< 1 minute read Embed from Getty Images “There’s a line that you don’t cross on the cricket field,” said Virat Kohli, shortly after suggesting that the Australians had been looking to their dressing room for help when deciding whether to review decisions or not. You realise what this is, don’t you? It’s an
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Did India give Australia a 1.4 Test head start?
< 1 minute read Embed from Getty Images It would seem a bit much to give the opposition a 1.4 Test head start in a three Test series. The finish line could be crossed with little more than a trip and a fall. Apparently this is a four Test series though, so perhaps India
Continue readingNathan Lyon transforms into Australia’s Steve O’Keefe
< 1 minute read Embed from Getty Images Or at least it could be seen that way if Australia didn’t already have a Steve O’Keefe. Nathan Lyon still bowled like one though. You know that classic Steve O’Keefe thing; the one where you go to India and spin them out for under 200? Lyon
Continue readingA poor pitch? And Australia won?
< 1 minute read The Pune pitch on which Australia beat India was rated poor on the grounds that it gave too much assistance to spinners. This is a paradox. Australia made 260 and 285. Australia did. Australia. Australia, with their leaden hands and their be-aggressive-but-patient-and-show-a-bit-of-mongrel-and-play-in-this-one-specific-way-but-find-your-own-method approach to facing spin bowling. They managed to
Continue readingAustralia and spin bowling – all of their problems are completely solved
< 1 minute read It’s hard to see how India’s batsmen could possibly learn to play Steve O’Keefe any better than they did on the one occasion they’ve faced him. Compounding this is the 100 per cent true fact that they’ve already committed to playing on pitches identical to that used in the first
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Matt Renshaw retires hurt because of the wild shits
< 1 minute read Matt Renshaw might think that ‘while batting during day one of a Test match’ is the worst time to realise that you’ve been struck down by a case of the wild shits. All we’d say is at least it wasn’t the start of an overnight train journey with no hotel
Continue readingWhy did Tymal Mills go for so much at the IPL auction? Because he’s fit for purpose
2 minute read Tymal Mills has been signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore for £1.4m. In response, many have felt inclined to ask what Ian Botham, Viv Richards or Ian Austin might have gone for. This seems to us to be somewhat missing the point. In the UK, the phrase ‘Twenty20 specialist’ still has
Continue readingBangladesh three long sessions away from Test series victory over India
< 1 minute read Relatively speaking. Escape with a draw and that’s basically a win for the tourists, isn’t it? And being as it’s a one Test series, that would also mean a Bangladesh series victory. Again, relatively speaking. Three sessions seems an awful long time when you’ve only got seven wickets left though.
Continue readingVirat Kohli dealing in daddies and doubles
< 1 minute read Is ‘supersizing’ still a thing or did it die out after that Morgan Spurlock film? We’re old enough now that we should probably research our knee-jerk cultural references to see whether they still apply. Let’s not bother and just assume that this one’s still current. Virat Kohli had never hit
Continue readingMS Dhoni is officially capable of scoring a fifty in a T20 international
< 1 minute read Ah, bless. He’d made a few in club cricket, but this was MS Dhoni’s first fifty in T20 internationals. Hopefully this is a first step towards a successful career on the big stage. Speaking after the game, Dhoni may or may not have said: “This was my first fifty in
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