2 minute readIt’s a strange and wonderful sport where two members of the opposition who aren’t even on the pitch can aid your cause, but Graeme Swann can thank Trent Boult and Neil Wagner for three of his four wickets. The two left-armers created some beautifully scruffy turf for him to aim
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Joe Root and canned excitement
< 1 minute readThere’s no excitement quite so depressing as mandatory excitement. Compare and contrast the following. Joe Root strides to the crease and a large crowd rumbles with enthusiasm A batsman strides to the crease and Somebody Told Me by The Killers plays Joe Root takes a quick single and a large,
Continue readingToken second Test preview
< 1 minute readTomorrow England meet New Zealand in the second Test at Headingley. The home team will be looking to take a 2-0 series win, while the tourists will be looking to tie the series 1-1. England will settle for a draw and a 1-0 series result, but would prefer to win.
Continue readingThe number six doorway
2 minute readEnough of the eye-catching swing bowling. What is this website for if not for accentuating the negative? Let’s focus on England’s batting. We still haven’t really settled on a firm opinion regarding England’s approach in the first Test. We’d probably grade it ‘acquiescent’. We don’t think it was as bad
Continue reading2013 County Championship – chapter six
2 minute readYou may have thought that we’d forgotten about our weekly County Championship round-up, what with there having been a Test match and all. However, you didn’t count on the nagging feeling of guilt that jolted our memory. In truth, our subsconscious is largely just a complex web woven from different
Continue readingWhen New Zealand were floored at Lord’s
< 1 minute readIn post match analysis, many people have been saying that they thought Graeme Swann was going to be key and marvelling that he didn’t get a bowl. Yes, that’s true, but let’s put this in perspective: Steven Finn didn’t get a bowl either. James Anderson took 2-23 and Stuart Broad
Continue readingStuart Broad ruins our afternoon
< 1 minute readWe had it all planned out. We were going to cycle up Mow Cop and then, when we got home, we’d ‘refuel’ with our feet up while watching what promised to be the business end of the New Zealand innings. We’d be exhausted and would therefore be able to sit
Continue readingThe hard-fought fifty and the quick fifty
< 1 minute readPlayers are always talking about the brand of cricket they’re looking to play, trying to make it sound like there’s some lofty aesthetic ideal with which they should be associated. No-one ever talks about playing a squalid brand of cricket and more’s the pity. Squalid, low-scoring cricket that’s decided by
Continue readingWatchful batting and watchable batting
< 1 minute readWe generally approve of England’s somewhat one-dimensional approach to top order batting. However, the fact that it’s highly appropriate for the current era doesn’t mean it’s always the best approach. Against equally patient bowling attacks, it can result in stand-offs less spectacular than when two cats spend three-quarters of an
Continue readingTim Bresnan’s return from injury
< 1 minute readTim Bresnan had elbow knack. It was a particularly severe case and so he had surgery. Unfortunately, the procedure made him not particularly good at cricket. He therefore had surgery again (not to get bionic legs or owt, just for the elbow). Now he’s back – even if he wasn’t
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