King Cricket

December 28, 2011 Australia / India

Another Test, another Australian batting collapse

< 1 minute readIt was only just over a month ago when South Africa were given the most memorable of lessons by Australia. In being dismissed for 96, South Africa thought they’d set the standard when it came to batting collapses, only to see their opponents proudly stumble to a score of 47

December 27, 2011 India

Sachin Tendulkar falling short

2 minute readSuppose we should write about at least one of the Boxing Day Tests. Australia v India is the more interesting one from an impartial perspective and so far India have the upper hand thanks to Zaheer Khan and some old bastard fifties. One of those was from Sachin Tendulkar, who

December 24, 2011 Australia

The Boxing Day Test tradition

2 minute readWe couldn’t remember whether we did anything on the site for Christmas. Turns out we don’t. The closest we’ve come is wishing everyone a happy Boxing Day Test Eve. The Boxing Day Test is a great tradition. There are a great many things that make cricket better than other sports

December 23, 2011 Extras

A short story about cricket

< 1 minute readWe’ve written an episodic short story about taking rational decisions based on empirical evidence. You’d think that every cricket writer would be jumping on that crowd-pleasing bandwagon, but weirdly they’re not. Short stories about sports administration are in worryingly short supply during this year’s festive period. It’s inexplicable. Part one

December 22, 2011 Regulars

Mark Butcher with scissors and a cup of tea

< 1 minute readNot at the same time – that would be MENTAL. Here he is with the scissors: And here he is with a cup of tea: If you’re wondering what’s going on here, our correspondent said that Mark was at “some sort of thing”.

December 21, 2011 Australia

Ed Cowan and other good Australian batsmen

2 minute readWe told you Australia had bottomed out. Logic has penetrated their camp and infected a handful of people. We’re worried it might spread. First of all, Ed Cowan comes into the side (or “Cricket With Balls’ own Eddie Cowan” as Jarrod would have us refer to him). He replaces Phillip

December 20, 2011 Pakistan

Pakistan: Reliable? Organised?

< 1 minute readA reliable and organised Pakistan cricket team is essentially just a theoretical construct. Nevertheless, Misbah-ul-Haq has got them about as close as they ever get. In recent months, they’ve reached a state of solidity they rarely experience. They’re scoring runs, they’re taking wickets and they’re winning pretty much all of

December 19, 2011 Extras

Gordon Greenidge at Lord’s in 1984

< 1 minute readGordon Greenidge is always worth writing about and his 214 not out in the fourth innings at Lord’s in 1984 deserves better treatment than we’ve given it over at Cricinfo. Stu and Ash are going to take a break for a while now and we’re going to do something a

December 16, 2011 South Africa / Sri Lanka

The deflation of Sri Lanka

< 1 minute readA lot of the life seems to have gone out of Sri Lanka since Murali’s retirement. On the face of it, the team’s much the same, but there’s a wrinkling and lack of solidity about them. They’re like yesterday’s balloon. They haven’t shown much heart according to Russell Arnold. Maybe

December 15, 2011 Extras

An open letter to King Cricket

< 1 minute readDear Sirs, We the undersigned wish to register our not inconsiderable lack of a suitable absence of displeasure with the current state of article writing on your website. In particular, certain facts that are facts go repeatedly unmentioned in some articles, certainly nowhere near enough as they shouldn’t be, viz: