< 1 minute read“They can’t beat us in Test matches. They can surprise you in ODIs but not in Tests.” So said Virender Sehwag about Bangladesh before his side fell to 213-8 on the first day. Presumably Sehwag saw this coming as well as an almost infinitely better second innings in which India
Continue readingCategory: England
What can England take from the South Africa tour?
< 1 minute readA lesson in momentum: South Africa will take momentum from winning this last Test handsomely. England will take momentum from drawing a series they truthfully expected to lose. Everyone’s a winner. Such is momentum in cricket. England can take quite a lot of pride after winning the one-day series, saving
Continue readingLow key fast bowling triumphs No.1 | James Anderson
< 1 minute readRyan McLaren plays an immaculate cover drive for four. James Anderson bounces him with the next ball and the one after that. McLaren ducks them both. Will it be three in a row? Yes, it will. This time McLaren attempts a hook, but misses and the ball strikes him on
Continue readingEngland v South Africa fourth Test post mortem
< 1 minute readWhat do you mean it’s still moving? It’s as good as dead. It can’t feel pain any more. Did England listen to all the media coverage that said they’d done well in the series even if they lost this Test and ease off as a consequence? We say no. We
Continue readingAt least it wasn’t like that other time at The Wanderers when England were 2-4
< 1 minute readAtherton 0, Hussain 0, Butcher 1 and Stewart 0. Now that’s a bad start. Morne Morkel is mint, by the way; a big gallumphing lankatron of genial ferociousness.
Continue readingIs Monty Panesar hearing voices?
< 1 minute readPanesar’s current coach at Highveld Lions, Dave Nosworthy, says: “Somewhere along the line he had lost who Monty Panesar is.” This does seem to be the case. Panesar says: “What happened last year is that I had so many external voices to listen to … When I was searching for
Continue readingMonty Panesar to take control of his own mind
< 1 minute readIf you’re not in charge of what you’re thinking, just what ARE you in charge of? A recent interview with Monty Panesar reads like a philosophical follow-up to MS Dhoni’s comments that led us to ask: Do you control the mind or does the mind control you? “My mind was
Continue readingPositive thinking is for people who enjoy popular television and the company of other people
< 1 minute readWe all know that life is essentially just one long series of downers. You get the occasional event that gives rise to a small degree of optimism, but these are only there to discourage you from ending it all, thus ensuring that you can experience even more of the bad
Continue readingBall tampering: England must try harder
< 1 minute readWe really hope that England weren’t tampering with the ball last week, because if they were, they’re rubbish at it. Our stance on ball tampering is that players should do whatever they can get away with. To us, that’s the divide: if you’re caught, you’ve crossed the line. There’s a
Continue readingWhy Test cricket can never die
2 minute readIf you watched the final overs of England’s feat of escapology against South Africa, you already know why Test cricket can never die. We’ve said it before and we’ll happily say it again. Test cricket can offer something that no other sport can. It offers more than any other form
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