< 1 minute readThere’s plenty of talk about resting England’s bowlers now that the series is won. We predicted squad rotation years ago and while we don’t disagree with the practice, we do disagree with the world that necessitates it. If the first XI were exactly that in every international cricket match, the
Continue reading< 1 minute readGood day to you all. Last week, I, Count Cricket, attended Sussex v Nottinghamshire. Nottinghamshire won and so went to the top of the table. The weather was good, so I protected my pallid skin by withdrawing to Hove’s toilets where I quaffed brandy from my thermos. Very pleasant it
Continue reading< 1 minute readWhen asked about the make-up of England’s bowling attack for the second Test at Trent Bridge, Andrew Strauss said it was a ground where the ball tended to swing, so they’d selected the three best swing bowlers. This begs the question, just what is the optimum number of eggs to
Continue reading2 minute readWe’ve really warmed to Marlon Samuels a short way into a short series. There are three main reasons for this. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, his favourite cricketer is Nasser Hussain. Anyone with such an inexplicably unlikely role model is someone to be admired. Secondly, he’s funny. Jimmy Anderson is
Continue reading< 1 minute readWe’ve been meaning to say this since the middle of the last Test, but having just seen “Steven Finn can provide England with the answer to Chanderpaul problem | Mike Selvey” on our home page, we’ve realised we’ve probably missed our window. Unfazed, we’re going to say our bit anyway.
Continue reading2 minute readA good Test match should change in character as the pitch changes character. Early on, there might be a bit of moisture for seam bowlers to exploit; then it might flatten out, favouring the patient batsmen; and eventually the pitch should deteriorate so that there’s uneven bounce and plenty of
Continue reading< 1 minute readThe ECB have sold the rights to broadcast county cricket in Asia for about £135m. It seems oddly vague to talk about ‘Asia’ in this way. It’s an entire continent. We can’t imagine people in Japan or Mongolia are particularly interested in Arul Suppiah’s back foot defence right now, but
Continue reading< 1 minute readFor all that cricket is a team game, West Indies are only one Shiv away from being literally unbeatable. England basically took wickets at one end only throughout this match and Marlon Samuels gave an indication what would happen were a second Shivnarine Chanderpaul to come to the crease. In
Continue reading< 1 minute readGood day to you. I am Count Cricket. This week I was at Edgbaston where batting conditions were so friendly even Lancashire passed 300. Following a draw, Warwickshire remain top of the table. One of the most notable performances was that of Rikki Clarke. During one of my visits to
Continue reading< 1 minute readAndrew Strauss is so painfully sensible, he’s allowed to engage in a bit of nonsense every now and again. Over the last year or so, he’s tended to crave nonsense round about the point that he’s scored 22 runs in a Test match. “The underpants are ironed, the silverware’s nicely
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