King Cricket

December 9, 2017 Australia / England

If Ben Duckett tipped a drink over someone’s head, here’s what England should do…

< 1 minute readSay so. They should say “Ben Duckett tipped a drink over someone’s head.” This occurred to us while we were watching BBC news this morning and the reporter was listing England’s “alcohol-related incidents.” The terminology conjured a real ‘everything’s totally out of control’ feel, even though at least one of

December 8, 2017 Australia / England

Moeen Ali to get into bowling rhythm by not bowling in warm-up match

< 1 minute readMoeen Ali is the only member of the second Test team who will play England’s latest warm-up match. He will do so because a side strain at the start of the tour left him short of overs. He won’t bowl. England are presumably of the opinion that Moeen will be

December 7, 2017 Australia / England

Three reasons why Australia will more than likely collapse at the Waca

2 minute readAustralia do like to collapse. Amid all the talk of conditions, bowling attacks and Steve Smith’s runsome proclivities, this is the one thing in favour of the tourists. England like to collapse too, of course. They just have to hope that they do it less frequently – or at least

December 5, 2017 Australia / England

Hope can hibernate

< 1 minute readHope never truly dies. It can however recede to the extent that it entirely loses consciousness. It’s safe to say that at around the point Australia emerged for their second innings, hope was in deep hibernation. A little while later it re-emerged after faint rays of Jimmy Anderson had warmed

December 5, 2017 Australia / England

Video: The Barmy Army goad Steve Smith about his use of DRS

< 1 minute readLike most wild animals, The Barmy Army are generally best viewed from afar – ideally on television or at the very least with some sort of robust barrier between you and them. They can also be very funny. Australians sometimes struggle to comprehend that the same bounce that can make

December 4, 2017 Australia / England

Commence the straw-clutching

< 1 minute readGrasp at them. Clutch them. Savour the delightful sensation of straws against palms. England are methodically addressing each of their shortcomings in turn. For some reason the first one they turned their attention to was ‘tail getting blown away by short-pitched bowling’. England’s tail is supposed to be ‘fragile’ compared

December 3, 2017 Australia / England

When more of the same fails, try even more of the same – England’s bowling masterplan

2 minute readIt’s not so much that England’s attack lacks pace, so much as that it lacks variety. It also has no left-armer, while the stinging open wound on Moeen Ali’s spinning finger means the team can’t rely on spectacular returns from their tweaker to make up the shortfall. But pace is

December 2, 2017 Australia / England

Craig Overton: first look in Test cricket

2 minute readWe don’t believe you can draw meaningful conclusions from players’ debuts – but we report on them anyway. Craig Overton looks like a big fast bowler. Then he humphs in and dobbles it like a good ‘un. Dobblery is not a craft that is highly regarded in Test cricket, but

December 1, 2017 Australia / England

England have (apparently) been lacking motivation

2 minute readThe Ashes, you know, it’s hard to really get up for. Hard to get up at 5am or whatever and hard to get up in the ‘come on, let’s give it everything’ sense too. Or at least that’s the way England have been painting things. James Anderson said the tourists

November 30, 2017 Australia / England

Chris Tremlett’s shirt and Jonathan Trott’s listening face

< 1 minute readThe latest instalment of ‘seemingly random screengrabs from ECB videos’ brings us Chris Tremlett busting out of a black shirt and Jonathan Trott either fed up with his cold, pondering his own mortality or drifting off into a coma or something. Just look at the strain on those poor buttons.

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.

This recipe is much appreciated ‘tho I would like to discover an absolutely authentic one ,possibly rescued from a Fylde…

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?