< 1 minute readIs this a thing now? Is the scheduled last Test of each summer forever destined to be played the following year? We’re jumping the gun here, but there’s at least some sort of a chance we’re going to have to run a Sim Series here, isn’t there? After first rain
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2 minute readAfter one innings victory apiece, the third and final Test between England and South Africa will surely end up either a high-scoring draw or a low-scoring tie. England’s new number five, Harry Brook, would presumably prefer the former as all things being equal that increases the chances he’ll make a
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2 minute readIt’s good to be ambitious and open minded and not hidebound by the past. It’s maybe not quite so smart to talk about how you’re going to rewrite how Test cricket is played – particularly if you’re England. Ben Stokes has mostly spoken well since he took on the captaincy,
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2 minute readThe scorecard says Dean Elgar was bowled by James Anderson. The scorecard is keeping a lot of important detail to itself there. To recap what happened, Anderson hit Elgar on the thigh, the ball bounced back towards the bowler, only for Elgar to inadvertently elbow it backwards again. The ball
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2 minute readIt’s the fun question that now launches all series and tournaments: “Why should I care about this?” When there’s wall-to-wall cricket, nothing can be taken for granted – these days you have to take the time to work out which matches actually matter. No matter how seriously a team says
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2 minute readWhen we put together our Essentials Calendar last month, we figured we’d turn our attention to the World Cup at this point. We thought our gaze would shift from the West Indies v England Test series at the perfect time and we’d catch a big, exciting finish to the tournament.
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< 1 minute readGalvanisation is a tricksy process. Sometimes you need an extra ingredient. A week or so ago, we pointed out how going on tour with a coach who’s been charged with gross misconduct didn’t seem to be having a galvanising effect on the South Africa team – which is what captain
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2 minute readSouth Africa coach Mark Boucher has been charged with gross misconduct by his employers. The hearing isn’t until May 16. This is a slightly odd way to embark on a Test tour. The charge is a pretty hefty one. Racism, basically. Former team-mate Paul Adams (of frog-in-a-blender bowling action fame)
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3 minute readSouth Africa v India has been an excellent series that has thrown up some really significant talking points. King Cricket being King Cricket we’d instead like to focus on one of the insignificant ones: Marco Jansen and how awkward he looks. If you’ve not been paying attention, Jansen is South
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< 1 minute readA few years ago we hit on a suitably half-arsed approach to covering the Boxing Day Tests. We flag what matches are taking place in advance, wish everyone a happy Festivus and then leave you all to cobble together a kind of fragmentary, disjointed log of any major developments in
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