King Cricket

December 24, 2015 England / South Africa

How Jacques Kallis broke Vernon Philander

2 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

December 23, 2015 England

James Anderson’s calf

< 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

December 22, 2015 New Zealand

Is Brendon McCullum retiring too soon?

< 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

December 21, 2015 New Zealand

Kane Williamson bats with the strength of many men

< 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

December 19, 2015 England / South Africa

More rehearsals before England face South Africa

2 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.

December 18, 2015 New Zealand

Neil Wagner isn’t perfect

< 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

December 17, 2015 England

Alex Hales isn’t very warm

2 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

December 16, 2015 New Zealand

Neil Wagner never lets you down

< 1 minute readHe’s like an old pair of walking socks, a sturdy side table or a functioning fridge. He doesn’t set your world alight, but at least your feet are warm, your brew is well supported and your veg hasn’t gone off. Last week, against Sri Lanka, Neil Wagner took 3-87 and

December 15, 2015 England

The names and numbers of a modern cricket tour match

< 1 minute readBack in the day, amateurs were given full initials, professionals surname only. Either would be preferable to what we get nowadays: .@thecompdog has an excellent 50 from 107 balls on his return and England have cruised past 100. 128-3 #SAvENG pic.twitter.com/uOQj00385T — England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 15, 2015 Most Twitter

December 14, 2015 Regulars / West Indies

Is Darren Sammy running away from this streaker?

< 1 minute readOr is he running towards him? Is it even Darren Sammy? Who knows? Not us – although we’ve named the image file Darren-Sammy.jpg, so that’s quite a big commitment. Never let it be said that we aren’t a risk-taker. The photo’s from 2007. If you’re wondering why we’re publishing eight