< 1 minute read Players are always talking about the brand of cricket they’re looking to play, trying to make it sound like there’s some lofty aesthetic ideal with which they should be associated. No-one ever talks about playing a squalid brand of cricket and more’s the pity. Squalid, low-scoring cricket that’s decided by
Continue readingCategory: England
Watchful batting and watchable batting
< 1 minute read We generally approve of England’s somewhat one-dimensional approach to top order batting. However, the fact that it’s highly appropriate for the current era doesn’t mean it’s always the best approach. Against equally patient bowling attacks, it can result in stand-offs less spectacular than when two cats spend three-quarters of an
Continue readingTim Bresnan’s return from injury
< 1 minute read Tim Bresnan had elbow knack. It was a particularly severe case and so he had surgery. Unfortunately, the procedure made him not particularly good at cricket. He therefore had surgery again (not to get bionic legs or owt, just for the elbow). Now he’s back – even if he wasn’t
Continue readingAdil Rashid and poor growing conditions
2 minute read Being a young leg-spinner involves being told you’re amazing when you’re not. When you get a bit older and you seem a little less exciting, people tell you that you’re rubbish when you’re not. If you can bat as well, the extra novelty magnifies that first bit and also the
Continue readingRounded flat cap cricket
2 minute read If you like certainty and clarity, two-innings cricket is not for you. The format presents you with details and only backs this up with context once the match has finished. Half the joy is in dissecting goings-on in order to try and shape that context in your mind’s eye as
Continue readingWhat’s today’s barometer reading?
2 minute read Some read yesterday’s post as being criticism of Ian Bell, which wasn’t really how it was intended. We just feel that of all the England players, his performances are the ones that most closely correlate with how the team fares. On day five of the third Test against New Zealand,
Continue readingThe barometer says England never looked like winning
< 1 minute read Talk of an England win has been unjustifiably common during this Test. You never know what’s likely to happen in a match, but you can tailor conversation according to likelihood and at no point has an England victory seemed probable. Even talking about how they could possibly engineer a winning
Continue readingTwo-metre Peter from New Zealand
< 1 minute read He has one of our favourite nicknames in international cricket, so we’re secretly slightly pleased that Peter Fulton scored a hundred against England because it means he should get a few more matches. Set against that is the fact that he was averaging 23 before the first day’s play, so
Continue readingSo Kevin Pietersen’s injured
< 1 minute read The tone of that title is meant to convey that this news is significant but that we don’t really have anything to say about it. We hope it has delivered in that regard. Kevin Pietersen’s absence seems like the kind of thing people might be talking about, but sometimes conversation
Continue readingWhy are we goading Tlaloc?
< 1 minute read You see what happens? You see what happens? This is what happens. This is what happens when you goad Tlaloc, the Aztec rain god who loves Test cricket. Tlaloc has really been looking forward to the series between New Zealand and England, but then he found out about the schedule
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