3 minute readThere are three ways you can approach this. There’s the documentary, the highlights and the box set, which is the first two sold together. We won’t review the highlights, because they’re pretty self explanatory, suffice to say that there are five DVDs and highlights of every day of the series.
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On drive | batting lessons
< 1 minute readWhen playing the on-drive, always remember the following mantra. The batsman whose shoulder rolls counter-topwise places undue emphasis on hip position and will often play bethwart the intended line. Yes, of course we all know the dangers inherent in a counter-topwise rolling shoulder, but are we always aware of it?
Continue readingAshes 2011 by Gideon Haigh | book review
2 minute readIf you spend much time reading about cricket, you will know Gideon Haigh. He is the cricket writer whose arse is most frequently kissed by other cricket writers. But why is this? Why is Gideon Haigh so highly regarded? Having just read Ashes 2011, the answer is fairly clear. He
Continue readingSpike conspicuously obstructing the view of the cricket
< 1 minute readWill writes: “This was my cat Spike’s response to my entire attention being focused on the cricket last night.” For the sake of clarify, we should point out that ‘last night’ wasn’t the highlights of Canada v Kenya, it was during the Ashes.
Continue readingWhy did England lose to Ireland?
< 1 minute readWe know why. We worked out the reasons, then wrote them down, then asked Cricinfo to publish them – and they did. Those of you who only read our Cricinfo stuff so that you can better appreciate the comments will be delighted to see that already one person appears to
Continue readingSquare cut | Batting lessons
< 1 minute readA side-on game of angles, the square cut is to cricket what a near-miss on a red is to a bad game of snooker played by Pagans. Square everything. Square your footwork; square your bat stroke; square your follow-through. Should time allow, a counter-squaring of extraneous footwork will balance the
Continue readingEver played a cricket computer game?
< 1 minute readYou might get something out of our last Cricinfo post then. We have something of a history of playing cricket computer games, but surely we can’t be the only person in the world who knows the value of having Graeme Hick and Graham Thorpe opening the bowling in a World
Continue readingPull shot | Batting lessons
< 1 minute readWitness the greats play the pull shot and you will learn nothing. A good pull shot is played instinctively after careful deliberation and many hours of practice. Whether played off the front or back foot, your weight must be even, progressing and at once forward-moving and retreating. The central pivot
Continue readingPakistan v Australia Lord’s match report
2 minute readWill writes: Despite being a Thursday, it was actually the fourth day of what is now, with hindsight, the totally ironically named MCC Spirit of Cricket Test Series. I had bought the tickets a year before with the intention of taking clients and having a drunken day out on the
Continue readingForward defensive | Batting lessons
< 1 minute readBring the bat down, clean and true, angled topwards but vertically horizontally. Aim to strike the ball while moving into a stationary position. A good forward defensive stroke will be soft-yet-firm, played late at the earliest opportunity with supple hands that caress the bat handle in a vice-like grip using
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