< 1 minute readNever write off the Aussies. They’re never down for long. When England lose this Test match, the score will be 1-1, but you can lose a match in different ways. You can affect opposition players to the extent that they’ll have a different outlook in the next Test and a
Continue reading< 1 minute readWhy DOESN’T Shane Watson always get out in the 90s? Would it be unfair to suggest that for some players personal milestones bring more pressure because the player in question is – how shall we put this – massively self-involved with an overinflated sense of their own importance? It is
Continue reading< 1 minute readThere are some English people who have had sympathy for Australia during the first half of this Ashes series. We won’t hesitate to call these people idiots. Imagine being hunted by a carcharodontosaurus and then when you’ve somehow managed to trap it after spending 20 years digging an absolutely enormous
Continue reading< 1 minute readOne, befriend Troy Cooley. Two, hang out with him for a week. Last week, we said that Cooley didn’t seem to have done a lot for Australia’s bowlers. We partly retract that. Overall, they’ve had a pretty woeful series, but to teach Mitchell Johnson how to swing a cricket ball
Continue reading< 1 minute readA balls. They have made a balls of their first Test innings in South Africa. 136-9 is a rubbish score for a side that relies so heavily on its batting, whatever the conditions. Is ‘Steyn and Morkel’ a thing yet, like ‘Wasim and Waqar’ or ‘Lillee and Thomson’? It’s probably
Continue reading< 1 minute readAustralia have brought in four players and nothing has changed. This series could serve as a case study for sporting depression and panic. Rational decision-making has gone out the window at every level, from selectors down to players and it’s formed a vicious circle. Players aren’t sure of their places
Continue reading< 1 minute readJames Anderson and Mitchell Johnson were involved in a little verbal to and fro today. It culminated in Johnson saying: “Yeah, and what are you going to do about it, mate?” About 10 seconds later, Anderson yorked Ryan Harris.
Continue reading< 1 minute readAn opening batsman who averages over 50 in Test and first-class cricket has not been ‘found out’ if he makes a right royal hash of a couple of short balls. Phillip Hughes had three Test innings in England in 2009 and got dropped. Had Don Bradman been found out in
Continue reading2 minute readWe told Sam that we would ‘get this one up before the Ashes at the very latest’. Sam writes: I finish work early on Wednesdays, so I dashed home in order to catch the remainder of the final one-day international between England and Pakistan. Being far too brassic to afford
Continue reading< 1 minute readWhen England were given a comprehensive shoeing in 2006-07, everyone in England was up in arms that they’d let their bowling coach, Troy Cooley, leave for a post with Australia. Now that Australia’s fast bowlers have turned into long hop machines set at 80mph, we’ve all forgotten about him, but
Continue reading