< 1 minute readHow can a mere 40 overs of cricket contain so many twists and turns? The last three or four overs in particular were dramatic dynamite. Commentators would say ‘Pakistan are almost certain to win now,’ one ball, yet find themsleves saying it was ‘India’s game to lose,’ the next. It
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.
Twenty20 World Cup final, India v Pakistan
< 1 minute readIf the proper World Cup was pretty rubbish with lots of things going wrong, the Twenty20 World Cup has pretty much addressed each of these issues. There’ve been crowds, excitement, few dead matches and they’ve even managed to get the final that all cricket tournaments want – India v Pakistan.
Continue readingYuvraj Singh: How much better could he be?
< 1 minute readThe answer, of course, is none. None better. India were doing precisely nothing when he came to the crease in the Twenty20 World Cup semi-final against Australia. They were 41-2 after eight overs. ‘It’s too hard’ they seemed to be saying. ‘We can’t lay bat on ball’. ‘What?’ said Yuvraj
Continue readingSussex win the County Championship
< 1 minute readSussex success. Lancashire disappointment. The County Championship ends in displeasingly familiar fashion. We’re not really that bothered though. Sussex are a great side. There’s Robin Martin-Jenkins, the handiest county player imaginable. A man who’s never going to get picked for England yet merrily scores fifties and chips in with wickets
Continue readingMark Ramprakash’s Bradmania
< 1 minute readThis is Grimlock. He’s a dinosaur who is also a robot. It literally doesn’t get any better than that. At the end of last season, we hypothesised that Mark Ramprakash had been spurred into overachievement by a promise from his father. We thought that maybe Mark’s dad had said he
Continue readingDhanuka Pathirana sets the standard
< 1 minute readWe’re in the middle of the Twenty20 World Cup and what is considered acceptable batting behaviour is changing by the day. Yuvraj Singh’s 12 ball fifty the other day is only three balls shy of the perfect half-century – the minimum number of balls required to pass the landmark. However,
Continue readingAnother choketastic performance from South Africa
2 minute readWe’re not gloating. England rarely even give themselves a chance to choke. No dramatic knock-outs for England. England exit tournaments quite serenely, moving from ‘performing badly’ to ‘up against it’ then ‘as good as out’ before finally reaching ‘qualification a mathematical impossibility’ – at which point they board a plane
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South Africa choke in 1999 World Cup semi final against Australia
< 1 minute readSouth Africa needed nine off the final over and Lance Klusener – by some way the best batsman in that tournament – belted the first two deliveries for four. South Africa now needed one to win. The third ball went straight to a fielder, but Allan Donald was already half
Continue readingVideo of Yuvraj Singh hitting six sixes in an over
< 1 minute readYuvraj Singh starts the over on 14. He ends it with 50. Herschelle Gibbs managed six sixes in an over in the 50 over World Cup earlier in the year. His efforts were full-blooded across the line slogs. Yuvraj Singh’s were just timed. Just watch the delicate flick for the
Continue readingYuvraj Singh hits six sixes in an over
< 1 minute readHow bloody good are we at saying other people are ace at cricket? We’re really bloody good at it – that’s how bloody good at it we are. Perhaps it’s because we’ve spent our entire life honing our sense of how much everyone else is better than us. Show us
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