2018-06-12 19:54
My cricket writing has a new home, focusing on spin bowling: Read More
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2018-05-25 18:40
Walking in from further away than the average spinner, a la Shane Warne, stalking his prey, but instead of the smooth rip, he bustles through the crease, at his best culminating in a hard si… Read More
2017-03-02 20:13
Kraigg Brathwaite is the opposite of orthodox as a batsman. He makes Shiv Chanderpaul look technically correct, and Alastair Cook look stylish. Just like many other limited Test batsman in t… Read More
2017-01-03 18:24
Embed from Getty ImagesIn the five years since Paul Harris retired, South Africa have tried out six frontline spinners (seven if you include JP Duminy - which I don’t). Imran Tahir was… Read More
2017-01-01 16:58
The first international century of the years is scored by Hashim AmlaThis one will be proved or disproved very quickly. Amla had two underwhelming years and is in a poor run of form, but his… Read More
2016-11-21 21:51
Embed from Getty ImagesAdil Rashid has been a fixture in English cricket long enough that the England team should have known not to try to meddle too much with him. They didn’t. It&rsq&hell…Read More
2016-11-03 14:32
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’d be easy for Mehedi Hasan Miraz to get carried away. The Prime Minister has ordered a house be built for him; he’s already the second highest ranked Ba… Read More
2015-10-14 19:25
In Ancient Greek mythology, Sisyphus was said to have been punished by the gods for his craftiness to roll a rock up a hill forever, only when he reached the top to see it roll back down aga… Read More
2015-08-26 19:56
Last week saw the retirement of several distinguished batsmen. Michael Clarke left the stage at the age of 34 and his teammate Chris Rogers along with Kumar Sangakkara gave up international… Read More
2015-08-09 14:32
With the World T20 in India seven months away, teams are ramping up the number of T20 matches they play. New Zealand are on a limited overs tour of Southern Africa, starting first in Zimbabw… Read More
2015-08-07 09:25
The look on Stuart Broad’s face when Ben Stokes plucked the ball out of the air behind him to give England their fifth wicket, was pure disbelief. He wasn't the only one dumbfound… Read More
2015-07-11 20:59
The sacking of Kevin Pietersen dealt a death blow to my support of England. The 2013/14 Ashes whitewash wasn’t fun, but I’m used to supporting losing teams. It’s a lot more… Read More
2015-06-13 12:23
Aberration? Or new normal? That’s the question to be answered after England out New Zealanded New Zealand, out McCullumed McCullum, and scored their highest score, then their highest s… Read More
2015-06-05 16:11
View image | gettyimages.comDevendra Bishoo is another leg-spinner who makes me (wrongly of course) feel like I could be a Test bowler. Bryce McGain and Pravin Tambe made me feel like I had… Read More
2015-06-04 14:14
View image | gettyimages.comFor a while I was terrified of Mitchell Johnson. There was an Ashes series, I’m told, where he was very frightening. Personally I don’t remember. It d… Read More
2015-04-13 22:17
View image | gettyimages.comCricket is all about mistakes. Wickets drive the game forward, and they’re rarely down to an unplayable ball. Fielding mistakes, dropped catches, poor shots… Read More
2015-04-12 17:48
View image | gettyimages.comIt’s six years since England last toured the West Indies for a Test series and since then the ongoing development in West Indies regional cricket has contin… Read More
2015-03-29 13:19
View image | gettyimages.comTake a ball Brendon. Surely?It was over the moment the ball hit the stumps. New Zealand have come back before, but their head had been cut off. It was not to be a… Read More
2015-03-24 17:01
Trent Boult rips a ball past the outside edge. Matt Henry jars one into the splice. Grant Elliott backhands one past the stumps. Brendon McCullum chases a ball down like it’s a baby in… Read More
2015-01-05 20:39
View image | gettyimages.comIt’s clear that the West Indies don’t have a strong and united team. Perhaps the only thing they’re united on is abandoning tours. In India they… Read More
2014-11-11 13:58
#458790742 / gettyimages.comIt was Bill Shankly who said “Football is a simple game complicated by idiots.” Like all truisms, there’s more to it than that, and if you subst… Read More
2014-11-09 14:54
It doesn’t look like the big time. Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville is an out-ground for Queensland, and used for the occasional international A game. It’s a sparse ground, and… Read More
2014-10-10 19:29
Oriole Park at Camden Yards: a great venue for baseballLike most from the cricket watching world, my initial view of baseball was of a game that was so far removed from cricket, an Americani… Read More
2014-07-15 21:06
Just after Duncan Fletcher took over as England coach in 1999, England’s tail reached its nadir. Caddick, Mullally, Tufnell, and Giddens. A tail with Tufnell at number ten is something… Read More
2014-07-15 21:06
Just after Duncan Fletcher took over as England coach in 1999, England’s tail reached its nadir. Caddick, Mullally, Tufnell, and Giddens. A tail with Tufnell at number ten is something… Read More
2014-07-01 12:25
As an England fan - despite how it seemed in my last piece - it’s tempting to cast an envious glance at other countries players. In days gone by, we'd stare longingly at Shane Warne … Read More
2014-06-24 19:50
Win in Bangladesh? Sure. Win the Asia Cup? Well done! Win the World T20? FANTASTIC. Win all three series in England, including a first ever Test series win in England, off the penultimate ba… Read More
2014-06-18 13:51
Every shot looks a bit off. The straight drive isn’t often played with a straight bat. The cover drive is played rarely, and with a lot of bottom hand. Balls are defended in varying wa… Read More
2014-05-20 21:01
Slinging it at Lord'sThe new T20 captain of Sri Lanka patrols the field, with a look of slight bemusement on his face and a wide-brimmed sunhat on his head. There’s an incongruity abou… Read More
2014-04-29 19:01
The former West Indies U-19 opening batsman John Campbell is generally rated for his left-handed strokeplay. Indeed, he’s had a breakthrough season with the bat in the Regional 4-Day C… Read More
2014-04-15 17:04
If Viv Richards emerged from Antigua today, flaying boundaries all round the ground with insouciant ease, and chomping on his gum, would he be pigeonholed as a t20 player? It’s an inte… Read More
2014-03-25 13:04
If you think of Caribbean batting, your mind goes to IVA Richards, to Gordon Greenidge and into the present day, to the likes of Kieron Pollard, and Darren Bravo. Power players, stylists, ne… Read More
2014-03-23 19:13
O'Keefe: more than meets the eyeStill waters run deep, the old proverb goes. It might be a cliche but that’s what comes to mind when watching Steve O’Keefe bowl in the Sheffield… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Bryce McGain, Steve Smith, Cameron White, Scott Borthwick, Amit Mishra, Todd Astle, Ish Sodhi, Imran Tahir, Devendra Bishoo.Can you see where I’m going with this? That’s the comp… Read More
2006-06-07 11:16
Trying to cover all bases with England’s T20 team is like playing a game of whack-a-mole. Hales and Lumb blast their way to 64 in the Powerplay to bring temporary reassurance about the… Read More
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