< 1 minute read It’s like we always say, to take 12,841 wickets, you need to create 15,516 chances. (We should stick that on a T-shirt). At the time of writing, the second Test between England and the West Indies had seen 12 drops, which is rather more than you’d expect. The Windies were
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West Indies improve their attack, England don’t
< 1 minute read Shannon Gabriel’s fun, isn’t he? An old school fast bowler who doesn’t half-arse it and who has plenty of arse to deploy. He is a good selection. Gabriel’s efforts have contrasted with those of Chris Woakes in this match. At the start of day one, Woakes was the only one
Continue readingThe one thing England need to do to resolve their batting frailty
< 1 minute read If England could find three really mediocre batsmen, they’d be a hell of a side. They’re after a two, a three and a five. Fill those spots with players like Chris Tavaré, Ravi Bopara and – hell, why not – Jos Buttler and together with the runs from their all-rounder
Continue readingWhen only being good enough to play for the West Indies became a crime
2 minute read When a system’s broken, a large proportion of people will only lose their temper with whoever’s closest. Overworked due to cutbacks? Blame the colleague who just asked you a question. Huge queue of traffic on the motorway? Focus your bad mood on the driver of the car in the adjacent
Continue readingWhat’s it like to attend a day-night test in England?
3 minute read England are playing the West Indies at Edgbaston in the first day-night Test match in this country. Everyone’s been wondering what the experience would be like for the fans. We’ve had a handful of early reports and we’ll add any more we get to this page. Day one attendee, Tom
Continue readingJason Holder’s old ball half-over
< 1 minute read Many things happened during the UK’s first day-night of Test cricket, but the most memorable was the 81st over. The whole focus of the day was on what would happen when a new pink ball was used under lights – but no-one told the captain of the bowling side. It
Continue readingAre you attending the day-night Test at Edgbaston?
2 minute read With its short surges of action and long playing hours, cricket is an unusual sport to watch in person. This is why we started publishing match reports from our readers that don’t actually mention the cricket. We’ve always been interested in other people’s live cricket experiences. A day at a
Continue readingCricket is getting used to pink balls
2 minute read Pink balls have been around for a while. We were making jokes about them a decade ago, but interest really spiked when they held the first day-night Test in Australia in 2015. The weeks and months leading up to that match were characterised by endless versions of the same two
Continue readingMark Stoneman took the long way round
< 1 minute read We’ve done this one already. Mark Stoneman has finally turned up in an England squad about a month after we expected him to. He’s a patient man though – the oldest something-or-other to maybe do something, according to a piece we read earlier. We’ve covered Mason Crane too, so you’ve
Continue readingEngland should think about playing their main spinner
2 minute read When Moeen Ali was first labelled England’s second spinner, it was widely assumed that Liam Dawson must therefore be the first spinner. It stood to reason. However, Moeen supposedly remained the second spinner even when he was the only one of the two selected, which raises the possibility that Dawson
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