You can fight hard for a couple of innings, but when all seems lost it can become really hard to summon the enthusiasm and make any real effort. You can’t judge people too harshly on what happens in these circumstances. You might consider that a comment on England’s later efforts
Continue readingTag: Jonny Bairstow
Jonny Bairstow has a fridge door full of hundreds
About a year ago, we started getting milk delivered – you know, like how people used to back in the Eighties. No longer do we have to carry weighty flagons of milk in amongst the rest of the big shop; now it just materialises on our doorstep, as if by
Continue readingA veritable smorgasbord of draws in the latest exciting instalment of the 2016 County Championship
This week’s matches varied incredibly. We had fraught, tense, hard-fought draws; ambling draws that were obvious from a mile out; and everything in between. The 2016 County Championship is not yet proving to be a competition in which people win cricket matches. The fraught, tense, hard-fought draw Yorkshire gamely went
Continue readingWhy it’s time to drop Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes makes things happen. Against South Africa in Cape Town on the second day, he made time distort such that England appeared to make 312 runs in just 38.5 overs. At one point the TV commentators were reduced to debating whether the ball had landed on the railway line
Continue readingHotwiring Jonny Bairstow
Despite recent media coverage, Alex Hales is not actually in competition with Moeen Ali. He is, we’d guess, competing with Jonny Bairstow. Alastair Cook wants plenty of bowlers in 40 degree heat which means Adil Rashid will finally get to play a Test in the UAE. In which case who
Continue readingWho’s got gloves? Have you got gloves? Okay, you’re picked
Say what you like about Craig Kieswetter’s work behind the sticks, at least he owns a pair of gloves. We’ve half a mind that he’ll end up as England’s Test wicketkeeper simply because he’s the only one who spends any time actually keeping wicket. Today’s Yorkshire report on Cricinfo centres
Continue readingThe number six doorway
Enough of the eye-catching swing bowling. What is this website for if not for accentuating the negative? Let’s focus on England’s batting. We still haven’t really settled on a firm opinion regarding England’s approach in the first Test. We’d probably grade it ‘acquiescent’. We don’t think it was as bad
Continue readingJonny Bairstow isn’t bothered
You wonder whether it’s worth England batting Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order. It’s not that he’s particularly suited to the role, but if the opposition remain hell-bent on bouncing the shit out of him, it might soften the ball a bit for all the batsmen who follow.
Continue readingIs Jonny Bairstow the next Ravi Bopara?
Regular readers will know we rather like Ravi Bopara. We don’t think he’s the next Bradman or owt, but we do think he’s probably England’s sixth best batsman. People don’t like picking the sixth best batsman. They have it in their heads that there must be someone better out there
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