2 minute readUp until today, South Africa have been appropriating England’s Test template. They’ve batted for bloody ages and wearied the opposition batsmen in the process, sapping their concentration and vitality. Their first innings 419 wasn’t a monstrous score, but 139 overs was plenty to put into England’s legs and minds. It
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Morkel, Trott and digger wasps
2 minute readJonathan Trott’s guard-marking routine is infamous. He has a series of things he NEEDS to do before he’s happy to face a delivery. Morne Morkel’s turn at the start of his run-up is less well-known, but is seemingly just as deeply ingrained. It seems he can’t run into bowl without
Continue readingToo few ales at the England bar
< 1 minute readSouth Africa looked so vulnerable against right-arm fast-medium bowlers during the first Test that England have added a fourth. Our feelings on this are well-known. You should always play a spinner. It’s not just about having a specialist should the pitch offer significant turn later in the match (although that’s
Continue readingJames Taylor’s height again
< 1 minute readYou wait and wait for a drawing of the diminutive James Taylor batting with gangletastic Will Jefferson and then you get two in two days. Angy was responsible for this one: Hope everyone’s starting to get a decent sense of just how small James Taylor is. Sorry if it’s still
Continue readingHow tall is James Taylor?
< 1 minute readHe’s about three-foot-one, three-foot-two maybe. There’s a very striking photo of James Taylor when he was batting with the grossly oversized Will Jefferson once. Sam sent it to us asking us to publish it. We said we couldn’t because of all that copyright stuff that no-one pays attention to when
Continue readingHow will England beat South Africa in the second Test?
< 1 minute readLet’s ask England coach, Andy Flower: “In international sport you’ll have huge ups and downs and our make-up has to deal with those ups and downs.” So there you go. No plans for success. Just waterproof mascara to deal with the effects of defeat.
Continue readingGood luck to James Taylor but we really don’t get it
< 1 minute readRavi Bopara’s found another way of missing out on a Test match. We don’t know what it is, but it’s led to England selecting James Taylor in his place. We really don’t understand this. Taylor plays the kind of innings where everyone coos about his ‘class’ and says how it
Continue readingEngland embrace the modern fashion for innings defeats
2 minute readWhen it comes to meticulous planning, individual excellence and the most admirable examples of team spirit, the cyclists seem to have cornered the market here in Britain. The cricket team has rather folded. Can no side merely lose a Test match any more? Nowadays, when good teams fall, it always
Continue readingBowling dry – not a cure-all
< 1 minute readWho are the batsmen who have really troubled England in home Tests in recent years? Rahul Dravid, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels. And what characterises those three batsmen? An unhurried method, we’d say – they don’t go chasing after the ball. Is this a coincidence? When the ball doesn’t swing,
Continue readingAlastair Cook – endurance batsman
2 minute readHello South Africa and welcome to England. This is Alastair Cook. He is fitter than you are. We’re not sure you’re going to get on very well. Thus far, South Africa have had a fairly typical experience of touring England. It has rained and Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott have
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