< 1 minute readIf we’ve learned anything about Ashes series, it’s how vital it is that the touring team hits the ground running. We know this because everyone says it all of the time and has done for years. It’s said so often that we don’t need to check whether the importance of
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Ben Stokes Ashes situation entirely unchanged by latest “revelations”
2 minute readIf you’re indicted for war crimes, “But they started it!” is not a particularly weighty defence – even if it’s true. It’s some way down the scale, but the same principle still holds true with Ben Stokes. Today’s confirmation that he was defending two gay men when he rained all
Continue readingKevin Pietersen says team spirit is everything
2 minute readHe’s got to be doing this on purpose, hasn’t he? Surely? In truth, much of what Kevin Pietersen says in his interview with Cricinfo makes perfect sense. The gist is that there’s much to be gained from players going out together, but they also need to take responsibility for their
Continue readingAlex Hartley is invincible
< 1 minute readNot in the sense of being incapable of being defeated because she’s just lost two Ashes matches out of two. We mean it purely in a batting sense. Hartley made nought not out today. In her 20-match international career, she has NEVER BEEN DISMISSED. Not once. Now, admittedly, Hartley has
Continue readingSome really pretty amazing Ashes-themed artwork
< 1 minute readLong-term readers/masochists will be aware that this website has often published cricket-themed artwork. This beautiful picture of Rob Key by Suave brought forth a veritable torrent of follow-up works, including Rob on a capybara in front of a wall of flame, Rob making the diving stop of his life and
Continue readingBT Sport to use Geoffrey Boycott as Ashes commentator
< 1 minute readWe got a bit distracted when we tried to write about this last week, but BT Sport has revealed its commentary line-up for the Ashes. For some reason the press release led with “legendary cricket captains” Michael Vaughan and Ricky Ponting, but we’re far more interested in the others. Geoffrey
Continue readingWhen is the Ashes not a Test series?
< 1 minute readWhen it’s the Women’s Ashes. Starting on Sunday, Australia and England will embark upon one series comprising three T20 internationals, three one-day internationals and a Test match. It is a cricket series. The teams will get two points for victory in each of the one-innings-a-side matches and four if they
Continue readingIt’s a fine line between love and hate for David Warner
< 1 minute readYou’ll of course remember when David Warner took a swing at Joe Root after becoming inexplicably incensed by the Yorkshireman’s inappropriate use of a wig. Halcyon days. There was at least something comical about this particular confrontation; a certain Scrappy Doo quality borne of Warner’s diminutive stature and the sheer ludicrousness
Continue readingThe campaign to get Paul Collingwood into England’s Ashes squad
< 1 minute readWhat else does nostalgia prove, if not that everything was better in the past? Let’s do the who, the what and the why. Who? Paul Collingwood. Paul is 41 and hasn’t played Test cricket for England since 2011, so the first thing to say in favour of his selection is
Continue readingDid you know that it’s the Magellan Ashes this time around?
2 minute readSponsorship is a wonderful thing. It keeps fun stuff profitable and it allows sports players to sound institutionalised and cut off from reality. Midway through the British summer, we saw Alastair Cook being interviewed on breakfast TV. Consummate professional that he is, Cook never once said “Test” when he could
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