A conversation which came up last night, and for a curious reason seems to rather dominate dinnertime discussions at insidethegames, concerned the question of whether we, if put in the shoes of some of the world's top athletes, would consider resorting to doping?

While the automatic answer I am tempted to make is always a resolute no, what if we had put 100 per cent effort into training through whatever legal means possible only to be thwarted by someone you are virtually certain has dabbled in the dark arts, time and time again? Even if we were in the position of most Tour de France cyclists over the last few decades, for example, or of British sprinter Dwain Chambers before he eventually resorted to doping?

The journalistic comparison I have used before concerns phone hacking, and if whether you were continually beaten to a scoop by a rival using these means, leaving your career and reputation at stake, whether you would be tempted to join them.

But rather than begin another great diatribe about doping, it got me thinking more generally about what it takes to achieve what must be the hardest and most fundamental task in sport: winning.

The fact that sport invariably ends in either victory or defeat makes the margins much finer than in other walks of life, and that is why athletes have to find every means to succeed, be they technical, tactical or pharmaceutical.

Sometimes winning can be relatively easy. Although no other match would be as straightforward and effortless as their semi-final romp over Brazil, the Germans in the FIFA World Cup had the strongest team and always appeared destined to triumph. The same could be said regarding the Italian rider Vincenzo Nibali in the ongoing edition of the Tour de France, following the injuries that put paid to his foremost rivals Chris Froome and Alberto Contador.

Vincenzo Nibali's path to winning the Tour de France has been made easier by the misfortune suffered by his rivals ©AFP/Getty Images



But this is not often the case.

Take the England cricket team for instance. Once upon a time not so long ago the team were dominant, and in Alastair Cook had an opening batsman heralded as one of the greatest crafter of runs in the sport. Even in 2013 they still won, even if a subtle eye would have realised they were no longer playing much better than their rivals.

This was because they knew how to win a game of cricket.

But following the inevitable deluge of players and confidence that followed a 5-0 Test Series defeat to their staunchest foes Australia, the team have well and truly lost this habit. Although they have been on an even keel with both Sri Lanka and India this summer, and had chances to win every match so far, they have yet to win a single one. And today's collapse from a potentially winnable position that precipitated their defeat today at Lord's smacked of a team short on confidence.

Yes, there are problems with form and ability, as well as with the captaincy skills of the once insurmountable Cook. But more than anything else it is this loss of confidence and know-how to win that is the problem.

England's cricket team have seemingly lost the ability to win after suffering another defeat today ©Getty Images



Sometimes it can be out of your hands, and even when preparation is seemingly perfect, such as with Froome before his multiple crashes on the cobbles of Mons-en-Pévèle, it can go horribly wrong.