2 minute read A bitter-sweet mop-up of the day today, like someone’s spilt a honey-and-lemon sore throat remedy. Actually, maybe that’s sweet and sour. A sour-sweet mop-up of the day today. Sour James Anderson is out of England’s tour of Bangladesh and probably won’t be back until halfway through the India tour. No
Continue readingMonth: September 2016
A cricket bat in a real tennis place
< 1 minute read Ged writes: I know what you are thinking, dear reader: “That real tennis workshop must be at Lord’s; how can Lord’s be an unusual place to see a cricket bat?” Well I’m here to tell you that the real tennis area at Lord’s is a relentlessly cricket equipment free zone.
Continue readingWhy Durham probably won’t be relegated following a points deduction
< 1 minute read Cricinfo are reporting that Durham face relegation if the ECB decides to impose a points deduction for their financial troubles. We can’t see it happening. It’s not that we don’t expect them to be docked points. It’s just that they finished 45 points ahead of Hampshire in the top half
Continue readingWhy Indian pitches offer an excellent exchange rate
< 1 minute read Remember when India’s batsmen used to make double hundreds all the time? Captains routinely doubled up as doctors in the first innings, declaring the innings closed and the pitches dead (even if a certain zombie joie de vivre often manifested itself in the form of turn on day five.) It’s
Continue readingMiddlesex County Championship-winning hat-trick video – what a way to snatch a MacGuffin
< 1 minute read At one point today, Middlesex and Yorkshire ceased slithering against each other and began to slither together. Working independently, neither would reach the MacGuffin. Working together, they could get close – at which point it would become ‘every man for himself’ in a bid to wrest the prize from Somerset’s
Continue readingYorkshire don the special MacGuffin gloves
2 minute read We can’t help but feel that our coverage of the denouement of the County Championship is getting a little niche. In the previous instalment of our four-day mud-slithering analogy, Yorkshire had lost ground to Middlesex and Somerset because they for some reason needed to go and pick something up before
Continue readingCounty Championship Permutation Watch: Everyone needs to win
< 1 minute read Pretty much. That’s the gist anyway. If Middlesex beat Yorkshire, they will win the County Championship If Yorkshire make 350 in their first innings and also beat Middlesex, they will win the County Championship Somerset need to win as a bare minimum. They then need neither of the above scenarios
Continue readingBum end of the table update
< 1 minute read Can’t be bothered doing the maths, but it’s looking like Lancashire might be the ones slipping into second division invisibility and inconsequence next season. Before this last round of matches, Lancs needed quite a lot to go against them to be relegated. And lo, it came to pass. They’re currently
Continue readingNick Gubbins claws at the filthy damp earth
< 1 minute read If Middlesex, Yorkshire and Somerset were represented by three individuals face down in mud, slithering towards a MacGuffin, we’d have the Middlesex bloke half a yard ahead after the first day’s play in the final round of matches. Nick Gubbins has offset the pantsness of his team-mates and hauled his
Continue readingWho needs to do what to win the County Championship?
< 1 minute read It’s the last round of the County Championship and three teams could win it: Middlesex, Yorkshire and Somerset. We rather like the ‘there’s been a bonus point at Taunton which changes EVERYTHING!’ chaos of a close finish in this competition, but if you don’t enjoy the baffled-surprise emotion quite as
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