2 minute readPaul Collingwood excelled at all those aspects of cricket which are undervalued; all the ones that are hard to measure; stuff like fielding and unearthing singles that have no right to be taken. Because of this, he was one of our heroes when he retired from international cricket and he’s
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It might not be entirely fair to judge Adil Rashid on his ability to unfailingly produce magic on demand
2 minute readEngland got to have a go at partnership-breaking when the ball wasn’t doing a right lot today. Everyone had a go and everyone failed and then Joe Root finally gave Adil Rashid a bowl and he got both lads out. That’s a very simplistic way to describe how things went,
Continue readingLet’s strap on Alastair Cook’s pads for a minute so that we can appreciate his streamlined thinking
2 minute readAfter precisely one Test match, we’d seen all the shots (and non-shots) we were ever going to see from Alastair Cook. You know them all, but let’s list them anyway. Maybe in 20 years time you’ll revisit this article having forgotten one of them. The leave The forward defensive The
Continue readingRavindra Jadeja is pretty annoying which almost certainly means he’s good at cricket
2 minute readThere are two main reasons why cricketers are annoying. (1) They play for your team and they aren’t very good. (2) They play for the opposition and they are very good. The first is self-evident. The second is rather more nuanced and deserves a little bit of elaboration. So let’s
Continue readingEngland have been freed from Alastair Cook’s mindless batting but sadly also from Alastair Cook
2 minute readAlastair Cook has looked jaded. The modern way is to throw things away when they’re past their best. They left it too late, but we’d have had a go at recycling. A routine can be a great way to continue doing things well. Once things start to deteriorate, it can
Continue readingCould India actually be better tourists?
< 1 minute readDepends on your perspective really. They’re a competitive and exciting side who could quite easily be 3-1 up. Their batsmen are better than England’s, their four main bowlers have been brilliant – but they’ve lost the series. From our perspective this is pretty much tourist perfection. We absolutely do not
Continue readingHas anyone ever looked more serious than Sam Curran?
< 1 minute readThis was Sam Curran’s face midway through yesterday’s innings at the Rose Bowl. Has anyone in the history of the world ever looked more serious than this? We’re aware that sometimes people’s facial expressions don’t accurately reflect their state of mind, but this is no fleeting thing. This is what
Continue readingHow to leave an in-swinger by Keaton Jennings
< 1 minute readIf you’re going to get out LBW, get out LBW in style. Here’s Keaton Jennings’ four-step guide to doing so. Step one: fail to leap into action Step two: leap into action Step three: start falling over Step four: run away and hope no-one notices
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Should Jonny Bairstow be freed from the wicketkeeping gloves?
2 minute readJonny Bairstow’s been one of England’s few semi-competent batsmen in recent times. This has given rise to the very obvious conclusion that England’s batting woes are pretty much entirely down to him because if he wasn’t keeping wicket he’d be making even more runs. Would Bairstow make more runs if
Continue readingAt least James Vince gives you a focus
2 minute readSocial media has been alive with pleasure this week at the news that James Vince has returned to the England squad. It’s gratifying to see that fans’ views of him have in no way cemented and that there is universal near-desperation to see him given a third chance at Test
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