Over the last week, I have been in England soaking up the sporting atmosphere. I had forgotten what an incredible feeling it is to be surrounded by people that eat, drink and sleep sports.

It is something about being in England that I truly love. England to me is a sportsman's dream – how great it must be to grow up dreaming of playing for England. No matter where you go, whether it is in a restaurant, the trains, the bar or in the streets people are talking about sports. It is the passion they have as a country that I truly love and my desire is for us as Bermudians to have that love and passion for our country and sports.

Sporting news this week has been more than just exciting. Firstly, there was the ball tampering issue with the Pakistan players. That was a very unfortunate situation, but a very blatant one as well.

Players were gullible and greed got the better of them. There is no place for cheats in sports and they will be used as examples when the punishment is laid out. They will surely be stigmatised for the rest of their lives and their country will likely be under suspicion as well.

I had to chuckle when I read Lionel Cann's column where he made mention that he was asked to throw Cup Match. I cannot imagine someone asking him to do that locally and if so it had to be a desperate Somerset fan who may have been joking with him.

The consequences for Lionel agreeing would have cost him his Cup Match career literally, and for what $700? Please, hardly the type of money to throw a game of that magnitude and I just hope our game, our beautiful game of Cup Match, never comes down to something so despicable.

Next on the sporting agenda in England was their football team playing in the European qualifiers. My family and I had the privilege of actually going to Wembley to watch England play Bulgaria. Of course, England won 4-0. The atmosphere just going to the game was electrifying.

To be amongst 70,000 fans singing and chanting is something you have to experience to really understand what I am talking about. My daughter, Hailey, who is hardly a football fan found it overwhelming and couldn't stop grinning as the whole stadium at Wembley broke out into the wave. To see it on TV is one thing, but to actually be amongst it is breathtaking.

Next on the list was the fact that KP, better known as Kevin Pieterson, got dropped from the England 20/20 and 50-over team. Pieterson was allowed to go back to a county team to fine tune his game. He joined Surrey's county team and immediately sent out a reminder to the selectors. His first two knocks for Surrey were 38 and 100 odd, surely enough to make the England selectors have a rethink.

Remember selectors, form is temporary, class is forever and Kevin Pieterson is definitely class. However, the lesson to all aspiring professionals is that at the top level you have to always be performing because there is always someone else pushing for your spot. The English selectors come from my mould and mentality though, meaning regardless of who you are, class or not, if you don't perform then you won't play. Players' names do not win games, productivity does and sometimes even the best players with big names have to learn that hard lesson.

Next in the English news was the baffling news about Wayne Rooney. Manchester United's hero was exposed cheating on his wife on the eve of the Switzerland game. "Not again", read the headlines as England's World Cup campaign was struck with the same turmoil when John Terry allegedly cheated on a fellow player's wife. Superstar caught again, this is becoming the norm. Wake up pros, there are many out there that will rat on you for the sake of a financial reward. Unfortunate, but real!

Next, England's boxing champion David Haye was scheduled to fight one of the Klitschko brothers, but instead he has opted for an easy way out and has decided to fight Audley Harrison, a boxer of far less quality. Personally, being a boxing fan and a former Lenox Lewis fan, I have been searching for a new heavyweight boxer to support. I thought Haye was going to be the man but I cannot support him if he is going to run from the big dogs of heavyweight boxing.

Haye talks a good story but when it comes to backing it up he runs shy. He may need to go out and watch some of Muhammad Ali's old fights to see that if you are going to talk the talk you better be ready to walk the walk.

Sitting on the train travelling throughout England I can't help but admire the number of cricket and football fields. My mind often wonders what could have been had I been living here as a youngster? How different would my career have been?

For those of you who have talented children make sure that you weigh all of your options. Don't let your eyes be limited on just Bermuda. Do not wait until he is too old. When the opportunity presents itself go for it.

I am not saying that your son or daughter cannot progress in Bermuda but if they are to pursue a career in their sport than they have to get out of Bermuda and study their trade properly in professional settings like England, Australia, the United States . . . it really doesn't matter. The reality is that when you are around people who love sports and do things in a professional manner that professionalism attaches itself to you.

If there is one downside to all of this it is the media. The media, especially in England, will build you up to break you down. However, if you do the right things and follow protocol as an athlete you have nothing to worry about.

As my stay in England is slowly, but surely coming to an end I will miss being in this professional environment, where people love and appreciate sports and sportsmen. Passion and country pride. The media printed that there would be a mass exodus of fans boycotting the England Bulgaria match. However 73,000 fans turned out for the match and 75 percent of them wore their England jerseys. Bermuda, national pride is where it is at. Passion, respect, love, dedication are all aspects of sports that we have to address in Bermuda.

Quote for the week: You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards and, when you reach your limits, that is real joy – Arthur Ashe.