< 1 minute readIn our book, all pitches are acceptable unless they result in boring cricket. For what it’s worth, our book is entitled The Book of Unarguable Facts. Some dude in Mohali has curated a cracker (curators curate, yes?) for the first Test between India and South Africa. Flat on a seamer’s
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England cricketers never last – why learn lessons when you’ll probably never return?
2 minute readIt’s a truism that the England players will learn from this series defeat to Pakistan. You could actually see it happening before your eyes at times: Jonny Bairstow fighting his impulses or Ben Stokes seemingly devising a batting method on the fly. We just wonder whether these players will ever
Continue readingEngland poised to make some sort of history
< 1 minute readIt might be an unlikely series-levelling victory; more likely it’ll be a defeat. Either way, someone somewhere will make a note and history will be made. History is always being made. On a personal level, we have a history of drinking tea and typing that stretches back at least as
Continue readingShoaib Malik adds to the rich tradition of Pakistani cricketer retirements
< 1 minute readNo-one does retirement quite like a Pakistan cricketer. Mohammad Yousuf’s was a textbook departure, entirely equivocal such that his absence can perhaps only now be considered permanent, some five years later. Or at least it could have been considered permanent if he hadn’t played a number of international matches after
Continue readingJames Taylor – middle order giant
< 1 minute readEngland in UAE middle-order partnership shocker. Who’d have Liam Plunkett (thunk it)? Fours and sixes are all well and good, but it’s important to cater for fans of the nurdle as well. Today was a most nurdlesome day. Nudges, leaves, jabs into the offside, works to the legside – all
Continue readingEngland’s strongest unit supported by England’s biggest unit
2 minute readAt lunch, Samit Patel had 0-33 off nine overs – neither here nor there. Fortunately, lunch is Samit’s secret weapon. Popeye gains superpowers when he consumes spinach. In much the same way, Samit Patel gains superpowers when he eats pretty much anything. “Bring forth the pastries!” he cried. After lunch,
Continue readingWhy Samit Patel should play in place of Mark Wood
< 1 minute readMark Wood’s duff ankle means he won’t play the third Test against Pakistan. So who should replace him? Over at Cricinfo, Andrew McGlashan argues that Liam Plunkett is the logical choice. Being as Chris Jordan was only a late call-up to replace Steven Finn, Plunkett is the next pace bowler
Continue readingIs it okay to drop Jos Buttler?
2 minute readYeah, why not? It’s not like he’s scoring any runs at the minute. We’re also a great believer in the redemptive power of “I could do better than that.” Have you ever found yourself believing you weren’t qualified to carry out a given task, only for someone else to complete
Continue readingWahab Riaz achieves the impossible
< 1 minute readThe formula for deciding on the man of the match is as follows: Which team won? Which of that team’s batsmen scored the biggest hundred? And that’s your man of the match. In the event that no-one made a hundred, you pick the guy who took most wickets. However, in
Continue readingEngland’s batsmen roll onto thorny hedge cuttings
< 1 minute readGood bowling exacerbates uncertainty. This is a very inexperienced England batting line-up and it therefore has good cause for self-doubt – particularly in unfamiliar conditions. When confronted with the contrasting threats of Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah, it was no surprise that it collapsed in on itself like a cheap
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