< 1 minute readYes. Yes he is. The answer you are looking for is ‘yes’. Now that he’s a statesmanlike trendsetter and role model, the very embodiment of what cricket should be, it’s easy to forget that for many years Brendon McCullum was just a mediocre wicketkeeper-batsman who typically flailed then failed in
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Kane Williamson bats with the strength of many men
< 1 minute readThe sequence was completed: 292, 237, 133, 108. Descending scores as batting conditions became tougher and tougher. Wait a minute. The first three of those are team scores. The last one isn’t. The sequence actually reads: 292, 237, 133, 189 – of which Kane Williamson alone contributed 108. Fourth innings
Continue readingMore rehearsals before England face South Africa
2 minute readA friend of ours once played the finest bum note we’ve ever heard while performing Eric Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight at a wedding. It was the very last note and it only sounded so marvellously hideous because he’d played everything flawlessly up until that point. That’s how to get something wrong.
Continue readingNeil Wagner isn’t perfect
< 1 minute readThere aren’t many media outlets where this would be headline news. It is here though. New Zealand’s fourth seamer isn’t flawless. Stop the press! It may only have been the day before yesterday, but it already seems a long, long time since we suggested that Neil Wagner never lets you
Continue readingAlex Hales isn’t very warm
2 minute readBy all accounts, the door to Test selection has now been opened by Alex Hales. Barring injury he will take his place in the England side that will face South Africa on Boxing Day. He could do with warming up a bit though. England’s first warm-up match, against a South
Continue readingNeil Wagner never lets you down
< 1 minute readHe’s like an old pair of walking socks, a sturdy side table or a functioning fridge. He doesn’t set your world alight, but at least your feet are warm, your brew is well supported and your veg hasn’t gone off. Last week, against Sri Lanka, Neil Wagner took 3-87 and
Continue readingThe names and numbers of a modern cricket tour match
< 1 minute readBack in the day, amateurs were given full initials, professionals surname only. Either would be preferable to what we get nowadays: .@thecompdog has an excellent 50 from 107 balls on his return and England have cruised past 100. 128-3 #SAvENG pic.twitter.com/uOQj00385T — England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 15, 2015 Most Twitter
Continue readingIs Darren Sammy running away from this streaker?
< 1 minute readOr is he running towards him? Is it even Darren Sammy? Who knows? Not us – although we’ve named the image file Darren-Sammy.jpg, so that’s quite a big commitment. Never let it be said that we aren’t a risk-taker. The photo’s from 2007. If you’re wondering why we’re publishing eight
Continue readingT20s, ODIs and Tests – it’s all cricket, so why not treat them as one?
< 1 minute readIn an interview with George Dobell for Cricinfo, the outgoing chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, Angus Porter, suggests that men’s cricket could adopt the points method used in women’s cricket where success in T20Is, ODIs and Tests is combined to decide the best side. Not the worst idea
Continue readingMop-up of the day – runs down south
2 minute readAfter day-night Tests, the latest innovation in the ongoing Australia v New Zealand Test series has been additional opponents. Sri Lanka and the West Indies have been drafted in to keep things fresh, but they couldn’t tip the balance. Australia still had marginally the better day. New Zealand would have
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