< 1 minute readWith New Zealand 176-5, you may disagree with that. That’s not really our point. Our point is that we haven’t got anything to say about James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc. We were hoping Ben Cutting would get the nod. His training revolves around distance running, not weight-lifting – an approach
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.
Michael Clarke’s support for Mitchell Johnson is getting ridiculous
< 1 minute readMichael Clarke concluded early on in his tenure that his man management of Mitchell Johnson would involve unconditional love, no matter what the tufty-haired purveyor of left-arm ineptitude did with the ball. Johnson hasn’t taken many wickets recently, but Clarke’s been steadfast in his support. Someone should tell him he
Continue reading2012 Twenty20 Cup schedule
< 1 minute readThere’s little point criticising the 2012 county cricket fixture list. They’d made a report saying how they might change it before it had even been released. That said, we still find the Twenty20 Cup schedule bizarre. They play every day for a month. Then they play quarter finals two-and-a-half weeks
Continue readingCricinfo approval rating dips
< 1 minute readShould we take it badly if someone says, “This is the ONLY article that I dont read on Page 2” about our work? Hard to say, isn’t it? If they haven’t read it, they can’t really evaluate the quality. Or maybe they’re saying that they take in the article in
Continue readingGreat draw – in no other sport does that make much sense
2 minute readIt was a glorious and gleefully shambolic finish to the third Test between India and West Indies. West Indies were one wicket away from a tie, India one run away from a win. R Ashwin was run out going for what would have been the winning run and the match
Continue readingR Ashwin learns from Harbhajan Singh
< 1 minute readWe like R Ashwin. He seems… keen. He’s talented too, but talented players are ten-a-penny. Who cares about them? No, what we like is a stony face when someone runs in to bowl; a face that says: ‘Shut up, I’m working. No, seriously, stop it. I’m trying to concentrate. I’ve
Continue readingIs Tendulkar’s milestone a higher priority than winning a Test match?
< 1 minute readHome ground. Series won. You could be forgiven for wondering whether the Wankhede pitch has been tailored for one man’s benefit – one man and his legion of fans, that is. We could say that placing so much emphasis on one man’s achievement is disrespectful towards the 21 marionettes who
Continue readingWest Indies have some batsmen
< 1 minute readThere’s a danger of being too bloody sneering about high scores these days. We know we’re as guilty of this as anyone. It’s all too easy to blame the pitch, as if the humans standing on top of it play no part. The Windies have batted like spanners for years,
Continue readingBack to what’s important
< 1 minute readWe’ve got behind Australia to a quite sickening degree in recent days. We’ve intimated that South African defeats can be enjoyable and we’ve sympathised – SYMPATHISED – with Australians when they weren’t able to win a Test series after one little catastrophe. Well enough of that. Let’s get back to
Continue readingA two match Test series that was a success on every level
< 1 minute readAustralian defeats, South African defeats, brilliant fast bowling, feisty batting, 47 all out and everyone feeling profoundly irritated at being massively short-changed by there only being two matches – this was the perfect Test series. It was better than anything. It was better than turning up at a restaurant and
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