2 minute readWe appreciate England’s desire to identify the next England captain in advance, but why has Alastair Cook been chosen? Warning: this article may contain some petty, bigoted views about certain strands of British society Leadership attributes There is no standout candidate to be the next England captain, yet England have
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Tours of Bangladesh are real tours
< 1 minute read“They can’t beat us in Test matches. They can surprise you in ODIs but not in Tests.” So said Virender Sehwag about Bangladesh before his side fell to 213-8 on the first day. Presumably Sehwag saw this coming as well as an almost infinitely better second innings in which India
Continue readingWhat can England take from the South Africa tour?
< 1 minute readA lesson in momentum: South Africa will take momentum from winning this last Test handsomely. England will take momentum from drawing a series they truthfully expected to lose. Everyone’s a winner. Such is momentum in cricket. England can take quite a lot of pride after winning the one-day series, saving
Continue readingLow key fast bowling triumphs No.1 | James Anderson
< 1 minute readRyan McLaren plays an immaculate cover drive for four. James Anderson bounces him with the next ball and the one after that. McLaren ducks them both. Will it be three in a row? Yes, it will. This time McLaren attempts a hook, but misses and the ball strikes him on
Continue readingMark Boucher and Graeme Smith – South Africa’s foulweather batsmen
< 1 minute readThe ball has swung in this match. There has been seam movement, some bounce and good turn. On top of that, South Africa need to win this game. Mark Boucher and Graeme Smith have been the standout batsmen. This is not surprising. Most players play worse in these situations. A
Continue readingEngland v South Africa fourth Test post mortem
< 1 minute readWhat do you mean it’s still moving? It’s as good as dead. It can’t feel pain any more. Did England listen to all the media coverage that said they’d done well in the series even if they lost this Test and ease off as a consequence? We say no. We
Continue readingWhat strikes you about Dale Steyn?
< 1 minute readIf you told us that we had to use a tired cliché to describe the effort that Dale Steyn puts into bowling or you’d force us to do a dance in front of other humans, we’d hang our head, sigh softly and mutter “sinew-straining”. Dale’s certainly wholehearted. Perhaps too wholehearted.
Continue readingAt least it wasn’t like that other time at The Wanderers when England were 2-4
< 1 minute readAtherton 0, Hussain 0, Butcher 1 and Stewart 0. Now that’s a bad start. Morne Morkel is mint, by the way; a big gallumphing lankatron of genial ferociousness.
Continue readingIs Monty Panesar hearing voices?
< 1 minute readPanesar’s current coach at Highveld Lions, Dave Nosworthy, says: “Somewhere along the line he had lost who Monty Panesar is.” This does seem to be the case. Panesar says: “What happened last year is that I had so many external voices to listen to … When I was searching for
Continue readingMonty Panesar to take control of his own mind
< 1 minute readIf you’re not in charge of what you’re thinking, just what ARE you in charge of? A recent interview with Monty Panesar reads like a philosophical follow-up to MS Dhoni’s comments that led us to ask: Do you control the mind or does the mind control you? “My mind was
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