2 minute readPeople often say that having Ben Stokes in the team gives England a fourth seamer. That’s not right. Having Ben Stokes in the team gives England a spinner, because apparently they still pick four seamers even when he’s not playing. This was the first Test cricket at Lord’s for a
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2 minute read“With all due respect…” people say, or “No offence but…” What follows these phrases is somehow never respectful or inoffensive. England coach and selector Chris Silverwood (we warned you he’d try and become a ‘supremo’) didn’t actually plump for either of those options when speaking about the summer ahead earlier
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3 minute readThe England men’s team are about to play the fourth Test against India, with Dom Bess apparently set to get another game. Meanwhile the England women’s team have started beating New Zealand in a new format, while Afghanistan and Zimbabwe are trying to get in on the current trend for
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4 minute readTest rankings are tricksy. Sometimes the top-ranked side isn’t much better than average. Sometimes it isn’t even the best at that specific moment. This doesn’t mean the rankings are wrong. It just means that people’s understanding of rankings is wrong. We play Test series between two sides so that we
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3 minute readAt this time of year, we normally bestow the greatest honour in cricket by naming Lord Megachief of Gold. It’s a title that is earned through freakish cricket performance across the previous calendar year, but after much rumination we have concluded that 2020 wasn’t actually a proper year. There were
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< 1 minute readIn Tim Southee and Trent Boult, New Zealand have textbook new ball bowlers who disagree on which arm to use. This is a useful starting point when trying to bowl out the opposition. After that, they have the finest old ball bowler around, The Great Neil Wagner. Wagner is a
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< 1 minute readIt’s a Lord Megachief of Gold-fest down at Seddon Park this week. Neil Wagner (2019) is doing his usual thing, while Jason Holder (2018) has had a slightly less wonderful time. But it’s Kane Williamson (2015) who has been most influential. We’ve been thinking about double hundreds a bit recently
Continue reading3 minute readOur annual Lord Megachief of Gold award is the highest honour in cricket. The title is recognition of performance over the previous calendar year. Here are all the winners.
Continue reading4 minute readFor clarity and brevity: yes, this is the through-the-Boxing-Day-Tests thread. This article will (probably) be updated (semi) regularly as the South Africa v England and Australia v New Zealand matches progress.
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