2 minute readJames Anderson had a great many attributes as a Test cricketer – none bigger than his ability to serve as a majestic island of chuntering irritation and sadness when England lost a Test match by a single run. England are in Wellington again. Bloody Wellington. To recap what happened last
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Jacob Bethell: first look in Test cricket
2 minute readWe don’t believe you can draw meaningful conclusions from players’ debuts – but we report on them anyway. Ben Stokes lauded Jacob Bethell’s ‘swagger’ after his Test debut. It’s a characteristic that can mark you out as something of a tool in everyday life – but Test cricket is not everyday
Continue readingDid you see… Tom Latham fleeing from the ball?
2 minute readNew Zealand dropped an honestly comical number of chances on day two of the first Test – most of them from Harry Brook. Tom Latham’s at slip was our favourite. Friend of this website, Dr The Scientician was once outside a busy university library when there was a fire drill.
Continue readingJacob Bethell and Ollie Pope star in England Test Selection VI: Assignment Hagley Oval
3 minute readRemember a couple of years ago when Ollie Pope was picked to bat at number three for England even though he’d never batted higher than four in first-class cricket? Well it’s gone so well he’s earned a promotion to number six and also won back the wicketkeeping gloves. This has
Continue readingKing Cricket Test tour SPECIAL OFFERS
3 minute readObviously we’ll be covering England’s Test tour of New Zealand and India’s of Australia whether you buy us a pint or not… but hey, we wouldn’t say no… Sorry about all the Patreon-related posting of late. We’ll get back to the actual cricket after this one, we promise. We just
Continue readingDid you see… Jos Buttler’s biggest six?
3 minute read“Room for improvement” has become such a desirable attribute among England players that a “high ceiling” now feels like almost a mandatory requirement for selection. It’s instructive then to remember how England’s greatest ever white ball batter, Jos Buttler, came into the national side with almost zero headroom. If you
Continue readingGolden duck-off: Which was this week’s funniest? Mohammed Siraj’s or Jamie Overton’s?
3 minute readGolden ducks are always funny, but some are funnier than others. We’ve had two absolute classics in the last 24 hours and we honestly can’t choose between them. Imagine you’re a tennis player. You drive down to the club where you play. You get changed. You walk on court. Your
Continue readingLet Noman wheel away unchanged
2 minute readZahid Mahmood took a wicket today. That was quite a big moment. It’s been a while since anyone other than Noman Ali or Sajid Khan took one for Pakistan. Zahid was lucky to even get a bowl, quite frankly. In the second Test, Noman Ali bowled 44.3 overs and Sajid
Continue readingRawalpindi Test pitch preview with Richard O’Brien
2 minute readEngland are in Rawalpindi for the third and final Test of this series against Pakistan with the scoreline currently 1-1. Last time they were here, they made 500 on the first day. Will we see a repeat of that? To quickly recap, England’s last Test in Rawalpindi began with Zak
Continue readingThe Salman of doubt – are Pakistan making full use of Salman Ali Agha?
4 minute readFielding sides loathe few things more than a really, really good number seven batter. So why is it so rare that a player is specifically picked to do the job? “Initially, I used to complain,” Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha told Sky Sports this week about coming in at number seven.
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