2 minute readSo said Michael Vaughan after Cook had shelled an easy one early on. Where has he been looking? We’ve always felt like he drops a fair few – although maybe not by Vaughan’s own almost criminally low catching standards. We wouldn’t go so far as to say that Cook’s a
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When should a captain declare?
2 minute readThe timing of a declaration will often elicit heated discussion among commentators. However, it seems safe to assume that the actual importance of the decision rarely justifies the level of debate, which is almost certainly artificially exaggerated by the fact that such questions generally only arise when not much is
Continue readingThe West Indies make use of some quality imports
< 1 minute readThe great thing about alternative dimensions is that every now and again you can pluck a similar-looking cricket team from one of them and deploy it in your own world. The incarnation of the West Indies seen in this Test was an unusually gritty one. Like a team-mate’s belt within
Continue readingThe real story of the West Indies’ dropped chances is just how many England’s batsmen offered
< 1 minute readIt’s like we always say, to take 12,841 wickets, you need to create 15,516 chances. (We should stick that on a T-shirt). At the time of writing, the second Test between England and the West Indies had seen 12 drops, which is rather more than you’d expect. The Windies were
Continue readingWest Indies improve their attack, England don’t
< 1 minute readShannon Gabriel’s fun, isn’t he? An old school fast bowler who doesn’t half-arse it and who has plenty of arse to deploy. He is a good selection. Gabriel’s efforts have contrasted with those of Chris Woakes in this match. At the start of day one, Woakes was the only one
Continue readingThe one thing England need to do to resolve their batting frailty
< 1 minute readIf England could find three really mediocre batsmen, they’d be a hell of a side. They’re after a two, a three and a five. Fill those spots with players like Chris Tavaré, Ravi Bopara and – hell, why not – Jos Buttler and together with the runs from their all-rounder
Continue readingStuart Law lowers the bar for niceness
< 1 minute readStuart Law hasn’t been enjoying himself. We can’t find the footage of the West Indies coach as he watched Jason Holder refuse the new pink ball before limping off three balls later, so we’ll have to do the hard yards and describe it. Imagine a man who couldn’t look more
Continue readingWhen only being good enough to play for the West Indies became a crime
2 minute readWhen a system’s broken, a large proportion of people will only lose their temper with whoever’s closest. Overworked due to cutbacks? Blame the colleague who just asked you a question. Huge queue of traffic on the motorway? Focus your bad mood on the driver of the car in the adjacent
Continue readingWhat’s it like to attend a day-night test in England?
3 minute readEngland are playing the West Indies at Edgbaston in the first day-night Test match in this country. Everyone’s been wondering what the experience would be like for the fans. We’ve had a handful of early reports and we’ll add any more we get to this page. Day one attendee, Tom
Continue readingJason Holder’s old ball half-over
< 1 minute readMany things happened during the UK’s first day-night of Test cricket, but the most memorable was the 81st over. The whole focus of the day was on what would happen when a new pink ball was used under lights – but no-one told the captain of the bowling side. It
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