England / Sri Lanka

One of our worst nightmares

< 1 minute readOur worst nightmare was probably the one where we had toothache and when the tooth came out, it turned out to be a kind of keystone for our entire skull. With a groaning, creaking sound akin to falling timber, our entire head split in two – ONLY WE DIDN’T WAKE

Continue reading
England

Liam Plunkett bowls some good fast-medium

< 1 minute readThere was a period, just after tea, when England started looking decidedly fast-medium. Fortunately for Alastair Cook, it was a day when persisting with right-arm fast-medium wasn’t actually the worst ploy imaginable and Kumar Sangakkara’s wicket precipitated a sudden flow of wickets that gushed so strongly that most people didn’t

Continue reading
England

Defining the proactive batsman

3 minute readIt can be hard to read your own words. We don’t mean because of the quality of your handwriting (our penmanship has atrophied to the point that we’re reduced to using block capitals now). We mean that it’s impossible to read something you’ve written for meaning; to see the words

Continue reading
England

England are South Africa

< 1 minute readThey don’t really have a spinner, most of their bowlers can bat, their batsmen are stodgy and they’re conservative when it comes to declarations. It’s clear that England’s new era is merely South Africa’s old one – and this despite fielding far fewer South Africans than usual. Honestly, they’re this

Continue reading
England / Sri Lanka

One pole needed but no cherries left

2 minute readThat’s a reference to something Shane Warne said late on day five. “59 cherries left. Four poles to get.” Okay, you’re Australian, we get it. Just speak normally, okay. The cherry shortfall Following the nine wickets down draw between England and Sri Lanka, it’s hard to avoid pointing to the

Continue reading