< 1 minute readWhen Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the bowling, Andrew Strauss couldn’t get him off the square. This was largely because he couldn’t make contact with the ball. When one of the most experienced batsmen in English cricket finds himself in this position against a part-time off-spinner, you have to ask yourself whether
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Cricket World Cup storylines
< 1 minute readThe great thing about actual, proper tournaments is the way that narratives develop. Every remaining team already has a good story in place if they eventually go on to become World Champions. Pakistan – Would defy what was a catastrophic build-up to the tournament even by their standards. Being as
Continue readingAttributes required for a Test batsman
< 1 minute readTest batsmen need to have a number of attributes. Depending on the conditions and the opposition, there will be different requirements. Some are always necessary: A good eye A half-decent technique Good shot selection Concentration In matches like Sri Lanka v India at Colombo, other attributes are also required: Stamina
Continue readingMuttiah Muralitharan’s 800th Test wicket
< 1 minute readWe don’t get it. It was only Pragyan Ojha. What’s the big deal? If we’d taken 800 Test wickets, we wouldn’t be jumping up and down about getting Pragyan Ojha out. We’d have been more worked up about dismissing better batsmen, like Ian Salisbury or Chris Lewis.
Continue readingMuttiah Muralitharan retirement – knee jerk reaction
< 1 minute readWe’re certainly intending to do a proper Muralitharan retirement post – possibly after his last match – but for now, we can’t be bothered. These are the things that immediately came to mind when we heard he was retiring: Muttiah Muralitharan might just surpass Steve Harmison in our estimation as
Continue readingIndia win colossal tussle between bat and bat
< 1 minute readWe haven’t actually seen any of the ludicrously high scoring India v Sri Lanka one-day match. This is just as well, because if we’d witnessed all the breathtaking strokeplay, we might find it more difficult to be properly downbeat about the whole thing. Out of 13 bowlers used, Harbhajan Singh
Continue readingThe four best bowlers over the next five years
2 minute readPicking the bowlers was much harder than picking the batsmen and all-rounders. We’re not going to pretend that we’re 100% happy with what we’ve come up with because that would be dishonest and we save the dishonesty for getting out of social events. Dale Steyn, South Africa, age 26 We’ve
Continue readingICC Test rankings system
< 1 minute readIndia have risen to be number one in the rankings and many people will say that the rankings are questionable. Are India the best Test cricket team? A lot of people say the rankings are meaningless. When they make this criticism, they always do it according to a team’s position.
Continue readingInnings victories in cricket – good or bad?
< 1 minute readIt’s good if it’s your side that’s won, but if you’re impartial, it means that a Test has been one-sided. Australia’s innings victory over West Indies also raises uncomfortable and unwelcome questions about the future of the West Indies as a Test team, even if their best player, Adrian Barath,
Continue readingMahela Jayawardene does not get bored
< 1 minute readAfter Mahela Jayawardene recorded his sixth Test double hundred, it was tempting to wonder whether he ever gets bored. We get bored very, very easily. We get bored midway through unlocking our front door and that takes less than five seconds. The only exception to this is rail travel, where
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