King Cricket

January 4, 2008 England

Matt Prior dropped like an edge from Ryan Sidebottom

< 1 minute readMatt Prior’s been discarded like a greasy pizza box. That’s fair considering his erratic wicketkeeping, but harsh for a man averaging 40 in Test cricket. Tim Ambrose of Warwickshire is his replacement and you’d imagine he’d be in the first XI ahead of Phil Mustard, who’s still providing back-up. It

January 4, 2008 Australia / India

An unbeaten Tendulkar hundred – everything is as it should be

< 1 minute readUp here in the northern hemisphere we need a bit of comfort at this time of year; something warm and familiar to let us know that all’s right in the world and the status quo persists. That’s ‘status quo’ and not ‘Status Quo’, you understand. Francis Rossi et al. have

January 3, 2008 South Africa / West Indies

Dale Steyn spoils things in a pleasing way

2 minute readDespite Shiv’s bat and Dwayne Bravo’s best efforts with the ball, South Africa look like getting a first innings lead. This is a shame because while the Windies might continue to put up a fight while ahead, you feel that they’re liable to crumble if they fall behind. You never

January 3, 2008 Australia / India

VVS Laxman playing his favourite opponents at his favourite ground

< 1 minute readNot many cricketers actively prefer to play Australia, statistically at least. Most prefer Bangladesh. VVS Laxman just might prefer Australia. We always preferred playing the wall of the garage, which could function as batsman, bowler, fielders AND scorecard – with the aid of a bit of chalk. We think that

January 2, 2008 South Africa

Herschelle Gibbs: crap and dropped

< 1 minute readNow we have to admit that we don’t pay the closest attention to South African fortunes when they’re not playing England. Their Tests always seem to clash with crucial fixtures for Bangladesh A. Nevertheless, we were a little bit surprised when Herschelle Gibbs was dropped today. Pretty much the last

January 2, 2008 Australia / India

Andrew Symonds: good enough if you give him a chance or two

< 1 minute readWe’re still not sure about Andrew Symonds as a Test player. We’re sure he is one. Don’t get us wrong. We don’t doubt our own eyes – that would be madness. Just who do you trust, if you don’t trust your eyes? Your ears? Unlikely. Ears are devious. Anyway: Symonds.

December 31, 2007 West Indies

Shivnarine Chanderpaul: Lord Megachief of Gold 2007

2 minute readHe’s got more than his fair share of elbows and knees, but that hasn’t prevented him being given the highest honour in international cricket; the award that the players most respect and yearn for. This year’s Lord Megachief of Gold is Shivnarine Chanderpaul. England might have spent most of winter

December 29, 2007 South Africa / West Indies

Did Graeme Smith try to be clever?

< 1 minute readSouth Africa are currently ranked second-best in the world. The West Indies are ranked second-worst. The Windies had also come into this Test on the back of defeat to South Africa A, so when Graeme Smith won the toss, he put his opponents in to bat. This didn’t turn out

December 29, 2007 South Africa / West Indies

The Chris Gayle era

< 1 minute readThe West Indies won a Test – and they were away. The West Indian batting is still woefully fragile. Their fielding, while far-improved in this match, will surely take a good while longer to repair from what we’ve seen in the past – progress can only ever be so fast.

December 28, 2007 South Africa / West Indies

Windies’ early work keeps them on top

< 1 minute readIf there’s one cricketing nation that’s quite reliable, other than Australia, it’s South Africa – particularly at home. If there’s one cricketing nation which is quite unreliable, it’s currently the West Indies – particularly away from home. So how did the Windies rack up 400 and then dispatch South Africa