King Cricket

February 5, 2012 Pakistan

Azhar Ali has a long way to go and a long time to get there

< 1 minute readIf Azhar Ali knows that speed equals distance over time, it doesn’t unduly concern him. This is a batsman who will not be rushed. With a train to catch in ten minutes’ time and the station five minutes from his house, Azhar’s sitting in his dressing gown with a cup

February 3, 2012 England / Pakistan

Freaky Friday for England and Pakistan

< 1 minute readEngland and Pakistan seem to have swapped identities at some point in the recent past. Pakistan are all obdurate and professional, while England try to make up for their catastrophic batting with ever more spectacular bowling efforts. There’s a limit to what the poor bowlers will be able to achieve

February 2, 2012 England

So, Eoin Morgan then?

< 1 minute readHe’s been kind of crap of late and even when he has made runs in Tests, they’ve seemed a bit jousey. However, at the same time, he’s been a pyrotechnic gnarl-dog in one-day internationals and they ain’t ten a penny. Should England drop him? He’s not the only one to

February 1, 2012 County cricket / Match report

CB40 Final match report

2 minute readSam writes: Saturday morning, late September Cut price tickets through a friend who is a member South West Trains and then the Bakerloo Tesco express for a beer or two First to the Tavern, then to the Warner Down to the toilets with a window in the corner Through which

January 31, 2012 Pakistan

Mohsin Khan’s dad qualities

< 1 minute readPakistan had a job to do, but most of the players were just dicking about. Umar Gul was ragging round on his BMX, Mohammad Hafeez was telling naughty jokes and Kamran Akmal was skulking in the shrubbery, encouraging his brothers to smoke cigarettes. Misbah-ul-Haq was trying to get everybody to

January 30, 2012 Australia

Australia’s Twenty20 selection policy

< 1 minute readSam writes: Greetings, King Cricket readers. I would like to share some facts with you. Everyone loves a good fact. Here they come. George Bailey is the new captain of Australia’s Twenty20 team He is the first player since Dave Gregory in 1877 to be named captain in his first

January 28, 2012 England / Pakistan

England’s batsmen and spin in the fourth innings

2 minute readEngland’s second innings batting card looks a bit binary code, but the truth is they weren’t qualified for this job. The batsman v bowler duel generally favours the batsman, but the balance can shift towards the bowler due to the pitch, the weather and the match situation. In Abu Dhabi,

January 27, 2012 England

Monty Panesar has played one Test X times

< 1 minute readThis statement was made my Shane Warne. He famously said that Monty Panesar hadn’t played X Tests but one Test X number of times. This is accepted as great insight all too readily. It’s a nice catchy soundbite and it’s from Shane Warne, but does it really have much merit?

January 26, 2012 India

Virat Kohli hits first Test hundred

2 minute readAs well as being from a different generation, Tendulkar, Dravid and them are also significantly older than the likes of Virat Kohli. What we mean by this is that people change over time. They grow up. We say this not because we’re competing in a hotly-contested online state-the-obvious competition, but

January 25, 2012 Australia / India

India’s nuts need tightening

< 1 minute readTheir wheel nuts. Don’t be crude. It’s not so much that India keep losing Test matches that’s depressing, it’s the way that they lose them: the wheels keep coming off. In England and Australia, India have collectively averaged 24.5 with the bat and 56.97 with the ball. To put that