3 minute read 10 Ashes Tests in a row was such a good idea and went so well that the ECB thought to themselves: “Say, why don’t we play nine Tests on the bounce against India? Let’s really focus on that. Then, while they were all patting themselves on the backs for having
Continue readingMonth: January 2021
Root’s Moose Cup Powered by Daraz | Mop-up of the day
3 minute read Three things, okay? Thing 1 Just as with Botham’s Ashes, the 2021 Moose Cup Powered by Daraz seems destined to be forever remembered as Root’s Moose Cup Powered by Daraz. In the first Test, Sri Lanka made 135 and then Joe Root made 228. In the second Test, Root made
Continue readingTalking points? Nah, let’s just go with a photo of the Moose Cup Powered by Daraz
< 1 minute read When we talk about how much players want to win a trophy such as the World Cup, what we’re really talking about is how much they want to win the competition for which the World Cup itself just happens to be the prize. The Moose Cup, on the other hand
Continue readingThe 1997 Ridiculous Ashes – all six episodes
2 minute read Hopefully you’re aware that we (Alex Bowden and Dan Liebke) are doing The Ridiculous Ashes Podcast. Series 1 is about the 1997 series and you can find all six episodes below. The Ridiculous Ashes is an alternative trophy that is awarded to the side that produces the most hilarious and
Continue readingJames Anderson has become spry
3 minute read It’s funny how people described as “ageless” are always, always, without exception, old. People age in different ways. This is a phenomenon that first becomes apparent, and is arguably at its most jarring, when you’re in your late 20s or early 30s. At some point during that period, you’ll bump
Continue readingThree things India needed for The Storming of the Gabba
4 minute read To storm a fortress you need three things: numbers, a tenderiser and at least one person who is not averse to progress. This is the story of how India took the Gabba. Not all fortresses are hard to take. England turned up at a fort earlier this week and were
Continue readingDan Lawrence: first look in Test cricket
2 minute read We don’t believe you can draw meaningful conclusions from players’ debuts – but we report on them anyway. As a connoisseur of part-time bowling, we are greatly disappointed to have missed the two overs Dan Lawrence bowled on his debut (0-10). Fortunately, his batting (73 and 21 not out) provided
Continue readingAt what exact point does a Joe Root innings become noteworthy?
2 minute read Joe Root has always been a batsman who’s scored about 40 more runs than you thought he had. Like a man on an e-bike, he glides along far quicker than seems to make sense given the effort he appears to be putting in. People really didn’t talk about Root all
Continue readingDom Bess’s terrible five-for: the not-very-highs, lows and lower-stills of one of the flukiest match-shaping bowling performances you’re ever likely to see
3 minute read Someone has to carefully document Dom Bess’s absolutely dreadful 5-30 against Sri Lanka and that person has to be us. The stats people at CricViz do a thing where they estimate how many wickets a bowler could realistically expect to have taken in a given spell based on the deliveries
Continue readingSeven incredibly-well-researched team talking points for the Sri Lanka v England Test
2 minute read The tyre-flipping is over and the gloves are off (or on, if the player in question is batting or wicket-keeping). The first Test between Sri Lanka and England is, by the time you read this, quite possibly underway. It isn’t underway as we write though, which means we are now
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