< 1 minute readIt’s been a strange sort of series where England’s first innings in each Test has largely been irrelevant. Having won the first Test, West Indies seem to have set themselves to bat past England – however monumental the score – and then see what happens. They’ve almost waited for the
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.
Fidel Edwards’ bouncer
2 minute readIt’s the last over of a long day. The West Indies are bowling. Must be time for Fidel Edwards to bounce the shit out of someone. This isn’t the first time Edwards has done this during this series, but it was perhaps the best example. Edwards rarely lacks for effort,
Continue readingMitchell Johnson takes England back to the Nineties
< 1 minute readAt one stage South Africa were 6-3, effectively 6-4, as Graeme Smith had been hospitalised. The man who did this was Mitchell Johnson and he forced Jacques Kallis to retire hurt shortly afterwards. Johnson provided bounce, swing and crucially, pace. Mitchell Johnson is a fast bowler. We’d say a ‘genuine’
Continue readingAndrew Strauss rules the winter
< 1 minute readAndrew Strauss has hit five hundreds this winter. Having done extensive statistical analysis, we have deemed that ‘acceptable’. We went out to canvass public opinion about the England captain. Malcolm Rathbone, 48, said: “That Strauss is a symbol of all that’s great about Britain. This is the kind of thing
Continue readingPhil Hughes needs to work on his timing
< 1 minute readPhil Hughes has hit a duck, a fifty and now a hundred. Where does he go next? Well he might want to consider scoring a hundred on a weekday. People do stuff at weekends and his runs might not get as much attention. On a weekday, people come back from
Continue readingA signed cricket bat in multiple places
2 minute readSend us pictures of cricket bats or other cricket stuff in unusual places to king@kingcricket.co.uk. Miriam writes: Here is a cricket bat in some unusual places. Specifically, here is the cricket bat signed by the Sussex team that I won through King Cricket, from a lingerie website, around my house.
Continue readingOwais Shah’s leave
< 1 minute readWhen Owais Shah leaves a ball, it stays left. He plays his most elaborate leaves at relatively full deliveries outside off stump. He doesn’t just get his bat out of the way, he swings it over and then straight down towards the ground in front of him. It’s like he’s
Continue readingSamit Patel in ‘unacceptable level of fitness’ shocker
< 1 minute readThe ECB have released a statement announcing that Samit Patel has been dropped from England’s one-day squad. We’ll paraphrase for you: Samit Patel is fat. We’re glad our employers don’t make press releases about the personal flaws that affect our work. It would be disconcerting to open a newspaper and
Continue readingWest Indies v England, Antigua match report
< 1 minute readSend your match reports to king@kingcricket.co.uk Sam writes: We arranged to meet for an after work drink and watch the third day of the re-arranged test at the ARG at a pub somewhere in north Surrey. I drove from my office to my friend’s office. I turned off the A3
Continue readingNot so statistically aberrant or statistically abhorrent
< 1 minute readWe’ve long had a problem with Mike Hussey’s ludicrous batting average. Finally, after a long wait, South Africa have started dragging it back towards being something more sensible. Hussey now averages 57.11 after 35 Tests, which is still offensive, but not as offensive as hearing the general public give opinions
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