< 1 minute readHowever, Australia won the fours classification by 19 to 14 and they also scored 20 extras to New Zealand’s 12. The upshot was that Australia won the runs classification by 245 to 243. Wickets also fell – but not enough to be of any real significance. Speaking after the match,
Continue readingAuthor: King Cricket
Otherwise known as Alex Bowden, a lapsed cricket journalist who has written for ESPNCricinfo, wisden.com, Cricket 365, The Cricketer and plenty of other places.
Links to some non-cricket writing and a bit more background here.
Why is Adil Rashid giving up first-class cricket and becoming a white ball specialist?
3 minute readBecause he’s pressed for time. Adil Rashid has signed a white-ball only contract with Yorkshire for the 2018 season. Some will say he’s looking to become a short format specialist because it’ll allow him to buy a bigger car or house or whatever, but that’s missing the point. The point
Continue readingWhich nation is best at cricket? Combined rankings
2 minute readThe ICC rankings are a much-maligned attempt to derive some sort of meaning from the international cricket schedule. However, it strikes us that they no longer answer the question for which they were devised. Who’s the best in the world? We now have three different answers: the best Test side,
Continue readingTest cricket is what Mark Wood wants to play – but even if he’s keen enough and fit enough, modern cricket won’t allow him to do so
< 1 minute readIf you haven’t already seen it, our latest piece for Wisden is about Mark Wood and the weighted, weighty decisions faced by current England cricketers. The crux of it is this: if Mark Wood doesn’t (a) fluke his way into the Test side for the two Tests against New Zealand
Continue readingA match report from the 2017 Women’s World Cup Final
3 minute readGareth writes: The last time I’d been to Lord’s I’d found the place a bit stifling, and an incredibly drunken young man had capped Glamorgan getting spanked by Gloucestershire by “singing” on the bus the whole way back. That had not been a fun day. This time, I was off
Continue readingA cricket bat in the back of a van
< 1 minute readEdwardian writes: Here’s a conspicuous cricket bat in the back of a van. Send your pictures of cricket bats and other cricket stuff in unusual places to king@kingcricket.co.uk
Continue readingA report from a 2016 Lord’s match between Middlesex and Lancashire
2 minute readGed writes: I was joined for the afternoon by Escamillo Escapillo. Actually, the fact that we were together watching Middlesex v Lancashire was a noteworthy matter in itself, as our previous attempts to do so had been thwarted: In 2009 by circumstances beyond our control – i.e. the perennially lousy
Continue readingSteve Smith the ball-eater and other stories: England’s ODI series win over Australia in old-school stats
2 minute readRemember averages and strike-rates? We do. Let’s take a look at some of the meat and potatoes stats for England’s 4-1 one-day series win over Australia. Steve Smith ate balls The Australian captain ate up 148 deliveries over the course of the series and yet paid his team back with
Continue readingDo England attack too much? (and other questions) – mop-up of the day
2 minute readSteve Smith says England’s one-day international (ODI) tactic of ‘going really hard the whole time’ is risky because sometimes they might get bowled out. He doesn’t seem to acknowledge that England play this way because they pick 10 batsmen. Nor does he seem to realise that his hypothetical scenario in
Continue readingNuwan Thushara’s bowling action (+ video)
< 1 minute readWhen is a one-off not a one-off? When he inspires a copycat. Lasith Malinga is not unique. We happened across this video of Sinhalese Sports Club’s Nuwan Thushara the other day. Nuwan has clearly thought to himself: “That bowling action of Lasith Malinga’s looks really logical and easy to reproduce.
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