King Cricket

February 21, 2017 England / India

Why did Tymal Mills go for so much at the IPL auction? Because he’s fit for purpose

2 minute readTymal Mills has been signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore for £1.4m. In response, many have felt inclined to ask what Ian Botham, Viv Richards or Ian Austin might have gone for. This seems to us to be somewhat missing the point. In the UK, the phrase ‘Twenty20 specialist’ still has

February 19, 2017 Extras

Innovative T20 scorecards – new ways to tell the story of a cricket match

3 minute readWe were talking T20 scorecards on Friday and this led to a discussion about whether the traditional form is actually fit for purpose. Our point was that in a T20 match, it’s not just ‘how many’ and ‘how quickly’ – it’s also about when runs are scored and when wickets

February 17, 2017 Extras

Do you click through to T20I scorecards?

2 minute readWe’ve just realised we quite often don’t. Unlike some, we’re actually into Twenty20 cricket. Its formulaic nature means that a team’s strategy is easier to perceive and assess. But at the same time, unless we’re actively following a series it seems we don’t have any interest in looking at a

February 15, 2017 England

A bit of advice for Joe Root

< 1 minute readIf there’s one thing the England captain generally lacks, it’s advice from random members of the public. Fortunately for Joe Root, we are prepared to step in and fill that void. It’s a little-known fact that our critically-acclaimed Club Captain’s Handbook for All Out Cricket was originally penned as a

February 14, 2017 Extras

I Don’t Like Cricket, I Hate It – the new England Test captain edition

2 minute readA semi-regular feature in which we ask Prince Prefab about cricket – even though he hates cricket. We are in bold. Prince Prefab is not. Joe Root said he was ‘humbled’ to be named England Test captain. We vaguely remember you moaning about people’s use of this word. It basically

February 13, 2017 Extras

People are streaming live cricket online via Kodi

< 1 minute readIf you don’t know about online TV streaming software, Kodi, we’ve written a bit of an explainer. As well as taking a quick look at the software itself, we’ve also looked at what sort of content’s available, the legality of streaming and what this technology might mean for the future

February 12, 2017 Bangladesh / India

Bangladesh three long sessions away from Test series victory over India

< 1 minute readRelatively speaking. Escape with a draw and that’s basically a win for the tourists, isn’t it? And being as it’s a one Test series, that would also mean a Bangladesh series victory. Again, relatively speaking. Three sessions seems an awful long time when you’ve only got seven wickets left though.

February 10, 2017 India

Virat Kohli dealing in daddies and doubles

< 1 minute readIs ‘supersizing’ still a thing or did it die out after that Morgan Spurlock film? We’re old enough now that we should probably research our knee-jerk cultural references to see whether they still apply. Let’s not bother and just assume that this one’s still current. Virat Kohli had never hit

February 8, 2017 England

Were Alastair Cook (and his family) ‘let out to dry’ by the ECB?

2 minute readAlastair Cook has said that the ECB “kind of let me out to dry a little bit” over Kevin Pietersen’s sacking and the ensuing brouhaha. Being ‘let out to dry’ makes him sound like a cat who’s mistaken bubble bath foam for solid land and now needs the back door

February 7, 2017 Associates / England

Eoin Morgan to be Ireland Test captain?

< 1 minute read“Even more than making it in Twenty20 or 50‑over cricket my real ambition has been to become a Test player,” said Eoin Morgan when England first gave him a shot at the five-day stuff. After 16 Tests and two hundreds, it seems highly unlikely they’ll give him another go, but