crucial stage of its development.

Published: 06/12/2002