< 1 minute readBrace yourselves. We’re taking a week off. Apparently it’s not just fast bowlers who need to recharge from time to time. As ever, we’ve got stuff lined up for next week: match reports, summat about New Zealand and stuff we’ve done for other people that you may have missed. Those
Continue reading2 minute readShortly before Adil Rashid bowled his ninth over in the first one-day international, the 28th of the innings, one of the Sky commentators said that captain Eoin Morgan would be delighted that he had ‘got through his overs’ by this early point. That’s the kind of banality you’ll often hear
Continue reading2 minute readWhy, England, why? Why do you only now bat with no fear of consequences in this inconsequential one-day game? Why couldn’t you bat with no fear of consequences in the World Cup, back when there were consequences? That’s only partly jaded cynicism It’s mainly just our way of saying that
Continue reading2 minute readAs the old saying goes, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen and if the smoke drifts into the dressing room, you should probably exit there as well. A number of England one-day players have exited both kitchen and dressing room for this series, although some
Continue reading< 1 minute readSo we’re calling him out on it. For every Shivnarine Chanderpaul, trying to convince people he’s still got it at the age of 40, there’s a Glen Chapple, sidling into a coaching position and inexplicably trying to convince everyone that he hasn’t still got it. Chapple’s not fooling anyone. >
Continue reading2 minute readHurray! Friday! Let’s celebrate by writing about melancholy exits! We’ve sadly had two recently. Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s international career ended just as he imagined it would when he first took up the sport as a boy, with a WhatsApp exchange between Test series. Meanwhile, Craig Kieswetter has had to call it
Continue reading< 1 minute readAt some point in 2013, Leicestershire were cut by the thunder. From then on, draws and losses appeared to be the only possible outcomes following four days of championship cricket. That’s a dispiriting world in which to live, sounding almost like something imposed on them by a judge. However, the
Continue reading2 minute readParity on first innings isn’t really parity because one team has to bat last. When England matched New Zealand’s 350, they were behind. Not that this was where the match was decided, but it’s worth noting when so much attention is on fourth innings shot selection. Several days ago… Two
Continue reading< 1 minute readSometimes the crowd are said to be a 12th man. Sometimes the 12th man is a 12th man. At times, in England, persistent drizzle is the 12th man. Even Brendon McCullum at his most innovative couldn’t get the better of the United Kingdom’s damp, maritime climate today. “What if I
Continue reading< 1 minute readBradley-John. BJ stands for Bradley-John. We’d have gone with Brad. Or John. Or Bradley. Or Bradley-John. BJ went for BJ. As for the surname, we can’t hear ‘caught Watling’ without thinking it’s some sort of archaic crime. As in: ‘Broad was caught watling behind the keep and was sentenced to
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