< 1 minute readWhen Chris Gayle reached his fifty today, he punched the air with both hands and then shook his head. Maybe he doesn’t think this Test feels like much of an occasion. We don’t know exactly, but to us it seemed like a cricketer who didn’t think much of his own
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Why does Fidel Edwards hate James Anderson?
< 1 minute readFidel Edwards has mostly been bowling at James Anderson’s head of late. Edwards appears to have some sort of a problem with the Lancashire bowler, giving him a mouthful once every few balls and bowling about 5-6mph quicker due to the adrenaline. When these sorts of duels get personal, it
Continue readingSulieman Benn’s bowling action
< 1 minute readOne of the commentators during the last Test – we forget who – said that Sulieman Benn had a good bowling action. Now we can only presume that he meant it was solid and reliable or maybe ‘funny’. Because it isn’t a good bowling action. He looks like a horse
Continue readingRavi Bopara and Alastair Cook
< 1 minute readRavi Bopara and Alastair Cook have batted together for Essex for ten years or so. They make an odd, but effective, couple. Cook’s a gangling left-handed posho who’s lumpen at the crease and nervy in front of the camera. Bopara’s a podgy, right-handed bloke, who’s often aggressive at the crease
Continue readingEoin Morgan does something mental with his cricket bat
< 1 minute readWe saw this plastered across Jrod’s Balls yesterday. It’s Eoin Morgan doing something quite ridiculous in the name of batting. It’s pretty impressive, but is he really that good? He can play that shot well enough in those circumstances, but how well would he bat with his upper arms tied
Continue readingDeteriorating batting performances late in a career
< 1 minute readMatthew Hayden’s been interviewed. You don’t know how much we’ve missed this. He was asked about his deteriorating batting toward the end of his Test career and, as ever, he’s crystal clear about what happened. “Suddenly questions are asked about your ability and performance, which is absolutely rubbish because your
Continue readingKolkata Knight Riders’ arse-kicking abilities fully explored and evaluated
< 1 minute readThis is what greets you when you log onto the Kolkata Knight Riders’ website: If the owner can’t even hold a batting helmet without it catching fire, you’ve got to go for ‘nope’ haven’t you? If you’re so disaster prone that you’re blighted by the spontaneous combustion of cricket equipment,
Continue readingKolkata Knight Riders light up the IPL with their woeful inadequacies
< 1 minute readEvery sports competition needs a narrative. People who run these sorts of tournaments always think that the narrative should be one of glory. ‘Ours is the best competition and our champions are the best team in history’. Triumphant music plays. Slow motion video soaks up the splendour. That’s balls. What
Continue readingGraeme Swann loves dismissing left-hand batsmen
< 1 minute readWe dare say Graeme Swann quite likes dismissing right-hand batsmen as well, but he doesn’t do it half as often. Of his six wickets in this match, only one was right-handed – Jerome Taylor. This is by no means unusual for Swann. Against right-handers he looks an everyday bowler. Against
Continue readingWhy Graham Onions’ five-fer ain’t all that
< 1 minute readAfter being clean bowled for a golden duck and then seeing his first ball carted for four, Graham Onions didn’t immediately knock Test cricket sideways with his brilliance. A bit later, after three wickets in an over and 5-38, things looked a bit better. But… Have England found a great
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