< 1 minute readYou know, with all the rain and stuff? If you’re actually at the ground, the escapism can continue regardless of whether there’s any play or not. But what about those of us more dependent on the cricket itself for such a thing? Basking in the drizzle at the Oval, spectators
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.
Shortening cricket matches in anticipation of rain
2 minute readWe were in Bristol to see England play Sri Lanka yesterday. Without wishing to saunter too far into match report territory, we and our companions finished the day by setting a strict departure time when we would cease standing around in the rain and would instead head home. It wasn’t
Continue readingHales and Roy
< 1 minute readCompletely missed this. Personally, we blame those who call for and schedule public decisions on matters of national importance for distracting us from the chance to witness a spectacular England run-chase. Except where the opposition for some reason fold, 10 wicket England one-day victories come around, what, once every thousand
Continue readingEngland cricket greats to be reclassified as “bad immigrants” in wake of referendum
2 minute readLarge numbers of England cricketers, both past and present, will be recategorised as non-England players as a result of plans being drawn up in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. A member of the Leave campaign explained: “One thing this referendum has told us is in
Continue readingMop-up of the day – in, out and not out
< 1 minute readAn inadvertently topical but quite possibly inaccurate-by-the-morning headline for UK readers. In Anil Kumble’s… well, he’s not exactly back. He’s back in the public eye, we suppose. He’s India’s new coach. Kumble is a hard, smart and determined man. Coaching India demands more than those qualities, but it’s a fair
Continue readingEngland v Australia at Edgbaston – day two match report
3 minute readGed Ladd’s smartphone, Ivan Meagreheart, writes: It can be quite exhausting being Ged Ladd’s smartphone; day one of the Edgbaston Test had been such a day. Normally a good rest overnight and I recharge my batteries without difficulty, but I had a bad night and in the morning I felt
Continue readingThe next Ben Stokes
< 1 minute readEngland have long been on the lookout for someone who might one day fill the gigantic, timeless boots of Ben Stokes. Ever since the combative all-rounder suffered a knee injury in May 2016, they have yearned for a frontline bowler who can also play memorable major innings. In many ways,
Continue readingEngland are eight up with 12 points still available
< 1 minute readIs that the score in the Super Series? Cricinfo helpfully – and somewhat surprisingly – provides a points table for Sri Lanka’s current tour, but you then have to check the fixture list and guess at each match’s value to work out what’s still to come. We’ve said that a
Continue readingFollowing the protagonist through the formats – players and audience in the T20 era
2 minute readWe had an interesting (to us) chat to Charles Dagnall of Test Match Special (TMS) via Twitter yesterday. At one point he said something closely related to a number of our recurrent themes/hobby horses on this site and we were faintly annoyed with ourself for not having put the thought
Continue readingHow many players choose to become a one-format specialist?
2 minute readStuart Broad wants to state his case for inclusion in England’s one-day side. Unfortunately for him, this is difficult as he doesn’t actually play one-day cricket. According to Ali Martin, Broad’s played one 50-over game for Nottinghamshire in the last 18 months. The opposite applies to Jos Buttler, who is
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