< 1 minute readSeriously. Why did no-one tell us about this? Jack Crapp! Is this common knowledge? How did we miss a name like that? 319 Test runs at an average of 29 seems appropriate. Crapp later became an umpire. There was also a guy called Dick Spooner.
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.
We would like to see Graham Onions play another Test match
< 1 minute readIt’s very easy to blank out the finer details of sportsmen’s injuries. Getting knee-knack and gammy-hammy are occupational hazards, so we tend to only really take in the word ‘injured’ before wondering who’ll replace the player in question. But Graham Onions had spinal surgery. Think about that. Someone tore a
Continue readingKevin Pietersen retires from the shorter international formats but not from Tests or the IPL
< 1 minute readWith his finishing school posture and his languid prancing, Kevin Pietersen always looks fine when he’s ambling around the outfield. But who knows what’s going on inside those 30-something limbs? Maybe he’s got age-related shitty knee. You need to rest your stupid, failing joints for longer as you get older.
Continue readingSomething about squad rotation
< 1 minute readThere’s plenty of talk about resting England’s bowlers now that the series is won. We predicted squad rotation years ago and while we don’t disagree with the practice, we do disagree with the world that necessitates it. If the first XI were exactly that in every international cricket match, the
Continue readingHow many swing bowlers did England need to win this Test match?
< 1 minute readWhen asked about the make-up of England’s bowling attack for the second Test at Trent Bridge, Andrew Strauss said it was a ground where the ball tended to swing, so they’d selected the three best swing bowlers. This begs the question, just what is the optimum number of eggs to
Continue readingThree reasons to like Marlon Samuels
2 minute readWe’ve really warmed to Marlon Samuels a short way into a short series. There are three main reasons for this. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, his favourite cricketer is Nasser Hussain. Anyone with such an inexplicably unlikely role model is someone to be admired. Secondly, he’s funny. Jimmy Anderson is
Continue readingSomething about Steven Finn that isn’t really worth saying
< 1 minute readWe’ve been meaning to say this since the middle of the last Test, but having just seen “Steven Finn can provide England with the answer to Chanderpaul problem | Mike Selvey” on our home page, we’ve realised we’ve probably missed our window. Unfazed, we’re going to say our bit anyway.
Continue readingWhy the County Championship is like a good Test match
2 minute readA good Test match should change in character as the pitch changes character. Early on, there might be a bit of moisture for seam bowlers to exploit; then it might flatten out, favouring the patient batsmen; and eventually the pitch should deteriorate so that there’s uneven bounce and plenty of
Continue readingThey’re going to broadcast county cricket in Asia
< 1 minute readThe ECB have sold the rights to broadcast county cricket in Asia for about £135m. It seems oddly vague to talk about ‘Asia’ in this way. It’s an entire continent. We can’t imagine people in Japan or Mongolia are particularly interested in Arul Suppiah’s back foot defence right now, but
Continue readingA second Shiv
< 1 minute readFor all that cricket is a team game, West Indies are only one Shiv away from being literally unbeatable. England basically took wickets at one end only throughout this match and Marlon Samuels gave an indication what would happen were a second Shivnarine Chanderpaul to come to the crease. In
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