2 minute read And batsman. Who knew? Well, we all knew about the swing bowling. Trent Bridge might be the home ground of Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad, but Jimmy Anderson’s the best swing bowler in this England side and he duly played a blinder, taking all six of the New Zealand wickets
Continue readingMonth: June 2008
Hopefully it’s just a series of flukes
< 1 minute read We said that due to the swing-friendly conditions Kevin Pietersen’s hundred might prove handy. For similar reasons we picked James Anderson as England’s top wicket-taker and Kyle Mills to bowl most overs in this match. In the last Test, we picked Daniel Vettori and Monty Panesar to be the top
Continue readingIs James Anderson a nightwatchman?
< 1 minute read Are we right in thinking that James Anderson came in as a nightwatchman in order to protect Ryan Sidebottom? This is beyond reason. Our feelings about nightwatchmen are perfectly clear, but this warrants further comment. If James Anderson is functioning as the nightwatchman, it’s been his job to protect Ryan
Continue readingKevin Pietersen out waving slightly fatiguely
< 1 minute read That’s what Simon Hughes said on Channel 5’s highlights programme, so that’s what happened. It’s probably wrong to mock commentators’ slips of the tongue when you yourself forget 98 percent of your vocabulary whenever you have to talk in front of more than one person, or to a stranger, or
Continue readingEngland’s middle order shows signs of improvement
< 1 minute read We all know how important it is to look to the positives. England’s players and coaches have taught us this for years now. Ian Bell batted at five and made a three-ball duck. Paul Collingwood batted at six and made a four-ball duck. England’s middle order batsmen are making tangible
Continue readingRavi Bopara hits a one-day double hundred
< 1 minute read Test duck-scoring shortarse with a point to prove, Ravi Bopara, proved his point weeks ago. Ravi’s now had his point embossed on his batting glove and his systematically punching everyone in the face with it. If you don’t know that Ravi Bopara is serious about playing for England, you’ll see
Continue readingKent v Middlesex Friends Provident Trophy match report
< 1 minute read Sarah comma Canterbury writes: I went to bed late on Sunday evening. It was raining. My alarm woke me on Monday morning. It was raining even harder. I had a shower and got dressed; went downstairs; made a coffee; ate a raspberry yoghurt; and looked outside. It was still raining.
Continue readingStuart MacGill retires
< 1 minute read Stuart MacGill was fun. You never quite knew what to expect from him. He wasn’t erratic in a Shane Warne kind of way. There was a certain consistency in Warne’s back page headlines. MacGill was creatively diverse with his odd behaviour. He would shout at team mates like a nutter.
Continue readingSteve Harmison takes a hat trick
< 1 minute read Lolloping ganglatron of mental fragility, Steve Harmison, took a hat-trick against champions Sussex over the weekend. We’re more interested in his opening spell during Sussex’s first innings though, where at one point he’d taken 2-7 off 11 overs. Moping about in county cricket in a state of permanent ill-temper will
Continue readingShiv hits some more hundreds
< 1 minute read Not many people would be undersold by a title like Lord Megachief of Gold, but Shiv is. If you haven’t been paying attention to the West Indies v Australia Test series – it has been clashing with crucial County Championship division two fixtures after all – you’ll not know how
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