< 1 minute readWith his South African face and his steady South African batting. He also bowls left-arm orthodox in a way that indicates he might believe Roelof Van Der Merwe to be the finest ever exponent of the art. Dean carried his bat today. Well played Dean. We should probably have more
Continue reading< 1 minute readWe’ve always liked Marlon Samuels. He’s mischievous and funny and his favourite cricketer is Nasser Hussain. He’s also skilful. In the 2012 World T20 final, Samuels waded into Lasith Malinga as if he were a particularly inviting jacuzzi. He’s made Test hundreds. He’s looked really good in doing so. But
Continue reading< 1 minute readAs in ‘returned’. He hasn’t got ankylosing spondylitis or anything. If anything, he appears entirely unaffected by spinal ailments, awaiting each delivery with a relaxed upright stance. We got plenty of opportunities to see this as Compton stuck around for over six hours, doing his level best to ensure he
Continue reading2 minute readWe’re approaching the fifth anniversary of The Day. It’s just a little reminder that life’s really all about the little things – little Australian innings that don’t last very long, specifically. That seems unlikely this year, what with them being up against Jason Holder and whatever the poor lad can
Continue reading< 1 minute readJames Anderson has been for scans and has been found to be carrying a calf. He may therefore miss the Boxing Day Test unless it is born prematurely. Either that or he’s slightly injured in the leg. This is weird and frightening because as a general rule James Anderson doesn’t
Continue reading< 1 minute readYes. Yes he is. The answer you are looking for is ‘yes’. Now that he’s a statesmanlike trendsetter and role model, the very embodiment of what cricket should be, it’s easy to forget that for many years Brendon McCullum was just a mediocre wicketkeeper-batsman who typically flailed then failed in
Continue reading< 1 minute readThe sequence was completed: 292, 237, 133, 108. Descending scores as batting conditions became tougher and tougher. Wait a minute. The first three of those are team scores. The last one isn’t. The sequence actually reads: 292, 237, 133, 189 – of which Kane Williamson alone contributed 108. Fourth innings
Continue reading2 minute readA friend of ours once played the finest bum note we’ve ever heard while performing Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight at a wedding. It was the very last note and it only sounded so marvellously hideous because he’d played everything flawlessly up until that point. That’s how to get something wrong.
Continue reading< 1 minute readThere aren’t many media outlets where this would be headline news. It is here though. New Zealand’s fourth seamer isn’t flawless. Stop the press! It may only have been the day before yesterday, but it already seems a long, long time since we suggested that Neil Wagner never lets you
Continue reading2 minute readBy all accounts, the door to Test selection has now been opened by Alex Hales. Barring injury he will take his place in the England side that will face South Africa on Boxing Day. He could do with warming up a bit though. England’s first warm-up match, against a South
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