2 minute readIt’s hard to pay attention on days like yesterday. You drift off, but every time you look up, you think: ‘Jesus, how did that happen?’ Look on the bright side though. It’s only very occasionally that a match situation calls for one of cricket’s finest sights: the innings of no
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Ian Bell’s ball-hitfulness
< 1 minute readWe’re not interested in how Ian Bell’s faring in Test cricket any more. All we’re hoping is that the soap opera continues. The Ian Bell situation has gone way beyond cricket now. We’re interested for sociological and psychological reasons. Will it finish with a lynch mob? Will it ever finish
Continue readingAbout even for the Taylors
< 1 minute readYesterday, we were presented with the following two headlines via our RSS feeds: Taylor delighted by ‘special’ MBE and Taylor charged after bar scuffle Slightly disappointingly, Claire Taylor didn’t celebrate her MBE by going on an all-dayer that culminated in a drunken argument with bar staff because they wouldn’t give
Continue readingAs a spin bowler, Graeme Swann is England’s most important player
< 1 minute readHopefully no-one’s told him yet and hopefully he never realises, but England’s performance hinges on how well Graeme Swann plays. Obviously, taking nine wickets for not a lot had a huge impact on how England won this Test, but nowadays Swann HAS to perform. That’s not because England’s other bowlers
Continue readingShane Watson and Ian Bell and what they have in common
< 1 minute readWe wrote about Shane Watson and Ian Bell over at The Wisden Cricketer. We said that they weren’t hugely popular in their respective countries, perhaps because they were overly serious. We also said that Shane Watson couldn’t bowl. Shortly after the post went up, both Bell and Watson scored hundreds
Continue readingHow England win Test matches
< 1 minute readBasically, through ambush. They plod along, being solid and unspectacular and then in one innings in the field, they completely steamroller the opposition. Think of England’s wins since Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss took over. West Indies were rolled for 152 at Lord’s; the same opponents were dispatched for 176
Continue readingIan Bell is the second England batsman to score a hundred in the innings
< 1 minute readLet’s examine the Ian Bell fact. You know the one: he only scores hundreds when someone else in the England batting line-up has already made one. This has just happened against South Africa. Alastair Cook was first and then Ian Bell outstripped him with 141. Let’s just say that the
Continue readingKevin Pietersen’s weakness against left-arm spin
< 1 minute readKevin Pietersen doesn’t have a weakness against left-arm spin. Not directly anyway. Kevin Pietersen’s weakness is that sometimes he thinks he could travel to the moon without a vehicle or oxygen. All players have a confidence range. Sometimes they’re up, sometimes they’re down, but the extremes aren’t the same for
Continue readingMonty Panesar playing for Lions in South Africa
< 1 minute readWhat, like as a prize or something? No. Highveld Lions are a South African domestic side. So he’s not being paid in big cats then? No. Are you keeping an eye on his performances? Yes. So how’s he been doing? Why haven’t you reported anything? Er, well… he’s been okay.
Continue readingPaul Collingwood goes one better than at Cardiff
< 1 minute readThe Cardiff Ashes Test was a great example of how a draw can be exciting. Today, after playing in the snow, eating a roast dinner and having a couple of pints, we would have been happy with a soporific blockathon, but you get what you’re given. Paul Collingwood made a
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