< 1 minute readSo said South Africa captain Dane van Niekerk after her team had conceded a world record 216-1 in a T20 against New Zealand and then a few hours later conceded 250-3 against England. “An area of concern” is a great way of putting it. “An absolute liability” is just that
Continue reading3 minute readOn June 19, 2018, England took the Australia bowling attack apart as if it were a giant Lego penis and grandma was coming over. The dismantling was rapid, efficient and utterly comprehensive. They made 481-6, the highest total in the history of one-day internationals. We strongly disagree with the idea
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4 minute readThere was a time when Liam Plunkett was spoken about in much the same way as Sajid Mahmood. Then there was another time when Liam Plunkett was spoken about in much the same way as Sajid Mahmood. It seems safe to assume that it won’t happen a third time –
Continue reading< 1 minute readRemember Out of the Ashes? It’s a documentary about Afghanistan’s journey “from war to the World Cup”. We reviewed it here and thought it was rather wonderful. It strikes us that it could do with an update because Afghanistan are a Test team now. This is a highly astonishing state
Continue reading2 minute readScotland’s obvious delight at beating England at the weekend was in no way matched by the anger of the England fans or the embarrassment of the players. It’s not an exact mathematical thing, but normally in sport you’d expect similar sorts of weight on both sides. Why was that not
Continue reading2 minute readThat’s a terrible headline. It labels Jos Buttler a T20 player when a key aspect of the point we’re about to make is that players shouldn’t be categorised. Over at Wisden, we’ve picked up almost exactly where we left off earlier in the week, arguing that England’s Test team would
Continue reading< 1 minute readWe always do our best to keep you updated on the exact whereabouts of “the line,” according to its official custodians, the Australia cricket team. In news that will be hugely reassuring to everyone, Australia’s new captain and coach say that they are well aware of the location of the
Continue reading3 minute readWe’ve always said that Jos Buttler seems much, much safer at the crease – and a far more reassuring presence for England fans – when he’s just standing there spanking sixes, all bionic eyes and adamantium wrists. We wrote about this in 2015 and Buttler himself seems to have been
Continue reading< 1 minute readIf Sam Curran could bat a bit better or bowl a bit better, he would definitely be a good addition to the England team. If that sounds dismissive, it’s only because it made for a better opening sentence. Scurran is close. He’s just not quite there. Strengths Left-armer Swings it
Continue reading3 minute readEngland’s batting is bad. England are bad at batting. Bad batting is a thing that England’s batsmen generally do. Before we get into the ins and outs of the badness, let’s contextualise it with the players’ career Test averages because that way we can really get a sense of the
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