2 minute readIt’s the fashion these days to look back on a losing streak and say that you were playing well in patches and that you knew all it would take would be a slight improvement and everything would be hunky-dory again. This always gets on our nerves, because of course you
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Shastri is the boss
< 1 minute readThere have been some major revelations about Ravi Shastri this summer. Apparently, he can be interesting and insightful and also possesses a sense of humour. Who knew? We learned this while watching Sky’s oddly watchable Test discussion programme, The Verdict, on which he has been a regular guest. Before that,
Continue readingBlood and panned
< 1 minute readWe think you’ll agree that it’s been very difficult to watch England methodically pan India without concluding that they are vampires. If you see Alastair Cook in your neighbourhood, don’t invite him into your home. While England have found ever greater vitality, India have been looking more and more tired.
Continue readingMS Dhoni has lost everyone
< 1 minute readHere’s a question: can you lead by example if no-one follows that example? If there’s no-one behind you, you’re not really leading, are you? You’re just ambling around on your own while everyone else sits around having cakes and tea. In the first innings at Old Trafford, MS Dhoni played
Continue readingIndia unveil a new breed of collapse
< 1 minute readSometimes the bowling’s good and the ball’s moving around and the fall of wickets seems inevitable. At other times, relentless pressure causes a side to break. Then there are those other days when it seems like you need to take every opportunity presented to you. Day three at Old Trafford
Continue readingWill Pankaj Singh ever get a Test wicket?
< 1 minute readLuckless at the Rose Bowl, mediocre at Old Trafford, Pankaj Singh has thus far found two ways to avoid taking a Test wicket. Our worry is that two will prove enough; that he’ll fail to take a wicket in this match and will never return to the team. It’s become
Continue readingStuart Broad isn’t who you think he is
2 minute readThere have been a few stats of late about James Anderson and Stuart Broad as a bowling partnership. Something about lots of wickets. We forget how many. On paper, they’re a wonderfully complementary duo. One’s a devious swing bowler; the other’s rangly and hits the deck hard (a phrase which
Continue readingCause and effect in the land of MS Dhoni
< 1 minute readYou wonder whether Ishant Sharma’s ‘sore leg’ might have resulted from his workload. And how did Bhuvneshwar Kumar look in the third Test, MS? “I think Bhuvi seemed to be a bit tired.” Maybe you shouldn’t have picked just the four bowlers then. “In the first couple of games we
Continue readingSack Dhoni
< 1 minute readMight as well call for at least one of the captains to be sacked. His batsmen have crumbled against bowling they should be comfortable against, his senior players aren’t ‘standing up’, he’s insisting on fielding a part-time spinner instead of a specialist and he hasn’t made a hundred in his
Continue readingMoeen Ali won’t tie up an end
2 minute readThere are two types of spin bowlers: The first kind is the attacking kind. They bat at number 11, but with the ball in their hand, they can take wickets. Early in their career, they can be a bit hit and miss, going for a few boundaries, but you try
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