< 1 minute read We’re increasingly thinking that the Ashes is actually a grim psychological experiment that’s being carried out on all of the people of England and Australia. How much tension can a human being endure?
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Leaving the ball as an art form
< 1 minute read Non-cricket fans think the concept of ‘a good leave’ is hilarious, unaware that it’s a mark of the batsman’s decision-making, not his technical ability. Batsmen pride themselves on knowing where their off stumps are, but Kevin Pietersen can’t have felt much pride about knowing his was about eight inches from
Continue readingCricket beer for the summer
< 1 minute read What’s the best way of dealing with a crisis? That’s right: Marston’s have brought out another cricket themed beer. This one’s called Ashes Ale and it’s light and hoppy and the kind of beer you could have a few of – which is just as well considering how today’s play
Continue readingWhat’s wrong with Simon Jones?
< 1 minute read Those of you who don’t know can probably guess: he’s injured. He had his knee operated on in April and he’ s out for the season. He made it to August last season and that’s about as much cricket as he’s ever managed in one go. So Simon Jones sits
Continue readingAustralian batsmen batting on and on
< 1 minute read This is the toss side of the Ashes that you forget about in the two year downtime: ball not doing a lot, Australian batsmen not doing a lot wrong. You can enliven proceedings greatly by playing the ‘how bored can I possibly make myself’ game. Put the TV on mute
Continue readingGraeme Swann’s joyous bat throwing
< 1 minute read After his lower order skittering, Graeme Swann claimed that Mushtaq Ahmed was his batting mentor. Graeme Swann’s pleasingly unafraid to tell outright lies every now and again, but we think he was serious about this. Mushtaq Ahmed shouldn’t be anybody’s batting mentor. You can’t just find the nearest person who’s
Continue readingBen Hilfenhaus is quietly impressive
< 1 minute read Midway through yesterday’s play, there was a strange, unholy sound in our front room. We eventually concluded that an Australian was trying to communicate with us. After concealing all sleeves from sight so that it didn’t get distressed, we eventually managed to deduce what it was trying to tell us.
Continue readingKevin Pietersen’s stupid shot
< 1 minute read Not interested. Some say it was irresponsible. Some say it’s the way he plays. This is not the first time people have pored over a Pietersen dismissal. Kevin Pietersen plays a lot of stupid shots. He gets away with almost all of them. His dismissals often look worse than those
Continue readingThere’s an Australian in our house
< 1 minute read What should we do? Should we just treat it like a person?
Continue readingMitchell Johnson or James Anderson?
< 1 minute read And you HAVE to choose. We’re going for James Anderson. He’s the better bowler when the ball swings and we love watching swing bowling. If the ball doesn’t swing, Mitchell Johnson’s got the better attributes, being quicker and kack-handed (as if THAT’S an attribute). Also, you have to remember that
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