2 minute readGiven that this particular hoop is suspended directly over a barrel of excrement, one can only wonder what the alternative was. We predicted that Durham wouldn’t be relegated or penalised more than 45 points for their ongoing financial troubles. We were correct, but only on the basis of the ‘or’.
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Australia’s pace bowling has weakness in depth
< 1 minute readMitchell Starc is injured, James Faulkner is injured, Nathan Coulter-Nile is injured, Pat Cummins is injured, James Pattinson is injured and Josh Hazlewood is being rested in case he gets injured. The way things are going, he’ll probably end up missing the next Test with bedsores. Australia coach Darren Lehmann
Continue readingIs Virat Kohli really India’s best batsman?
2 minute readWere he to find himself playing in a format-spanning Super Series, it would seem highly likely that Virat Kohli could find himself named man-of-it. The guy averages over 50 in the two shorter formats with a perfectly healthy strike-rate in both. His Test record’s very good too: 12 Test hundreds
Continue readingWhy Durham probably won’t be relegated following a points deduction
< 1 minute readCricinfo are reporting that Durham face relegation if the ECB decides to impose a points deduction for their financial troubles. We can’t see it happening. It’s not that we don’t expect them to be docked points. It’s just that they finished 45 points ahead of Hampshire in the top half
Continue readingWhy Indian pitches offer an excellent exchange rate
< 1 minute readRemember when India’s batsmen used to make double hundreds all the time? Captains routinely doubled up as doctors in the first innings, declaring the innings closed and the pitches dead (even if a certain zombie joie de vivre often manifested itself in the form of turn on day five.) It’s
Continue readingMiddlesex County Championship-winning hat-trick video – what a way to snatch a MacGuffin
< 1 minute readAt one point today, Middlesex and Yorkshire ceased slithering against each other and began to slither together. Working independently, neither would reach the MacGuffin. Working together, they could get close – at which point it would become ‘every man for himself’ in a bid to wrest the prize from Somerset’s
Continue readingYorkshire don the special MacGuffin gloves
2 minute readWe can’t help but feel that our coverage of the denouement of the County Championship is getting a little niche. In the previous instalment of our four-day mud-slithering analogy, Yorkshire had lost ground to Middlesex and Somerset because they for some reason needed to go and pick something up before
Continue readingCounty Championship Permutation Watch: Everyone needs to win
< 1 minute readPretty much. That’s the gist anyway. If Middlesex beat Yorkshire, they will win the County Championship If Yorkshire make 350 in their first innings and also beat Middlesex, they will win the County Championship Somerset need to win as a bare minimum. They then need neither of the above scenarios
Continue readingBum end of the table update
< 1 minute readCan’t be bothered doing the maths, but it’s looking like Lancashire might be the ones slipping into second division invisibility and inconsequence next season. Before this last round of matches, Lancs needed quite a lot to go against them to be relegated. And lo, it came to pass. They’re currently
Continue readingNick Gubbins claws at the filthy damp earth
< 1 minute readIf Middlesex, Yorkshire and Somerset were represented by three individuals face down in mud, slithering towards a MacGuffin, we’d have the Middlesex bloke half a yard ahead after the first day’s play in the final round of matches. Nick Gubbins has offset the pantsness of his team-mates and hauled his
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