3 minute readJacob Bethell finally scored his first professional hundred and did so in fine style. He’s still not doing his job in England’s one-day team though, because he’s being picked as half an all-rounder. Even at this early juncture, it feels like there isn’t a right lot to say about Bethell’s
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3 minute readWe don’t believe you can draw meaningful conclusions from players’ debuts – but we report on them anyway. We’ve never done one of these for limited overs cricket before, but Sonny Baker’s debut warrants comment as one of the most bathetic (yes, bathetic – not pathetic) entrances you’ll see. Baker had
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8 minute readEveryone loves a Combined XI. Yeah, sure, it’s usually a Best XI, but in these parts we deal in Worst XIs because they’re funnier. This particular one is specifically for an Ashes series played in Australia. How many of England’s upcoming tourists will feature in it? And will any Australians
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4 minute readAfter the Lord Mayor’s Show comes a cart to clear up all the horseshit. That is at least a very different thing from what preceded it, rather than merely a shorter version of the same thing that’s consequently far more limited in scope. In that sense The Hundred can at
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4 minute readIn April 2024, Rob Key, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum told James Anderson they were looking to regenerate the England Test bowling attack ahead of the next Ashes and could he maybe provide them with another regeneration slot to help them in their efforts. Since then, they’ve given themselves plenty
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7 minute readNo other sport does all-the-fun-of-the-fair climaxes like cricket. In large part that’s due to the complexity of the game and the way specific goals shift from ball to ball (or even within the span of a single delivery). It’s also the fact that these most crucial moments invariably involve the
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4 minute readWe lost a few things to the London weather yesterday: most obviously 20-odd overs, which is no big deal because they can make up the time on days two, three, four and five; far more significantly, Chris Woakes fell victim to the wet, soft, slippy outfield. Woakes had already expressed
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2 minute readCan Ben Stokes really carry on doing all of the things? No, apparently not. Is Jasprit Bumrah at risk of injury if he plays again? Yes, apparently he is. Is anyone on either side fit enough to bowl in the fifth Test? Um. Maybe. Sort of. Although the way it’s
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4 minute read“Pain is just an emotion,” Ben Stokes told his men at Old Trafford – a nonsense claim just a few small steps below Dalton’s standard-setting “pain don’t hurt” in Road House. For those that don’t know, Dalton is a world famous bouncer in a world where bouncers can be world
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2 minute readAfter the first Test, we reported how England’s batting success in that match had compelled India to ask Jasprit Bumrah to bowl 43.4 overs – quite a significant workload for a man whose appearances are being limited to three of the five matches due to fitness concerns. Fortunately, England’s batting
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