< 1 minute readPakistan held their nerve throughout a challenging 15-run chase on a mostly lifeless day three pitch and secured a narrow 10-wicket win over a thoroughly professional England side. England kept it tight and the pressure built, but with one eye on the clock, Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar timed their
Continue readingCategory: England
Bring forth the dobble
< 1 minute readPaul Collingwood’s bowling was always a bit too canny to be proper dibbly dobbly medium-pace. There were too many cutters; too much innovation. You don’t get any of that crap from Jonathan Trott. England’s four bowler policy means the batsmen have to chip in with a few overs. Ravi Bopara’s
Continue readingSaeed Ajmal will bowl a few more overs against England
< 1 minute readEngland have faced Michael Beer, Xavier Doherty and a guy who looks a bit like Harbhajan Singh in the last year. They haven’t really had to combat any spin bowlers. Saeed Ajmal is a spin bowler – he’s a good spin bowler, in fact. He’s not a 7-55 on day
Continue readingAn unlucky 13 things that explain how bad English cricket was in the Nineties
2 minute readEngland fans: You don’t know how lucky you are right now. This is what it was like in the Nineties… 1. English batsmen who averaged over 40 during the Nineties (The Smudge’s suggestion) This is the FULL list. Alex Tudor – 55.33 (six innings) David Gower – 53 Graham Gooch
Continue readingWe haven’t forgotten the Nineties thing
< 1 minute readIt’s just taking a while to put together because there’s so much disappointment to wade through. Our potted history of English cricket in the Nineties should appear later today and if you’re English, it can’t help but make you appreciate how lucky you are right now. If England lose their
Continue readingHow bad were England in the Nineties?
< 1 minute readWe’re concerned that some English people don’t fully appreciate their team’s success. Specifically, we worry that younger cricket fans don’t have perspective. We want to provide that perspective by documenting English cricket in the Nineties. Why would we do this? Well maybe if these people can appreciate how bad the
Continue readingWhen did England last have to deal with good spin bowling?
2 minute readEngland are overrated. We’re not saying they don’t deserve to be considered the best Test side around at the minute; we’re saying the best Test side isn’t automatically the favourite to win a given series. While England have mullered most sides in home conditions, it’s been a while since they
Continue readingIan Bell: Lord Megachief of Gold 2011
2 minute readThat’s right – Ian Bell. Weird but true. Dale Steyn came pretty close to becoming the second player to earn a promotion to Grand Lord Megachief of Gold, but Ian Bell’s year was just too ridiculous to overlook. Some numbers 11 Test innings, 950 runs, five hundreds, an average of
Continue readingWho should England drop? Who will fix the team?
2 minute readEngland will be tempted to screw up their one-day plans and start again, but that would be the wrong move. There’s a reason why people talk about building a side. It’s because there’s no perfect, fully-formed team that’s just waiting to be compiled through correct selection. But what about [insert
Continue readingHome advantage in cricket
< 1 minute readWe’re a great fan of home advantage. It’s a key part of cricket. If matches between two teams were likely to have the same outcome both home and away then the sport would lose a significant quality. It also means that away wins are even more significant. England’s victory in
Continue reading