< 1 minute readThird seamer – Chris Jordan? Can we start assuming this now, or is that going too far? It’s just it would mean one less thing to keep track of, and the less we have to keep track of, the more we can concentrate on the important stuff, like moaning about
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England players are better than county players
2 minute readWe know that’s kind of the point, but it’s worth cementing this notion while everyone’s moving in similar circles. It’ll prevent confusion later in the season. There will come a point – probably at some point in July – when Ian Bell will have made a couple of ducks against
Continue readingSteve Magoffin and MacGuffins
< 1 minute readIn film, a MacGuffin is something characters strive for which rather conveniently drives the plot. As often as not, its exact nature is unimportant. What matters is that at least one of the characters wants it. People aren’t fighting to acquire Sussex’s Steve Magoffin, so he doesn’t really fit the
Continue readingOne batsman and a bit of pace bowling
2 minute readRefreshingly manageable levels of information this week with very little of note happening with regards to candidates for the England squad. Gary Ballance This is probably the headline event. Gary Ballance made 174 against Northamptonshire. Reading between the lines written by better-informed people than us, it’s possible that England have
Continue readingEngland hire a Maxonian
< 1 minute readIs it a good idea for a team that can’t bat to hire the coach of a team that can’t bat? It’s probably okay. The England coach is basically just a management figure, after all and Peter Moores seems pretty good at that side of things. He brought in many
Continue readingBen Stokes and the cure-all that is ‘passion’
< 1 minute readOne worrying, but entirely predictable, revelation from Ben Stokes’ recent interview in the Guardian is that he’s broken bones punching inanimate objects before. He reckons he’s going to learn this time. “I don’t think punching lockers is the way forward for anyone. There’s only going to be one winner there.”
Continue readingThe numerous tabs of county cricket
2 minute readWe missed a trick when naming our county players to watch. Instead of trying to keep things manageable by limiting ourself to five, we should have completely changed the rules and just named all the England squad contenders who we were watching anyway. What happens now is we open all
Continue readingKing Cricket’s 2014 county players to watch
2 minute readThat’s ‘players to watch in 2014’. We don’t have 2,014 players to keep an eye on. In fact, we’ve got fewer than ever before – just five. A reminder of the qualification criteria: Qualified to play for England No established internationals Youngish Playing in the first division of the County
Continue readingEngland Squad Watch – part three
< 1 minute readThe fight for England spots continues to a soundtrack of very gentle applause from a smattering of supporters who didn’t happen to have much on that day (activity-wise). Top order Jonathan Trott made 37 against Sussex – although to be fair, that has been the second-highest score in two completed
Continue readingEngland Squad Watch – part two
< 1 minute readEveryone knows that the key to a strong international side is ‘competition for places’. It absolutely isn’t the case that ‘competition for places’ is really just a synonym for ‘the first XI’s turned crap’. Yesterday’s England Squad Watch ended rather bleakly with the specialist batsmen seemingly competing only for a
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