< 1 minute readWe wrote this title in the hope that we’d have some really funny thoughts to share once we started staring at the great expanse of whiteness where the body of the article’s supposed to go. Nothing happened, so we checked Twitter and apparently Graeme Smith’s going to retire. Let this
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Rolling the Shahid Afridi dice
< 1 minute readIf there is a point to Shahid Afridi – and really, his genius is all about absolute commitment to joyous, unfocused, futile pointlessness – then it is that he should mishit sixes to win matches. That is what happened today. India and Pakistan have much in common, but they also
Continue readingDavid Warner’s good, isn’t he?
2 minute readNobody’s happy about that fact, but we might as well get used to it because when he shuts that toolish mouth and plays cricket, he can score some runs. Diversity One thing we really like about this Australian team is that it’s a lesson to everyone on the importance of
Continue readingRyan Harris versus Lillee’s bag o’ bairns
< 1 minute readIt’s been suggested that this could be Ryan Harris’s last Test. He’s scheduled to have a load of loose knobbles and flakes of bone dug out of his crappy knee shortly after it finishes. Although he’s then got seven months or so to recuperate before Australia’s next Test, he hasn’t
Continue readingDissecting ‘momentum’ for the millionth time
< 1 minute readAhead of the third Test between South Africa and Australia, Hashim Amla has said: “There’s a lot riding on the last Test and fortunately we’ve got a bit of momentum.” Let’s very quickly examine how ‘momentum‘ has influenced the series thus far. Australia won the first Test and thus gained
Continue readingTake the next exit and turn around
2 minute readIt was like they were running late, had got onto the motorway heading in the wrong direction and had to race to the next exit so that they could turn round and race back again. Batsman One made 107, Batsman Two made 66 and then the next highest score was
Continue readingShaun Marsh holds up South Africa
< 1 minute readNo, he did. One of the three deliveries he faced in this Test match didn’t see the fall of his wicket. He really hung around. When Shaun Marsh was brought back into the Test side, we wrote: “Whether you think he’s good or not largely depends on whether you consider
Continue readingHow Steve Smith makes the most of what he’s got
< 1 minute readWe’ve not actually seen it yet, but we’re hearing great things about Quinton de Kock’s dismissal; that maybe it was the stupidest in a winter which has seen its fair share of stupid dismissals. It’s surely no coincidence that Steve Smith was the bowler. Much is made of the fact
Continue readingDean Elgar will probably be out by the time we’ve finished typing this
< 1 minute readCricinfo are making reference to ‘toss drama’ but don’t be misled. The second Test between South Africa and Australia demands your attention in a relentless, whinging, shirt-tugging way. We briefly wondered why we hadn’t really latched onto the Under-19 World Cup or why we didn’t feel moved to write anything
Continue readingRyan McLaren out due to brain rattle
2 minute readOrdinarily we don’t report on injuries – and not just because we don’t report on anything in any meaningful sense. However, Ryan McLaren’s rattled brain is more significant in that it will shine a light on the impact Mitchell Johnson has had on the South Africans. We’re not talking about
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