4 minute readRemember when Ian Bell grew an almost-beard? That was a statement if ever there was one. Ian Bell’s beard said, “I am grizzled nowadays. I am a veteran. I am a man.” Gingery and flecked with grey, Bell’s was the facial hair of a cowboy who’d been on the trail
Continue reading4 minute readChris Woakes is a very good and admirable cricketer. He didn’t have the best of time in the last Ashes but has since bounced back in the shorter formats. If he were to play a Test match, he would not doubt take a bunch of wickets. Nevertheless, England should pretty
Continue reading< 1 minute readWe were quite keen to be first off the mark in using the word “choked” to mean “lost a cricket match” in reference to South Africa this summer. Hopefully we have achieved our aim. When you see the term deployed by others in the weeks to come, be sure to
Continue reading< 1 minute readEngland have long been on the lookout for someone who might one day fill the gigantic, timeless boots of Ben Stokes. Ever since the combative all-rounder suffered a knee injury in May 2016, they have yearned for a frontline bowler who can also play memorable major innings. In many ways,
Continue reading< 1 minute readA daddy hundred’s anything over 150, right? Sounds about right. Graham Gooch should get in touch to correct us if we’re wrong. Sometimes it’s not entirely obvious how you feel about a player until you’ve seen what they’ve done without actually watching it happen. We were out all day and
Continue reading2 minute readLet’s write a pointless opening sentence so that the formatting doesn’t look quite so weird when we give the Warwickshire v Durham game its own subheading. Warwickshire v Durham Warwickshire were very much on top after two days, but somehow, after making 313 and bowling Durham out for 190, they
Continue reading2 minute readChris Woakes played in England’s last Test. He dismissed Stephen Cook for 115. Now he’s out of the team and out of the squad. England like the idea of Woakes, but they don’t like that idea enough to commit to giving him a long run in the side. It’s understandable.
Continue reading2 minute readIt’s hard to argue that this wasn’t the perfect England one-day performance. One, England won, which satisfied most of their fans; and two, there was enough evidence to suggest that England will never win one-day games with Alastair Cook at the helm, which will have satisfied his detractors. The ideal
Continue reading< 1 minute readHow much does the ability to handle debut nerves have an impact on whether or not a player might one day thrive in Test cricket? Answer that question and you go a long way towards deciding how much attention to pay to the performances of Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan.
Continue reading