The problem was caused by the poor state of the outfield and the huge amounts of sand that had been put down. It made it very hard for bowlers to get a firm footing on their run up. Discussions took place between the captains, umpires and match referee before the game was abandoned citing concerns over the safety of the players.

No doubt there will huge fallout over this and the blame game will start. It really does beggar belief that an international fixture in an sport with such a following can fall victim so such dreadful preparation.

A lot has been said about whether or not Beckham deserves so many caps compared to Moore. In my opinion, its almost impossible to compare the statistics across different eras. International football has changed to much since the days of Bobby Moore. Back then, there were fewer international matches and less substitutes. Tournaments had less teams which in turn meant less games. Moore also gained his 108 caps in less years than Beckham but this should not detract from Beckham’s achievement.

108 international caps is an incredible total and we should applaud Beckham. There is talk that a number of the caps he has been awarded have been undeserved or ‘on the cheap’ but that same arguement could be levelled at plenty of English players. Phil Neville has won 59 caps but by comparison, Geoff Hurst only won 49.

Beckham still has plenty to offer England and I’m sure he’ll be around when England travel to South Africa in the hope of winning the World Cup with has eluded us since 1966 when Bobby Moore captained the team to a 4-2 victory over Germany.