3 minute read We’ve written a rather hefty piece for Cricinfo about overtraining in cricket. We think it’s a big deal, but we get the distinct impression that no-one else really does. It’s partly that people don’t really understand the concept. Understandably, they think it just means training too much, but overtraining is
Continue readingCategory: England
Name England’s first choice one-day bowling attack
< 1 minute read Moeen Ali made 44, 10 and 55 in his first three one-day internationals (ODIs). He was opening the batting. Then they dropped him. Today he made 67 batting at seven. Chris Woakes opened the bowling at Cardiff and took 4-52. He also opened the bowling in Nottingham. Today he was
Continue readingThe hidden reason why England won’t win the World Cup
2 minute read The main criticism of England’s one-day batting approach recently has been that they lack the dynamic hitting which is supposed to characterise the modern game. While that’s true up to a point, we actually don’t think that it’s the worst of their problems. There’s something else going on during the
Continue readingSuresh Raina v England – what this means for the World Cup
2 minute read Before today, Suresh Raina had made three ODI hundreds in 193 matches. He made them against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. But Raina bats in the middle order, so that doesn’t tell us a lot. Let’s look at fifties instead. Against New Zealand, he has one in 11 innings;
Continue readingNo you can’t come up for air
2 minute read Tomorrow, a view on India’s Test series, but today let’s look at England’s – or at least at how it finished. Some of the later events are being ruled ineligible for analyss on the grounds that India were too crap, but we found England’s approach quite interesting. 178 all out,
Continue readingBlood and panned
< 1 minute read We think you’ll agree that it’s been very difficult to watch England methodically pan India without concluding that they are vampires. If you see Alastair Cook in your neighbourhood, don’t invite him into your home. While England have found ever greater vitality, India have been looking more and more tired.
Continue readingMS Dhoni has lost everyone
< 1 minute read Here’s a question: can you lead by example if no-one follows that example? If there’s no-one behind you, you’re not really leading, are you? You’re just ambling around on your own while everyone else sits around having cakes and tea. In the first innings at Old Trafford, MS Dhoni played
Continue readingEngland send out high-vis messengers like nobody’s business
2 minute read It’s a common criticism of modern cricket that there are too many disruptions; too many conferences and unscheduled drinks breaks. On Sky, David Lloyd has taken to drawing attention to them with an impassioned: “Get on with the gaaaame.” You can hear the frustration in his voice when he says
Continue readingIndia unveil a new breed of collapse
< 1 minute read Sometimes the bowling’s good and the ball’s moving around and the fall of wickets seems inevitable. At other times, relentless pressure causes a side to break. Then there are those other days when it seems like you need to take every opportunity presented to you. Day three at Old Trafford
Continue readingWill Pankaj Singh ever get a Test wicket?
< 1 minute read Luckless at the Rose Bowl, mediocre at Old Trafford, Pankaj Singh has thus far found two ways to avoid taking a Test wicket. Our worry is that two will prove enough; that he’ll fail to take a wicket in this match and will never return to the team. It’s become
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