King Cricket

July 29, 2023 Australia / England

Did you see… Marnus Labuschagne score a run?

2 minute readIt’s quite possible you didn’t. He only scored nine of them in 82 balls after all. You have options in Test cricket. You can choose how you go about things. We would argue that England’s hare approach to batting at the minute is actually a lot more interesting for being

July 26, 2023 Australia / England

An England v Australia Oval Test preview with Rick Dangerous

4 minute readIt’s late July and that of course means the end of the Test summer. With no more England men’s fixtures scheduled until the tour of India from the end of January 2024, you should probably try and make the most of the Oval Test. The nights are drawing in, as

July 24, 2023 Australia / England

Does Zak Crawley’s 189 matter?

4 minute readIt was only one innings, but two Zak Crawleys batted at Old Trafford last week. The first was what we call in these parts “a jousey bastard” who cemented his reputation as the most gifted inside-edger in world cricket. The second was an almighty destroyer of worlds who flickered into

July 20, 2023 Australia / England / Match report

What’s it like in the Old Trafford temporary stand? (a match report)

4 minute readSend your match reports to king@kingcricket.co.uk. We’re only really interested in your own experience, so if it’s a professional match, on no account mention the cricket itself. (But if it’s an amateur match, feel free to go into excruciating detail.) Our eternal lack of enthusiasm for doing absolutely anything before

July 18, 2023 Australia / England

Old Trafford Test pitch preview with Private Hudson

4 minute readEngland and Australia have arrived in Manchester for the last northern Ashes Test until 2031. The tourists lead 2-1, but fatigue is starting to tell for both teams. What can we expect in the week ahead? Pat Cummins has bowled 140 overs in the last six weeks, and may conceivably

July 17, 2023 England

Got some random job that needs doing? Maybe see if Moeen Ali fancies stepping in

2 minute readFirst published in 2016 and now republished without changing a word – although we did update the lead image and add a link at the bottom. If you have a problem, if no-one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you can ask Moeen Ali to do

July 14, 2023 Australia / England / Extras

Review: How to Win the Ashes (BBC)

3 minute readBilled as “a deep dive into one of the fiercest rivalries in sport,” How to Win the Ashes is available now on the BBC iPlayer. Regular King Cricket contributor Sam Blackledge has had a watch. This is his take on it. Documentaries like this are not really aimed at people

July 12, 2023 Match report

A new era of Test cricket (a match report)

2 minute readSend your match reports to king@kingcricket.co.uk. We’re only really interested in your own experience, so if it’s a professional match, on no account mention the cricket itself. (But if it’s an amateur match, feel free to go into excruciating detail.) Regular King Cricket contributor Ged Ladd writes… The self-styled Heavy

July 10, 2023 Australia / England

Why Stokes and McCullum aren’t worried about bad shots, only bad innings

3 minute readBad shots are bad shots, but in an age when the dumbest moments are endlessly replayed and dissected, it’s important to at least try and take in the bigger picture. A batter who sometimes plays the wrong shot is nowhere near as bad as a batter who’s always worrying about

July 7, 2023 Australia / England

Did you see… Joe Root blaming the ball for his drops?

2 minute readWhen Joe Root drops catches, Joe Root blames the ball. Remember when English commentators were talking up Josh Tongue’s “extra pace” because he was bowling 85mph? That seems even more nonsensical now after Mark Wood made the Headingley crowd gasp at not just the obvious threat of his bowling but