3 minute read You’ll have no doubt seen that India rushed to a Test victory over Bangladesh in roughly two days’ worth of cricket after only 35 overs were possible over the first three days. It was an incredible performance from the batting line-up in particular, hustling their way to 285-9 in 34.4
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‘Enough’ runs from Virat Kohli for India, Jasprit Bumrah the ventriloquist, South Africa’s theoretical snowball + more from the T20 World Cup final
4 minute read Don’t know if you saw, but India beat South African in the T20 World Cup final at the weekend. Numb Virat Kohli makes ‘enough’ runs T20 strategy is shaped by statistics, but if there’s one thing they don’t measure too well, it’s the likelihood a player’s entire muscle memory will
Continue readingIs Virat Kohli “due”? Jos Buttler misplaces Bowling Ali, a naughty pitch + more in our T20 World Cup semi-finals round-up
4 minute read In a colossal miscarriage of justice, England (one win from four versus Test-playing nations) were knocked out of the T20 World Cup by unbeaten India after not playing anywhere near as well as them in the semi-final. India will meet the similarly-unbeaten South Africa, who triumphed over both Afghanistan and
Continue readingIn praise of the IPL’s very many contrived and meaningless post-match awards
4 minute read Just for a minute there, we thought the IPL’s Fair Play Award was the only one that wasn’t sponsored. We wondered what that might say, if it were the case. However, after about two minutes of looking into it, we realised that nothing could ever be so simple as one
Continue readingDharamsala Test pitch preview with Fiona Bruce
3 minute read Another Test series, another touring team dashed on the Indian rocks. Even a lighthouse won’t save you, because merely seeing the danger is not enough. The currents in this part of the world are simply too strong. Have you seen The Lighthouse, by the way? We recommend it if you’re
Continue readingR Ashwin isn’t a robot – he just treats himself like one
5 minute read R Ashwin says he “had to literally rewire” himself to bowl in Ranchi. As far as we’re aware, R Ashwin did not have to literally rewire himself. We haven’t watched HBO’s version of Westworld in a while, but the way we remember it, the series went pretty heavy on the
Continue readingRanchi Test pitch preview with the printer from Office Space
3 minute read Renouncing orthodoxy and precedent, England took an unlikely win in the first Test of this series. However, some feel that defeat in the third Test last week was the flipside of that attitude. Our own view is that they’d most likely have lost whatever they did – this is playing
Continue readingIs it possible to bat with the conviction of Ben Duckett yet talk with the bleak defeatism of the average England fan?
6 minute read Conviction. It’s what Ben Stokes’ England Test team is all about. This is great to watch but cringe-inducing to listen to. Is there any chance they could play the same way without… saying all of those things? The most obviously groansome comment arising from England’s 434-run defeat to India in
Continue readingRohit Sharma’s hat was the real victim when Sarfaraz Khan was run out because Ravindra Jadeja was so keen to get off 99
2 minute read Run-outs are always dramatic, but doubly so when the batter’s on 99. That unignorable need for a single just brings a whole new dimension to the drama. The burning desire to get another run to get you to 100 can even result in collateral damage, like the loss of your
Continue readingRajkot Test pitch preview with Captain Ahab
2 minute read Ben Stokes’ cap has been looking pretty tatty, but he is due a new one for his 100th Test match in Rajkot this week. The series currently sits at 1-1 with – glory be! – three Tests still to play. Ravindra Jadeja will most likely return for India, while England
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