2 minute read When we think about Jonny Bairstow and how England have used him over the years, it reminds us of a moment in Airplane! There was a time back in 2019 when England dropped Jonny Bairstow and tried to frame it as a kick up the arse that might potentially drive
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Five fiendishly difficult questions for England on their West Indies tour
3 minute read England’s tour of the West Indies gets underway on Tuesday with the hotly-anticipated match against TBA. Three Test matches follow during which we may or may not get answers to these five fiendishly difficult questions. (1) Is this a ‘development tour’ or not? Development tour? Who said ‘development tour’? Actually,
Continue reading17 of the best, worst and weirdest cricket moments of 2021
7 minute read Here is a bunch of stuff that happened in 2021. It is not an exhaustive list, because an exhaustive list chronicling the activities of multiple people across an entire year would take far longer than a year to read. It is just a selection of striking cricket moments from the
Continue readingFeudwatch: Chris Gayle v Curtly Ambrose
2 minute read Is it at all possible that Chris Gayle is being just a tiny bit thin-skinned here? Maybe he’s secretly worried that Curtly Ambrose has a point. Curtly Ambrose isn’t sure Chris Gayle should automatically get a place in the West Indies’ first choice XI at the T20 World Cup. This
Continue readingFour of the weirdest eight-fors of the last 25 years (plus one nine-for and one ten-for)
8 minute read There have been 28 occasions in the last 25 years when a bowler has taken eight wickets or more in a Test innings. Some of these were weirder than others. At what point does a bowling performance become really, truly, freakishly remarkable? We’d say at the seventh wicket. Five-fors are
Continue readingKyle Mayers and why sometimes a great entrance is enough
4 minute read It may have passed you by, but they made a Jesus Quintana film a year or so ago. It isn’t very good. That’s a shame but it doesn’t really matter because sometimes an entrance is all you need. If you haven’t seen The Big Lebowski, the Jesus Quintana scene –
Continue readingDouble talk with Kane Williamson
< 1 minute read It’s a Lord Megachief of Gold-fest down at Seddon Park this week. Neil Wagner (2019) is doing his usual thing, while Jason Holder (2018) has had a slightly less wonderful time. But it’s Kane Williamson (2015) who has been most influential. We’ve been thinking about double hundreds a bit recently
Continue readingFive ways Rahkeem Cornwall is like a cat
2 minute read Six-foot-six and a hundred tons, Rahkeem Cornwall is a cricketer who’s hard to ignore. We do not plan on ignoring him. This is how he’s like a cat. (1) Conserves energy wherever possible Never run if you can walk. Never walk if you can stroll. Never stroll if you can
Continue readingTwo cricketers in one? Let’s count how many cricketers Ben Stokes was in this Test alone (and then let’s name them)
3 minute read People often say that Ben Stokes is two cricketers in one. This seems very disrespectful. If you’ve never seen or read Altered Carbon, the story is set in a future where people can transfer their consciousnesses into different bodies or ‘sleeves’. The technology was originally devised so that people could
Continue readingWhat can we learn from Dom Sibley’s not-very-exuberant hundred celebration?
2 minute read Late in the morning session of day two of the second Test between England and the West Indies, Dom Sibley once again awoke from his fitful batting slumbers and actually hit the ball. This particular diversion from his default approach of not hitting the ball took him to a 312-ball
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