Bishop bowls a corker over persistence

The Bishop of Shrewsbury, the Rt Revd Mark Rylands, offered up the Test stars as epitomes of perseverance paying off.

He made his comments in a pastoral letter published in the Diocese of Lichfield’s parish magazine.

Using the monthly missive to highlight the effort that Pietersen and Strauss put in before the current Test series against India, the bishop wrote: “In cricket, net practice is essential for batsmen.

“For some time now, Kevin Pietersen has been having trouble facing left arm spinners. Has he given up?

“No. This summer he faced up to the weakness in his game and has spent long days in the nets practising, out of the public eye.

“Back in 2005, when Andrew Strauss was bamboozled in the first two Test matches by Shane Warne, the Australian spinner, he also went away and spent hours in the nets with ‘Merlyn’, a spin bowling machine.

“‘Merlyn’ proved to be a bit of a wizard as Strauss then scored a century in the next Test match at Old Trafford, further good scores in the following Tests, and helped England win the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.

“This summer, Andrew Strauss has again been struggling with his batting.

“As I write, he is undertaking extra practice at county level trying to regain his form in time for the Test matches against India,” he added.

The bishop – who will play for the Lichfield Diocesan clergy team in the final of the Church Times Cup in September – added: “If perseverance is essential for a cricketer, it is crucial for a Christian.”