King Cricket

May 19, 2016 England / Sri Lanka

England’s dodgy drivers dobbled by deadly Dasun

< 1 minute readThe received wisdom is that you don’t get wickets in Test cricket with dibbly-dobbly medium-pace. This is actually entirely accurate – but only because nobody picks dibbly-dobbly medium-pacers for Tests. The truth is that dibbly-dobbly is tough for Test batsmen. Their net bowlers are 85mph, their bowling machines are 85mph.

May 18, 2016 County cricket

Samit Patel is a big fat loser – a majestic, admirable, envied, big fat loser (plus a round-up of this week’s other first division matches)

2 minute readIf respect were something tangible and delicious rather than an abstract concept, Samit Patel earned more of it than even he could eat this week. He also won the battle of the Patels. What he did not win was ‘the match for Nottinghamshire against Warwickshire’. The man Kevin Pietersen calls

May 18, 2016 England

Some sort of James Vince type substance

< 1 minute readJames Vince is stylish. We don’t generally trust that in a batsman and the feeling has been compounded by a nameless county bowler who recently told the Guardian’s Mike Selvey: “He likes to look good.” Despite this, it is technically possible that we could warm to a player likely to

May 16, 2016 County cricket / England

Where next for Chris Woakes?

2 minute readChris Woakes played in England’s last Test. He dismissed Stephen Cook for 115. Now he’s out of the team and out of the squad. England like the idea of Woakes, but they don’t like that idea enough to commit to giving him a long run in the side. It’s understandable.

May 13, 2016 County cricket

They’re finally using robots to promote cricket tournaments

< 1 minute readAbout time. This particular robot’s got flames for eyes and is, quite frankly, a bit of a tosser. Also keep an eye out for the guy who doesn’t know how to clap. That’s our favourite bit. It’s here. The epic conclusion to the #CricketHasLanded trilogy. Watch Cricket Has Landed 3:

May 12, 2016 County cricket

Cricket was played either side of the Pennines – a County Championship round-up

< 1 minute readIt was an uncharacteristically eventful week by the standards of the 2016 County Championship with two whole wins in the first division. Two losses as well, we suppose. The wins/losses After three successive draws, Yorkshire soared like a heron to their habitual place at the top of the table. Surrey

May 12, 2016 West Indies

Tony Cozier – the man who saw all and knew all of West Indies cricket

2 minute readCricket fans moan about commentators a lot, but in general we are well served by our sport. Tastes differ, but very few talk down to us and the majority have the capacity to offer some sort of insight when working in the right environment. But as the world becomes smaller,

May 11, 2016 England

Charlotte Edwards’ bit is done – good work

2 minute readWhen Charlotte Edwards first played for England, she wore a skirt. She didn’t choose to. She was obliged to. That debut came when she was 16 (she played for the under-19s at 12) The women’s game has moved on since then and you might have expected her to have been

May 10, 2016 County cricket

A hatful of willow

2 minute readWill Smith just got off the mark from the 43rd delivery he faced. Hampshire are currently careering along at 1.25 runs an over knowing that the rain that has hit the rest of the country will soon arrive in Manchester. So far, this round of County Championship matches has been

May 9, 2016 County cricket

North v South one-day series is the future of county cricket

< 1 minute readCounties or franchises? Let’s discard both and instead play endless North v South matches. Imagine the crowds. Nothing gets people in like a rivalry and this new series has the potential to divide the nation. They’ll have to properly define North and South first, but all it will take is