< 1 minute read One, 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 readingTag: Ashes
Australia’s implosion – it’s not the players, it’s the situation
< 1 minute read Australia 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 readingPhillip Hughes and the short ball
< 1 minute read An 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 readingWhat is Troy Cooley doing?
< 1 minute read When 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 readingWho is Michael Beer?
< 1 minute read Who 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 readingEngland v Australia, Adelaide 2010 match report
3 minute read Dandy 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 readingAustralia’s Ashes team can sort themselves out
2 minute read We’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 readingWho are Australia’s best bowlers?
< 1 minute read Probably 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 readingEngland’s innings victories in Australia
< 1 minute read There 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 readingMarcus North has plenty to think about
2 minute read Watching 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
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