< 1 minute readBert writes: 3.4 The bowler is up to the wicket now and he bowls and that is clipped away nicely through midwicket for at least two, the fielder is chasing hard and HE’S OUT! The fielder is OUT! Bert is down in a crumpled heap on the floor clutching his
Continue readingAuthor: King Cricket
Otherwise known as Alex Bowden, a lapsed cricket journalist who has written for ESPNCricinfo, wisden.com, Cricket 365, The Cricketer and plenty of other places.
Links to some non-cricket writing and a bit more background here.
England drop a giant and select AN EVEN MORE TERRIFYING GIANT
< 1 minute readWe’ve already done ‘Chris Tremlett’s back‘ once before. We’d hate to repeat ourself. England have dropped the grossly-overtall Steven Finn and have replaced him with a man of similar height but who also has arms the size of thighs hanging off the sides of some sort of oil-tanker-cum-torso. Then there’s
Continue readingPhil Hughes’ position in the batting order
< 1 minute readPhil Hughes has been talking about how frustrating it has been to have batted at every position from one to six on this Ashes tour, seemingly oblivious to the fact that all six slots have basically meant being an opener. He also said: “I feel like I’m very comfortable at
Continue readingDavid Warner provides just about the blandest quote in cricket history
< 1 minute readThere’s no need to make comparisons or to try and find something even less interesting. Let’s just appreciate these words for their exquisite emptiness and leave it there. There’s been a lot going on with Warner. He’s been in strife, he’s been punished, he’s claimed his behaviour contributed to Mickey
Continue readingSemi-effective Australian plan SHOCKER
< 1 minute readOkay, brace yourselves for this. Something Australia have tried to do has kind of half-worked. David Warner was dispatched to Africa to become a non-rubbish number four batsman and has just scored 193 against South Africa A. They were 46-2 when he arrived at the crease as well, so it’s
Continue readingOld Filchonians over-40s midweek Twenty20 evening match preview
3 minute readBert writes: Finally I gave in. There is only so much a man can take. First the bait. You used to play a bit, didn’t you Bert? You must have been a decent cricketer in your time, I’ll bet. Then the hook. There’s no real commitment, and you look like
Continue readingHigh horses and salvation
< 1 minute readNo matter how wobbly the opposition appears to be, you shouldn’t gloat too enthusiastically two matches into a five-match series – you need to pace yourself, if nothing else. We’re finding ourself a little bit overwhelmed by the ferocity of the post-Lord’s vivisection. Aussies are tearing strips off their team,
Continue readingAustralia fight with their last breath having misused all previous lung work
< 1 minute readIt’s probably not quite right to say that Australia again fought to the final wicket. It’s more that they fought for the final wicket, which isn’t quite so impressive. We’ve also got a suspicion that England are deliberately manufacturing embarrassing 10th wicket partnership statistics with which the Aussie batsmen can
Continue readingJoe Root watches the pitch get all knackered-up
2 minute readWe’re never sure what to say about declaration batting. It can be hard to watch as the tension is minimal. Even so, it serves important purposes. Bat for a long time and you get a good view of the opposition bowling. You also sap it of strength. Even if there
Continue readingFatties in a tug o’ war team
2 minute readTrying to assess the quality of the bowling or the helpfulness of the conditions in this Test is like trying to gauge the contribution of the skinny guy in a tug o’ war team. There may well be something remarkable going on, but the impact’s entirely dwarfed by the efforts
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