< 1 minute readWe’ve watched Chris Read bat several times and we wouldn’t say he wowed us with the pristine aesthetics of his strokes. Nevertheless, he must tire of the way people talk about him like he should come into bat after Devon Malcolm, even if Devon had food poisoning and couldn’t find
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Adil Rashid makes a case to be England’s new number seven
< 1 minute readA week or so ago, Adil Rashid hit two hundreds in successive innings. In Yorkshire’s two innings in the field adjacent to those hundreds, Rashid took five wickets in each of them. England will naturally be looking for a seam bowling all-rounder to replace Andrew Flintoff – perhaps Rashid’s team
Continue readingEngland’s 2010 fixtures
< 1 minute readThe unstoppable fun train is careering around the UK during summer 2010 and no mistake. England will play no fewer than 13 one-day internationals. This commitment to 50-over cricket has been reinforced by the ECB’s parallel decision to not play any 50-over county cricket ever again. Instead, county cricketers will
Continue readingRavi Bopara lowers himself from Test cricket to county cricket
< 1 minute readThere’s a big step up from county cricket to Test cricket, which means there’s a big step down when you get dropped. Ravi Bopara’s returned to Essex and has promptly made 201 against Surrey. Essex play in the second division, so it’s no so much a step down as a
Continue readingJoe Denly earmarked for summat
< 1 minute readJoe Denly has been picked in England’s Fewer Overs squads for the arse end of the summer. This is pretty good. We get the impression England’s selectors have identified him as an attacking opening batsman who’s actually an opening batsman and not just a sloggy all-rounder who has a bit
Continue readingDwayne Smith makes use of his beach cowboy expertise
< 1 minute readThe theme of Twenty20 Finals Day 2009 was The Magnificent Seven on account of it being the seventh Twenty20 Finals Day. They played music from westerns, there was a bucking bronco thing and there were cowgirls. Between the second semi and the final, the entire Edgbaston crowd recreated the campfire
Continue readingResponse to England’s fifth Ashes Test squad
< 1 minute readJonathan Trott, who is being dropped into a deep end infested with piranhas from a great height for his debut, said: “I’m chuffed.” Mark Ramprakash, writing on Twitter, (genuinely) said: “Defecating in a package to send to Geoff Miller.” Quite bizarrely, Trott seemed to echo Ramps’ thoughts when speaking about
Continue readingChris Adams commentating on Twenty20 Finals Day
< 1 minute readWe’re not convinced. “He’s doing exactly what it says on the tin. Bowling straight; wicket to wicket.” You can’t use ‘does what it says on the tin’ wherever you like. There are rules. You can’t say: “I’m doing exactly what it says on the tin: I’m stopping in with a
Continue readingRob Key’s sanguine outlook
< 1 minute readRob Key’s greatest strength is his don’t-give-a-toss-ishness. It’s the main reason we originally warmed to him, back in the winter of 2002. It’s also why he makes a great captain. We know what you’re thinking: what about that bat-flinging hissy fit on Twenty20 finals day in 2007? That was a
Continue readingFlimsy headline of the week
< 1 minute readFrom the BBC: “Ramprakash in England contention”. How have they deduced that this is the case? Because when asked about the likelihood of Ramprakash’s selection, England national selector, Geoff Miller, said: “I’m not ruling anybody out.” We’d have gone with “Geoff Capes in England contention” on the grounds that he
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