2 minute readIt is if the extracts are anything to go by. Duncan Fletcher’s book is called ‘Behind The Shades‘ – a reference to his inscrutable public appearance. Fletcher didn’t care what the media said about him and he didn’t have a lot to say to them. Well, it turns out that
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.
Duncan Fletcher on Ian Botham
< 1 minute readNot literally. That would be hideous. That would be really, really, world-class, title-taking hideous. No. This is the view of Ian Botham expressed in Duncan Fletcher’s book: “‘Get rid of all the guys like Atherton, Caddick and Tufnell,’ he [Botham] told me. ‘Why?’ I asked. ‘Because they’re too old, rather
Continue readingShoaib Akhtar overshadows South African series win
< 1 minute readIt’s one of those big looming shadows that’s accompanied by a low octave minor chord. You know what that shadow and that chord means – it means trouble. Apart from two Twenty20 internationals against Namibia, this was Shoaib Akhtar’s first international outing since January when he played a single Test
Continue readingAndrew Flintoff likes a beer
< 1 minute readWe’ve been weighing up whether to address today’s ‘big story’ or not all day. The latest extract from Duncan Fletcher’s upcoming autobiography reveals how Andrew Flintoff turned up for a practice session during the 2007 Ashes series a little the worse for wear. He was captain at the time. Apparently
Continue readingSimon Katich hits triple hundred
< 1 minute readSimon Katich – remember him? – hit 306 for New South Wales against Queensland. Everyone cross their fingers that he’ll get back into the Australian team in time for the next Ashes. Australia have any number of excellent batsmen and Katich is one of them, but at least he’s got
Continue readingEveryday cricket every day
< 1 minute readHere’s a comparison. The Rugby World Cup finished last Saturday. England played in the final. Their next international fixture will be on the second of February. England’s final match in the Cricket World Cup was on the 21st of April, against the West Indies. Their next international fixture, a Test
Continue readingShaun Pollock’s arms of expression
< 1 minute readThere is literally no cricketing event that Shaun Pollock can’t portray through subtle distinctions in his ‘arms aloft’ pose. An lbw appeal. Celebrating a wicket. Celebrating a hundred. You’ll also notice that Shaun tends to appear as a mirror image when celebrating a wicket.
Continue readingStrauss being conspicuously indifferent to Strauss’s omission
< 1 minute readLemon Bella has the latest on Strauss’s omission from the England squad: “Here is a picture of StraussCat being indifferent to Strauss (again). It means you can get two posts out of the Andrew Strauss announcement, instead of just the one.” “You’d think in this time of crisis his namesake
Continue readingDerbyshire sign Mahela Jayawardene as well
< 1 minute readWhat’s going on? Derbyshire are getting serious. Their latest signing is none other than Mahela Jayawardene – only one of the finest batsmen in the world. Jayawardene will also be playing alongside four other top drawer new signings for Derbyshire: Wavell Hinds of the Windies, who doesn’t count as an
Continue readingAndrew Strauss’s omission
< 1 minute readSo Andrew Strauss has finally been dropped. It’s about time. We don’t mean that in the sense that he’s not good enough for England, just that it seems to have been certain to happen for altogether too many matches. Strauss has been going to the crease thinking it was his
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