2 minute readIt’s got to be done. Brace yourself for some links. Maybe bookmark the page for later but never actually read it. That’s what we’d do. January Peter Moores said Liberty X were derivative and Kevin Pietersen said that Moores was an inbred Maxonian obsessed with wheelie bin collections. England lost
Continue readingMonth: December 2009
As a spin bowler, Graeme Swann is England’s most important player
< 1 minute readHopefully no-one’s told him yet and hopefully he never realises, but England’s performance hinges on how well Graeme Swann plays. Obviously, taking nine wickets for not a lot had a huge impact on how England won this Test, but nowadays Swann HAS to perform. That’s not because England’s other bowlers
Continue readingShane Watson and Ian Bell and what they have in common
< 1 minute readWe wrote about Shane Watson and Ian Bell over at The Wisden Cricketer. We said that they weren’t hugely popular in their respective countries, perhaps because they were overly serious. We also said that Shane Watson couldn’t bowl. Shortly after the post went up, both Bell and Watson scored hundreds
Continue readingHow England win Test matches
< 1 minute readBasically, through ambush. They plod along, being solid and unspectacular and then in one innings in the field, they completely steamroller the opposition. Think of England’s wins since Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss took over. West Indies were rolled for 152 at Lord’s; the same opponents were dispatched for 176
Continue readingIan Bell is the second England batsman to score a hundred in the innings
< 1 minute readLet’s examine the Ian Bell fact. You know the one: he only scores hundreds when someone else in the England batting line-up has already made one. This has just happened against South Africa. Alastair Cook was first and then Ian Bell outstripped him with 141. Let’s just say that the
Continue readingKevin Pietersen’s weakness against left-arm spin
< 1 minute readKevin Pietersen doesn’t have a weakness against left-arm spin. Not directly anyway. Kevin Pietersen’s weakness is that sometimes he thinks he could travel to the moon without a vehicle or oxygen. All players have a confidence range. Sometimes they’re up, sometimes they’re down, but the extremes aren’t the same for
Continue readingShane Watson run out against Pakistan
< 1 minute readOpening batsmen always talk about developing ‘an understanding’ with their opening partner. Shane Watson and Simon Katich should try and understand that batsmen should end up at opposite ends when running between the wickets. We hope Australia never drop Shane Watson. He blends haplessness, incompetence, misfortune and childish petulance. It’s
Continue readingHow soft is Shane Watson?
< 1 minute readWe’ve always said that Shane Watson always looks on the verge of tears. Chris Gayle agrees. Gayle says that Watson’s easy to wind up. “He only looks big and strong but he’s soft.” But how soft? We already know that Watson’s so soft he has to sleep in Brett Lee’s
Continue readingChris Hollins proves that cricketers still make the best dancers
< 1 minute readJo Fitz writes: South Africa – pah – let’s concentrate on the real midwinter battle – Chris Hollins v Ricky Whittle. When The Cat got knocked out in week 9, the inevitability that a cricketer always wins Strictly Come Dancing seemed to have been proved wrong. But the best kept
Continue readingMonty Panesar playing for Lions in South Africa
< 1 minute readWhat, like as a prize or something? No. Highveld Lions are a South African domestic side. So he’s not being paid in big cats then? No. Are you keeping an eye on his performances? Yes. So how’s he been doing? Why haven’t you reported anything? Er, well… he’s been okay.
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