< 1 minute readEngland should have learnt a major lesson from their first two matches in the World Twenty20. Against the Netherlands, they thought they were the better team and thought that if they didn’t make any mistakes when batting, they’d win. You don’t win Twenty20 matches by not making any mistakes. You’re
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How can we convince England they’re not losers?
2 minute readWe wrote this for a grown-up website, but they didn’t want it, so we’re fobbing it off on you lot instead… Dress them in orange and change their names From the Pavilion End, James Van Andersen; and from the Nursery End, Stuart den Broad. Feed them spinach Tell them it’ll
Continue readingWhen Holland beat England in the Twenty20 World Cup
< 1 minute readThat was a good finish. You can keep your sixes. You can keep your big name players. You can keep your England-remaining-in-a-major-tournament-for-more-than-five-minutes. Produce a finish like the one in today’s match and cricket’s the best sport in the world. Nerves, misfields, a yo-yo run rate and a huge upset off
Continue readingOpeners in Twenty20 cricket
< 1 minute readWe’ve written before about how important wicketkeepers are in Twenty20, but arguably the most important positions are your opening batsmen. A single batsman can win you a game of Twenty20. A single bowler probably can as well – just about – but they only do their thing for four of
Continue readingA reason and a half why England have already won the Ashes
< 1 minute readSwing bowling Give an Australian bowler the solidified lump of blancmange known as a Kookaburra cricket ball (which is used in Australia) and he’ll pound in and bowl at off stump until the batsman deliberately misses one to save himself from the boredom. Give an Australian bowler an English Duke
Continue readingEngland pass 300 in a one-day international
< 1 minute readThis is very much a red-letter day. England pass 300 in one-day internationals very rarely. Where other nations are forever launching sixes and sailing past 300, England are usually batting quite sensibly for a bit before thinking ‘OH MY GOD! WHAT ABOUT THE RUN RATE? WE’VE TOTALLY FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE
Continue readingHow accurate are cricket speed guns?
< 1 minute readYou would have to say that cricket speed guns aren’t hugely accurate. They seem okay most of the time, then every now and again you get a wonky match where everbody’s bowling at 93mph. This is what happened at Lord’s a week or so ago when England’s bowling attack suddenly
Continue readingSuper Sopper, why have you forsaken us?
< 1 minute readMany will blame the abandonment of today’s one-day international between England and the West Indies on the weather and Headingley’s new £600,000 drainage system (which apparently won’t reach its full potential until later in the year for some reason). We don’t. We lay the blame firmly at the door of
Continue readingCricket headline of the week
< 1 minute readFrom the BBC website: “Bresnan ready for Flintoff battle” Tim Bresnan must be getting feisty. Wonder what he’s said about Flintoff. “He’s well within his rights to walk straight back into the team on his past performances and what he has done.” Yep. Timmy Bresnan’s ready for battle all right.
Continue readingGlamorgan’s pitch for the first Ashes Test
< 1 minute readSome of you might have seen that Glamorgan were docked two points for producing a duff pitch. This is at the beautifully monikered Swalec Stadium, where the first Ashes Test is due to take place. ‘Oh no,’ people have said. ‘What if the pitch for the Ashes is sub-standard?’ These
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