< 1 minute readWho is Jason Krejza? Who is Xavier Doherty? Who is Michael Beer? Those post titles sum up Australia’s spin selection policy pretty well. Michael Beer is a blah-de-blah-de-blah. Who even cares? What’s the point? Shane Warne said he thought he might be okay last week and that seems to be
Continue reading3 minute readDandy Dan writes: Some months ago myself, Price and the so-called ‘Will’ (from String’s Oval match report) organised a weekend of watching some comedy Scottish football and staying up through the night to watch something happening on the other side of the world. Unfortunately, whilst Price was able to catch
Continue reading2 minute readWe’ve spent the morning reading obituaries of Australian cricket. An England innings victory in Australia is a monumental thing, but it’s not suddenly become the norm. Australia do tend to pick themselves back up again. It’s generally just a matter of how soon. One of the wisest things Special Correspondent
Continue reading< 1 minute readProbably Shaun Tait, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark – but being as they’re all out of the reckoning one way or another, which bowlers will Australia pick for Perth? Having made a point of undermining Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Hauritz by dropping them, these players are sure to
Continue reading< 1 minute readThere will be younger England fans who have seen their team win two of the last three Ashes series who really won’t get the significance of a win like this. For England, Ashes series down under aren’t ordinarily cricket. They’re more like visits to a lab where they can carry
Continue reading2 minute readWatching England bowl on a wearing Adelaide pitch, it was apparent that while batting might not be treacherous, there is plenty for the batsmen to think about. The ball turns from certain spots, tempting gaps are left and when even Paul Collingwood can prove dangerous, you know you’ve got to
Continue reading< 1 minute readThe Test before last, Australia fielded a bowling attack of Hilfenhaus, Johnson, Hauritz and George. In this Test, they have Harris, Bollinger, Siddle and Doherty, who have barely taken a wicket between them. What happens now? Go back to the first lot? The players can’t enjoy this selection drama. They’re
Continue reading2 minute readThe term ‘flat track bully’ isn’t so popular these days. It’s because it’s no longer indicative of a weakness. A batsman who makes the most of flat pitches, bullying bowlers into submission, is basically what you want in Test cricket where 19 pitches out of 20 are basically pretty lifeless
Continue reading< 1 minute readAlastair Cook is in a Vaughanian run of form down under. When he was batting with Jonathan Trott, it was a case of ‘the bowlers may change, but the batsmen remain the same’. Was it the Ashes or some sort of Cook-Trott conceptual art? Can you detect the passage of
Continue reading< 1 minute readEngland showed us Plan A today – James Anderson beheads the innings with the new ball and then returns to sweep away the ankles with the second new ball. But you’re aware how fragile it is. Today it worked, but even after taking three wickets in 2.1 overs, Australia still
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