< 1 minute readOver the years, we’ve firmly positioned ourself in the Bangladesh-aren’t-shit camp. This is partly because there are fewer people in this camp and that always appeals to us. Mostly it’s because the Bangladesh-aren’t-quite-as-shit-as-you-say-they-are camp doesn’t exist though. You’ve got to pick a side and we’ve chosen ours. Our normal approach
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Tours of Bangladesh are real tours
< 1 minute read“They can’t beat us in Test matches. They can surprise you in ODIs but not in Tests.” So said Virender Sehwag about Bangladesh before his side fell to 213-8 on the first day. Presumably Sehwag saw this coming as well as an almost infinitely better second innings in which India
Continue readingICC Test rankings system
< 1 minute readIndia have risen to be number one in the rankings and many people will say that the rankings are questionable. Are India the best Test cricket team? A lot of people say the rankings are meaningless. When they make this criticism, they always do it according to a team’s position.
Continue readingThe five best all-rounders over the next five years
< 1 minute readNot sure we’ve got Imran Khan or Garry Sobers on the cards, but it’s not looking bad. Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh, age 22 As a cricket-writer, we’re worried there’ll be no words left in a few years time, because they’ll all have been eaten by Bangladesh criticisers. Shakib Al Hasan
Continue readingShakib signs for crap second division county
< 1 minute readWe’d sooner Shakib Al Hasan had signed for a first division county, but don’t underestimate the significance of a Bangladeshi clambering aboard the treadmill. It means that while they might be three-and-a-half years late, Worcestershire have cottoned on to the fact that this is a good player – despite the
Continue readingShakib Al Hasan is effing magic
< 1 minute readNot top hats and rabbits magic – the good kind. Shakib Al Hasan took 1-24 against Zimbabwe today. Then he hit 105 not out off 69 balls by way of an encore. Almost imperceptibly, he’s becoming a top all-rounder and Bangladesh’s first superstar. He was even named Test player of
Continue readingDay night Test cricket
< 1 minute readOur knee jerk-reaction to suggestions that day-night Test cricket be played was that it was a shocker of an idea. We’ve always thought of knee-jerk reactions as being worth clinging to in the face of subsequent strong evidence against your point of view, but on this occasion we’re softening our
Continue readingCharles Coventry has an ODI world record score
< 1 minute readZimbabwe’s Charles Coventry hit 194 not out against Bangladesh. Zimbabwe lost. This equals the world record individual one-day international score. How do we all feel about that? The original 194 not out was scored by Saeed Anwar against India 12 years ago. Even in these days of tree-sized bats and
Continue readingShakib al Hasan is the best all-rounder in one-day internationals
< 1 minute readShakib al Hasan is the best one-day international all-rounder in the world. It’s official. According to who, you ask? According to maths. You can’t argue with maths. Well, you can argue with maths, but it takes ages and you’ll get confused and bored, so why bother? Just take it on
Continue readingShakib Al Hasan twangs another bow string
< 1 minute readHow many strings does Shakib Al Hasan’s bow have? Predictably and disappointingly, he has two strings to his bow: batting and bowling. This is not an especially large number of strings, but it’s two more than we have. We haven’t even got a bow – or if we have, we
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