< 1 minute readThere’s plenty of talk about resting England’s bowlers now that the series is won. We predicted squad rotation years ago and while we don’t disagree with the practice, we do disagree with the world that necessitates it. If the first XI were exactly that in every international cricket match, the
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How many swing bowlers did England need to win this Test match?
< 1 minute readWhen asked about the make-up of England’s bowling attack for the second Test at Trent Bridge, Andrew Strauss said it was a ground where the ball tended to swing, so they’d selected the three best swing bowlers. This begs the question, just what is the optimum number of eggs to
Continue readingSomething about Steven Finn that isn’t really worth saying
< 1 minute readWe’ve been meaning to say this since the middle of the last Test, but having just seen “Steven Finn can provide England with the answer to Chanderpaul problem | Mike Selvey” on our home page, we’ve realised we’ve probably missed our window. Unfazed, we’re going to say our bit anyway.
Continue readingAndrew Strauss and his cravings for nonsense
< 1 minute readAndrew Strauss is so painfully sensible, he’s allowed to engage in a bit of nonsense every now and again. Over the last year or so, he’s tended to crave nonsense round about the point that he’s scored 22 runs in a Test match. “The underpants are ironed, the silverware’s nicely
Continue readingSo this is England v West Indies
< 1 minute readLike salt and pepper chicken wings from a tried and tested Chinese takeaway, today’s play was hugely enjoyable and entirely predictable – although it was far less likely to result in heart problems later in life. Mad swing from Jimmy Anderson early on, promising starts from a couple of Windies
Continue readingIs Jonny Bairstow the next Ravi Bopara?
2 minute readRegular readers will know we rather like Ravi Bopara. We don’t think he’s the next Bradman or owt, but we do think he’s probably England’s sixth best batsman. People don’t like picking the sixth best batsman. They have it in their heads that there must be someone better out there
Continue readingAlan Mulally is CEO of Ford
< 1 minute readWe always wondered what happened to flaxen-haired wrong-handed Nineties seam bowlers when they retired. Turns out they go all corporate. After retiring from cricket, Mullally spent quite some time working for Boeing, where he rose to become executive vice president despite his CV being stained by the fact that he
Continue readingAre you watching Nick Compton?
< 1 minute readWe knew he was worth watching this season. He’s currently 19 not out off 88 balls against Nottinghamshire, including a boundary which we damn well hope was an accident. That’s the stuff. That’s why we picked him. Few players have the iron will required to be less entertaining than a
Continue readingKing Cricket’s county players to watch in 2012
3 minute readRight, let’s get this over with. First, let’s restate the qualification criteria: Qualified to play for England No established internationals Youngish Playing in the first division of the County Championship Think that’s it. There might be other things. Who knows? Presumably us, but we don’t like to scrutinise the workings
Continue readingIs a draw in Sri Lanka a good result?
< 1 minute readHistorically, a drawn Test series in Sri Lanka is a pretty good result for England. Set against that is the fact that Muttiah Muralitharan doesn’t play any more. Sri Lanka’s bowlers are a bit middling. Should England have done better? Well we’re pretty happy with a draw, particularly after watching
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