King Cricket

May 16, 2018 England

Is it right that Jos Buttler won a Test spot without playing first-class cricket?

2 minute readLet’s take a look at how Test teams are picked and whether runs in other formats are relevant. We’ll begin with a quick bit of background. A quick bit of background Doing well at one-day cricket for England used to be a common way of getting into the Test team.

May 15, 2018 Match report

What’s it been like watching Ireland’s first Test, against Pakistan at Malahide?

3 minute readChuck writes: With my Aged Parent heading towards 83 not out this summer (a superb innings), I decided it was time to introduce him to the pleasures of Test cricket by bringing him to his, and Ireland’s, and indeed my first men’s Test match, against Pakistan in Malahide. Well, day

May 14, 2018 County cricket

We’re mostly talking about Ollie Pope again this week, with maybe a dash of James Hildreth and a soupcon of Keaton Jennings

2 minute readA combination of (a) the current state of the England cricket team and (b) the nature of early season cricket means that we’ve almost exclusively been talking about batsmen so far this summer. This isn’t actually all that great for those of us who consider batsmen necessary impediments to the

May 11, 2018 Ireland / Pakistan

Having actually fought for it, Ireland seem to comprehend that Test cricket is worth fighting for

3 minute readThis Ireland v Pakistan Test is a big deal and Ireland are treating it as a big deal. If feels the way international matches are supposed to feel. Ed Joyce said that Test cricket “wasn’t even a pipedream” for Ireland’s men’s team until relatively recently, which really puts things in

May 10, 2018 County cricket / England

Are you in The Wisden Cricket Weekly Gang?

2 minute readDo you mind if we tell you a barely relevant story? If you do mind, you’re probably reading the wrong website. We’re very confident that the pure hilariousness of this tale cannot possibly be conveyed without first-person experience of the person involved, but we’re going to tell you anyway because

May 9, 2018 County cricket / England

Mark Wood’s IPL experience with Chennai Super Kings has helped him make his choices – but where will he go next?

2 minute readYou may remember that earlier in the year, we wrote about the weighted, weighty decisions faced by Mark Wood this season. Wood’s long format career has been in the balance of late. An IPL contract seemed likely to keep him out of all early season first-class cricket and a consequence

May 8, 2018 County cricket

We’re talking about Harry Brook this week

2 minute readWell the message is clear: if you want to identify batsmen who will one day go on to play for England, contract a very heavy cold, take time off work and watch a bit of the Under-19 World Cup. You’ll have to endure quite a lot of Alan Wilkins, but

May 3, 2018 Australia

Did Justin Langer say it was “humbling” to be appointed Australia coach?

3 minute readOf course he did. This is not a bet anyone would have taken. Justin Langer is exactly the kind of guy who would say something like “humbling” when given a new job. He did however come up with an even better quote – and by “even better” we of course

May 2, 2018 Regulars

Clive being conspicuously indifferent to Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s arrival and departure

< 1 minute readGed sent us a photo of Clive showing extreme indifference to the arrival of Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the crease. This was during this season’s Essex match, so we asked Ged whether there were any signs of life in response to Shiv’s almost immediate departure. Ged said: “Very similar lack of

April 30, 2018 County cricket

This week we’re talking about Peter Siddle bowling in a woolly hat

2 minute readWe’re going to be upfront about this: today’s post is largely a means of trying to exploit our readership in a most-likely forlorn bid to remember a very trivial thing which we cannot currently remember. But let’s have a few words about Matt Renshaw before we get into that. This

I’m not convinced that Harry Brook has yet got his own head around the 50-over format. His results in that…

Underappreciated comment here.

As well as being 'ruinous', captaining all three formats would require powers of teleportation or at least supersonic, jet-lag free…

Wonderful question from Jennifer. I don't suppose Fylde great-great-grandmothers sourced iberico bacon from Lidgates of Holland Park either. I'll try…

Well this is Lord's throdkin. Very much an 'inspired by' thing rather than an attempt at authenticity.

In praise of the matter-of-fact dynamism of Travis Head

Mark’s wood: Talking joinery and timber with England’s fastest bowler

23 of the best, worst and weirdest cricket moments of 2024

Lord Megachief of Gold 2024

Are we already watching peak Harry Brook?