< 1 minute read He’s been kind of crap of late and even when he has made runs in Tests, they’ve seemed a bit jousey. However, at the same time, he’s been a pyrotechnic gnarl-dog in one-day internationals and they ain’t ten a penny. Should England drop him? He’s not the only one to
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England’s batsmen and spin in the fourth innings
2 minute read England’s second innings batting card looks a bit binary code, but the truth is they weren’t qualified for this job. The batsman v bowler duel generally favours the batsman, but the balance can shift towards the bowler due to the pitch, the weather and the match situation. In Abu Dhabi,
Continue readingMonty Panesar has played one Test X times
< 1 minute read This statement was made my Shane Warne. He famously said that Monty Panesar hadn’t played X Tests but one Test X number of times. This is accepted as great insight all too readily. It’s a nice catchy soundbite and it’s from Shane Warne, but does it really have much merit?
Continue readingMonty Panesar’s back
< 1 minute read As in ‘returned’. He hasn’t got ankylosing spondylitis or anything. It may not be the first time we’ve made that joke – it may not be the first time we’ve made that joke about Monty Panesar – but come on. Some events warrant special attention. So what are the pros
Continue readingPakistan secure narrow win over England
< 1 minute read Pakistan held their nerve throughout a challenging 15-run chase on a mostly lifeless day three pitch and secured a narrow 10-wicket win over a thoroughly professional England side. England kept it tight and the pressure built, but with one eye on the clock, Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar timed their
Continue readingBring forth the dobble
< 1 minute read Paul Collingwood’s bowling was always a bit too canny to be proper dibbly dobbly medium-pace. There were too many cutters; too much innovation. You don’t get any of that crap from Jonathan Trott. England’s four bowler policy means the batsmen have to chip in with a few overs. Ravi Bopara’s
Continue readingSaeed Ajmal will bowl a few more overs against England
< 1 minute read England have faced Michael Beer, Xavier Doherty and a guy who looks a bit like Harbhajan Singh in the last year. They haven’t really had to combat any spin bowlers. Saeed Ajmal is a spin bowler – he’s a good spin bowler, in fact. He’s not a 7-55 on day
Continue readingAn unlucky 13 things that explain how bad English cricket was in the Nineties
2 minute read England fans: You don’t know how lucky you are right now. This is what it was like in the Nineties… 1. English batsmen who averaged over 40 during the Nineties (The Smudge’s suggestion) This is the FULL list. Alex Tudor – 55.33 (six innings) David Gower – 53 Graham Gooch
Continue readingWe haven’t forgotten the Nineties thing
< 1 minute read It’s just taking a while to put together because there’s so much disappointment to wade through. Our potted history of English cricket in the Nineties should appear later today and if you’re English, it can’t help but make you appreciate how lucky you are right now. If England lose their
Continue readingHow bad were England in the Nineties?
< 1 minute read We’re concerned that some English people don’t fully appreciate their team’s success. Specifically, we worry that younger cricket fans don’t have perspective. We want to provide that perspective by documenting English cricket in the Nineties. Why would we do this? Well maybe if these people can appreciate how bad the
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