3 minute readBrendon McCullum has been given a new hat – the England white ball coach hat. What we want to know is whether this new role comes with a literal, physical new hat, because we’re kind of sick of that Cinch one. This is the Cinch hat. This is what Brendon
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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
Continue readingWhy the word ‘Bazball’ is not helping any of us
3 minute readBazball is a completely annoying word because any time it’s used – which is basically every other sentence these days – everybody is talking at cross purposes. The foundations for this ongoing noisy surround sound argument lie in the fact that almost no-one knows or acknowledges the definition that Cricinfo
Continue readingKnow your Bazball – an illustrated guide
2 minute readAre you settling in for the Ashes and finding yourself a bit perplexed by all the ‘Bazball’ talk? If you’re struggling to know what is and isn’t Bazball and don’t want to embarrass yourself by making a faux pas – fear not! Simply consult our short and informative illustrated guide…
Continue readingAre Stokes and McCullum right? Is a win bigger than a loss?
3 minute readIt was a win that England were racing to catch from the outset. The Test began with Zak Crawley hitting three fours off Naseem Shah’s opening over and it ended with the light meters out. Ben Stokes’ men never really slowed in between. Even if England hadn’t won, you’d have
Continue readingBen Stokes’ England are so far beating their greatest enemy – second-guessing themselves
4 minute read“It’s a game of failure, batting,” said Joe Root five minutes after this Test finished. The statement was on the one hand very sage and on the other just plain wrong. Four times in a row England have chased a lot of runs to win. This would be remarkable even
Continue readingWhat Jonny Bairstow’s Kingsman church scene innings tells us about the ‘throwing off the shackles’ cliché
5 minute readViolence is great, isn’t it? Violence is so much fun. We greatly enjoyed Jonny Bairstow, at Trent Bridge, with a cricket bat. At tea on day five, England were 139-4, 160 runs from victory and Jonny Bairstow was on 43 off 48 balls, which is quick, but still within the
Continue readingCaptain Stokes v Captain Root
3 minute readEverything’s amazing and fun and positive under the new England captain. Remember that previous guy? Man was he a miserable arsehole. Didn’t have a clue, did he? Whatever happened to him? Sometimes you accidentally reveal something about the past. We remember being on this cookery course in Thailand once with
Continue reading5 things to watch out for as Brendon McCullum’s England take on Brendon McCullum’s New Zealand
6 minute readHas any man credited with such great influence over two teams ever had less direct influence on either? Brendon McCullum undoubtedly laid foundations for the current New Zealand side. Just as Nasser Hussain added vertebrae to England between 1999 and 2003 before they delivered higher profile successes, McCullum set the
Continue readingRuns and running things – mop-up of the day
2 minute readOur loosely-held editorial guideline of “no-one cares what you think” isn’t necessarily one that drives productivity at what is, fundamentally, an opinion website. It means there’s a whole bunch of recent news stories we haven’t covered because no-one cares what we think. The County Championship Let’s start with the latest
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