King Cricket

August 27, 2010 England

Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad v Pakistan – what a partnership

< 1 minute read One’s a balding, short-arsed, right-handed batsman. The other’s a boyish, lanky bowler who bats left-handed. Together they gave James Anderson the longest wait of his career. Trott and Broad caused Pakistan’s bowlers no little distress as well, which was entirely unexpected given the circumstances. Mohammad Amir started the day taking

August 27, 2010 England

Lord’s getting two Test matches in 2011 as usual

< 1 minute read Most grounds are pleased if they get even one Test match, let alone two. Lord’s is the home of cricket What does that even mean? People just bandy the phrase about mindlessly. It’s propaganda. We grew up with cricket and have followed it our whole adult life and never went

August 26, 2010 England

The Lord’s Test – it’s the social event of the season

< 1 minute read We went to Lord’s once. It was fairly normal until we went round the far side of the ground and heard a guy talking about real tennis. Lord’s has a real tennis court.

August 25, 2010 Regulars

Yes!

< 1 minute read What more can you say?

August 24, 2010 Match report

Not a Surrey v Middlesex match report by any stretch

2 minute read Okay, we know we say not to mention the cricket in your match reports, but can there at least be some cricket that you avoid mentioning from now on? We’re including this one because it’s largely about food and because it contains some happy news and some good advice. Try

August 22, 2010 England

Alastair Cook’s footwork and TV analysis

< 1 minute read TV analysis can get a bit nit-picking and it turns us all into experts. Alastair Cook was in poor form and there had to be a reason: “His footwork’s not good. Here’s an example of that.” There’s your proof. Case closed. Only it doesn’t exactly work like that. Technique can

August 20, 2010 County cricket / England

Cost of a day at the cricket | Test match, ODI, Twenty20, County Championship

< 1 minute read Following on from yesterday’s post about poor Test match crowds and why it’s mostly a ticket price issue, we thought we’d make a page to try and gauge the cost of a day at the cricket. If you go to a match this year, try and keep a rough tally

August 20, 2010 Pakistan

Mohammad Yousuf was banned for life and then retired

< 1 minute read But he seems okay. It reminds us of the immortal tagline of the entertainingly ludicrous Crank: High Voltage – “He was dead… but he got better.” You can ban Mohammad Yousuf for life and he can retire, but it doesn’t matter, he’ll still be there scoring runs in a Test

August 19, 2010 England

Test match crowds in England – what can be done?

< 1 minute read Worried that Test matches aren’t selling out? Make tickets a bit cheaper. You can make other changes – maybe allow people to bring a few beers in, stuff like that – but basically it’s just too expensive. It’s 40-odd quid for the cheapest ticket at the Oval. Whether it’s down

August 18, 2010 England

Looking too far forward to the Ashes

3 minute read If England are playing cricket, we’re supporting them. That’s the rule. However, if it came down to it, we’re wondering whether a Pakistan win in the third Test might not be the worst thing in the world. Why? Because of the Ashes. It’s almost Monday We know someone who sometimes

He certainly has land.

Slight bus conductor vibe c/w an absence of said vibe? I think not. I think of those two spinners in…

Only one phrase can describe this day's cricket: it's astounding.

Time will tell. Indeed, I am shivering with antici…pation.

Three spinners currently feels a lot, in that three bowlers might actually leave a team overstocked.

Hats off to Harry Brook’s very particular ‘steamrollered pancake pitch’ set of skills

Let’s pick the All-Time Greatest Middle-Aged XI

Less than the sum of their parts: Six Test batting partnerships that invariably disappointed

Five Graham Thorpe innings that were equal parts silly, brilliant and vital

Show me the money. Inattention and monetisation in Major League Cricket, The Hundred and Test cricket