2 minute read Everyone has a favourite batter. Everyone has a favourite fast bowler. Everyone also has a favourite fast-medium short ball workhorse bowler… and it’s always Neil Wagner, because no-one else in the history of cricket has ever made that work. Unique cricketers usually stand out for very obviously freakish physical reasons.
Continue readingTag: Neil Wagner
How do you stop Harry Brook? We’ll tell you how
< 1 minute read There was a moment during the first Test against New Zealand when England’s number five, Harry Brook, boasted a Test average and strike-rate that were both 94. Either of those would be ridiculous. Both is preposterous. Then he got out. How did Harry Brook get out? We could have told
Continue readingNeil Wagner: Lord Megachief of Gold 2019
3 minute read Our annual Lord Megachief of Gold award is the highest honour in cricket. The title is recognition of performance over the previous calendar year. Here are all the winners.
Continue readingThe Great Neil Wagner investigates
2 minute read
Continue readingEngland need a short-pitched specialist like Neil Wagner
< 1 minute read Asking someone to bowl with the old ball is not the same as picking someone who has built their career around bowling with the old ball. Asking someone to bowl short is not the same as picking someone who has built their entire career around bowling short. Being tall does
Continue readingNeil Wagner sacrifices the opportunity to run in for a small fragment of the final session
< 1 minute read Pakistan had already lost six wickets in the final session of the match when Kane Williamson brought forth The Great Neil Wagner. Three ducks later, the series was over. This isn’t going to help Wagner’s reputation one bit. How the hell are you supposed to run in all day when
Continue readingMop-up of the day – syllables, spin, short-pitched bowling and size
< 1 minute read First to Kandy, where the five minutes when it was both dry and bright enough to play cricket saw Sri Lanka set Australia 268 to win. David Warner’s recently-discovered inability to make runs outside Australia persisted as he was bowled for one, and the tourists also lost Joe Burns and
Continue readingMop-up of the day – Hello and goodbye and are you leaving?
< 1 minute read Buoyed by a first innings display in which he took six for a million, Neil Wagner persisted with his innovative attritional shock tactics in the second. He took 1-60. It’s worth noting that Wagner produced this display despite a broken hand. More accurately, he produced this display despite a broken
Continue readingNeil Wagner isn’t perfect
< 1 minute read There aren’t many media outlets where this would be headline news. It is here though. New Zealand’s fourth seamer isn’t flawless. Stop the press! It may only have been the day before yesterday, but it already seems a long, long time since we suggested that Neil Wagner never lets you
Continue readingNeil Wagner never lets you down
< 1 minute read He’s like an old pair of walking socks, a sturdy side table or a functioning fridge. He doesn’t set your world alight, but at least your feet are warm, your brew is well supported and your veg hasn’t gone off. Last week, against Sri Lanka, Neil Wagner took 3-87 and
Continue reading