< 1 minute readHopefully no-one’s told him yet and hopefully he never realises, but England’s performance hinges on how well Graeme Swann plays. Obviously, taking nine wickets for not a lot had a huge impact on how England won this Test, but nowadays Swann HAS to perform. That’s not because England’s other bowlers
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Shane Watson and Ian Bell and what they have in common
< 1 minute readWe wrote about Shane Watson and Ian Bell over at The Wisden Cricketer. We said that they weren’t hugely popular in their respective countries, perhaps because they were overly serious. We also said that Shane Watson couldn’t bowl. Shortly after the post went up, both Bell and Watson scored hundreds
Continue readingHow England win Test matches
< 1 minute readBasically, through ambush. They plod along, being solid and unspectacular and then in one innings in the field, they completely steamroller the opposition. Think of England’s wins since Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss took over. West Indies were rolled for 152 at Lord’s; the same opponents were dispatched for 176
Continue readingIan Bell is the second England batsman to score a hundred in the innings
< 1 minute readLet’s examine the Ian Bell fact. You know the one: he only scores hundreds when someone else in the England batting line-up has already made one. This has just happened against South Africa. Alastair Cook was first and then Ian Bell outstripped him with 141. Let’s just say that the
Continue readingKevin Pietersen’s weakness against left-arm spin
< 1 minute readKevin Pietersen doesn’t have a weakness against left-arm spin. Not directly anyway. Kevin Pietersen’s weakness is that sometimes he thinks he could travel to the moon without a vehicle or oxygen. All players have a confidence range. Sometimes they’re up, sometimes they’re down, but the extremes aren’t the same for
Continue readingMonty Panesar playing for Lions in South Africa
< 1 minute readWhat, like as a prize or something? No. Highveld Lions are a South African domestic side. So he’s not being paid in big cats then? No. Are you keeping an eye on his performances? Yes. So how’s he been doing? Why haven’t you reported anything? Er, well… he’s been okay.
Continue readingPaul Collingwood goes one better than at Cardiff
< 1 minute readThe Cardiff Ashes Test was a great example of how a draw can be exciting. Today, after playing in the snow, eating a roast dinner and having a couple of pints, we would have been happy with a soporific blockathon, but you get what you’re given. Paul Collingwood made a
Continue readingIan Bell doesn’t help himself
< 1 minute readIan Bell gets some unwarranted abuse, but if Paul Harris bowls a ball that will hit the stumps if it goes straight on, you bloody well get your bat in the way. We distinctly remember Ian Bell leaving a straight one from Shane Warne before now and that was bad
Continue readingGraeme Swann is probably underrated
< 1 minute readGraeme Swann saved England with five wickets and in an earlier pre-referral era, he might have had seven. Not bad for an off-spinner in the first innings of a match. Not bad for an off-spinner in any innings, many say. Maybe Warne and Murali are to blame, but everyone thinks
Continue readingShould England pick Luke Wright for the first Test?
< 1 minute readProbably not. We don’t see Luke Wright getting a great many more runs than Ryan Sidebottom and we don’t see him taking many more wickets than Ian Bell. We quite like him, but bouncing around like a giddy dog does not a Test cricketer make. It would be good if
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