2 minute read It’s probably best to avoid extrapolating from that England innings in a bid to predict the course of this Test match. England went to Grenada and were at various points 53-3, 53-6, 114-9 and 204-9. This all added up to one of the weirdest-arsed scorecards you are ever likely to
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Shane Warne: The greatest foe
6 minute read No man is an island and no team is either. The team you support is only part of the equation. Opponents elevate a match. Opponents like Shane Warne. Many words have been spoken and written about Shane Warne in recent weeks; about why he was such an incredible leg-spinner; about
Continue readingKraigg Brathwaite does not plan to get out
2 minute read “I had my plan,” said Kraigg Brathwaite after batting for five minutes short of 16 hours against England in the second Test in Bridgetown. “They bowled well, but I stuck with my plan and it paid off.” Whatever Brathwaite’s plan is, getting out doesn’t seem to be a major component.
Continue readingThe three best parts of Dan Lawrence’s bowling action in escalating order of greatness
3 minute read Every bowler has their own bowling action, but Dan Lawrence’s is more obviously his own than most. These are the three best moments in it. (3) The flail-and-drag Not wishing the batter to be under any illusions that he might be about to see a normal bowling action, Lawrence commences
Continue reading‘Jonny Bairstow, specialist number six’ is working – so that’ll need changing sharpish
2 minute read When we think about Jonny Bairstow and how England have used him over the years, it reminds us of a moment in Airplane! There was a time back in 2019 when England dropped Jonny Bairstow and tried to frame it as a kick up the arse that might potentially drive
Continue readingFive fiendishly difficult questions for England on their West Indies tour
3 minute read England’s tour of the West Indies gets underway on Tuesday with the hotly-anticipated match against TBA. Three Test matches follow during which we may or may not get answers to these five fiendishly difficult questions. (1) Is this a ‘development tour’ or not? Development tour? Who said ‘development tour’? Actually,
Continue readingWhich 2022 cricket matches actually matter? The King Cricket Essentials Calendar
3 minute read There is an awful lot of cricket in any given year. Too much to focus on really. We’ve cut away the fat and picked out the big fixtures that we’re going to try and have more than half an eye on in the rest of 2022. You will disagree with
Continue readingEngland have a-whole-nother Test match and now we know how things work
< 1 minute read When England and Australia finished their Test match in January, there were no further women’s Test matches on any confirmed schedule, anywhere, for any nation. That one was officially a “doozy” though – perhaps the best international red ball fixture in the last 12 months or more – so now
Continue readingMark Wood’s off season
4 minute read Everything’s going right for Mark Wood right now – which also means that everything is already starting to go wrong. Mark Wood’s become a central part of England’s Test team, which is great. And he’s just got himself another IPL contract, which is also great. Throw in his obligations with
Continue readingWhy we’re confidently labelling Alex Lees “not evil”
3 minute read In any other England Test squad, a brand new opener would be the big story. From what little we know about alphabet-straddling AZ Lees, we hope he does well. Alex Lees was one of the last batch of players we named as ‘county cricketers to watch’ before we finally sacked
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