< 1 minute readAfter day two of the second Test, the important question is this: Is Michael Vaughan getting louder? Maybe he was always like this, but it seems to us that he’s crossed the speaking-shouting threshold this season. At the start of Channel 5’s highlights programme, when he’s standing in the middle
Continue readingCategory: England
A series of things for which it’s quite hard to come up with an appropriate headline
< 1 minute readQ: What do you call a donkey that was born in New Zealand, grew up in Australia, got a snorter first ball in his first Test but survived and went on to make 88 off 70 balls? A: A Ronchi It’s probably not the greatest joke, but that’s not what
Continue readingEngland are playing
< 1 minute readSo are New Zealand. It’s a Test match. You’ll probably have something to say. Leave your comments on this post while we busy ourself desperately trying to come up with something insightful and pithy to say about the first day’s play. If you’re interested in our thoughts while the match
Continue readingEngland have a new coach!
< 1 minute readHe’s called Nigel or something. We’re not sure. We haven’t really been paying attention. From what we can tell, he’s been coaching a club in South Wales and he once appeared in an episode of Knight Rider. He seems well qualified. Jason Gillespie had of course been the favourite for
Continue readingLike that dumpling from the Caribbean place last week, this match may well take a day or two to digest
< 1 minute readImagine going back in time and trying to tell cynical, world-weary you from a week ago about this match. “England were 30-4 inside the first hour of day one,” you’d say. “Yeah, that seems about right,” Earlier You would reply. “And they then conceded 523 in New Zealand’s first innings,”
Continue readingBen Stokes: Brutal Deluxe
2 minute readThere are times for thoughtful analysis and there are times for giddy enthusiasm. Today is clearly the latter. At the peak of his powers, if you said the name ‘Flintoff’ to someone during a match with the right look in your eye, that person would immediately drop whatever they were
Continue readingNew Zealand have something atop their spine
< 1 minute readLooks like we’re gonna need a bigger skull. A year ago we wrote about how New Zealand’s first few vertebrae – the batsmen at three, four, five and six – needed to be (metaphorically) full of brainy gloop to make up for shortcomings at the top. After a 148-run opening
Continue readingJoe Root hasn’t made a hundred in England for almost a year
2 minute readWe’re thinking about trying to get more into selective use of statistics. It seems to be a big thing in cricket, but we’re not off to a great start. Truth is it’s barely been nine months since Joe Root last made a hundred in England. Actually, we didn’t specify Test
Continue readingEngland captain, coach and director – how are the roles defined?
< 1 minute readToo many cooks? Too many Cooks? Who’s responsible for what in this new England team hierarchy? We’ve just spent half an hour writing and rewriting a paragraph trying to explain how we think things are going to work. Clearly, we have no idea. We came up with some sort of
Continue readingThe week in politics
2 minute readLike a tired bear in winter, let’s try and put this to bed for a few days. Maybe it’ll have to get up again at some point next week to go for a wee, but we’re kind of hoping that we can concentrate on the New Zealand series from now
Continue reading