King Cricket

November 15, 2023 India

Did you see… Mohammed Shami refusing to cede a wicket to Jasprit Bumrah?

< 1 minute readToday Mohammed Shami’s insatiable thirst for World Cup wickets spilled over into his fielding when he utterly failed to secure an easy wicket from a delivery bowled by someone else. What happened was: Jasprit Bumrah bowled, Kane Williamson hit it straight to Shami, and Shami for some reason went all

November 13, 2023 India

Have Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid got things running too smoothly? India haven’t had to win a game yet

3 minute readOn Wednesday – near enough six weeks after the World Cup began – India play their first game that they actually have to win. The form guide suggests New Zealand will be swept away, but the form guide hasn’t been measuring must-win games. The truism here is that Indian players

November 9, 2023 England

From Moeen Ali to Mark Wood, England are about to have a proper clear-out – will any of this World Cup squad still be around in four years’ time (or even next week)?

3 minute readIt’s the nature of modern cricket that international cricketers don’t so much retire as go part-time. But while a good few members of this England World Cup squad will also be part of the England T20 World Cup next year, when it comes to one-day internationals (ODIs), this is pretty

November 8, 2023 England

David Willey: six and out from a selfless, dutiful player who England always seemed to take for granted

2 minute readDavid Willey had two balls to face today and he tried to make full use of both of them. It was typically selfless stuff from a committed player who rarely seems to have got much love or respect from England, even when he’s been one of their top performers. Willey

November 7, 2023 Afghanistan

Did you see… Ibrahim Zadran’s ramp shot off Pat Cummins?

3 minute readAfghanistan’s batters hit several incredible shots in their 291-5 against Australia today, but Ibrahim Zadran’s ramp shot off Pat Cummins gets the nod from us as the most incredible. Before we get into this, let’s first have a handful of honourable mentions. Firstly, Azmatullah Omarzai’s cover drive off Mitchell Starc

November 6, 2023 Bangladesh / Sri Lanka

Why didn’t Shakib al Hasan withdraw his appeal when Angelo Mathews was timed out?

2 minute readFor the same reason he appealed in the first place: because he’s Shakib al Hasan. Angelo Mathews was timed out during Sri Lanka’s game against Bangladesh in Delhi today. This is, incredibly, the first time a batter’s been out this way in international cricket. It takes a particular type of

November 1, 2023 Extras

Other than one brief flicker from Adrian Holdstock we’ve been massively unimpressed with the standard of umpiring at this World Cup

3 minute readWhen most people talk about the standard of umpiring in a cricket match, they tend to mean the quality of the decision-making. But we don’t mean that… we don’t mean that at all. Other than when there’s a stinker of a decision or a marginal call at a crucial time,

October 30, 2023 England

The chaotic way England dropped Jason Roy gave a powerful message to the rest of the team

7 minute readSometimes it’s not about the logic of dropping one player in favour of another; it’s about the message you send to everyone else who hasn’t (yet) been dropped. England talk about playing with conviction, yet coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler have demonstrated little but uncertainty with this 2023

October 26, 2023 England

It’s a particular type of recent ODI experience Jos Buttler’s England lacked – the experience of playing together, winning games

4 minute readEngland haven’t played this format much recently, so you can forgive them for looking at bit rusty against a guy who hasn’t bowled in an ODI for almost four years. “It’s raining cats and dogs in Sri Lanka so I’ve not been able to play much,” said Angelo Mathews after

October 25, 2023 Australia

Glenn Maxwell’s complete commitment to hitting from mad positions

3 minute readToday Glenn Maxwell spent one ball in the 90s and it was a no-ball. There’s not much cause to be nervous in the 90s when it’s so vanishingly unlikely you’ll be dismissed in them. When weird looking batters score a lot of runs, there are two main things people tend