Here’s Vic Marks on Alastair Cook: “It is not a fresh phenomenon for the nation to debate whether the right man is in charge but this has seldom been accompanied by such vitriol – at least on social media”. I like Vic, both as a writer and broadcaster, but I wonder if Twitter and Facebook have come along a little too late in his career. He’s fallen, as so many do, into the obvious trap – of regarding social media as an autonomous entity with its own consciousness...
If You Could Turn Back Time …
The big story today is that Sunil Narine has been reported for an illegal action. As this blog is constantly at the cutting edge of contemporary sporting discussion, and remains the go-to place for breaking news about cricket, we’ve decided to ignore the chucking debate entirely*. Instead we’re going to engage in a bit of semi-topical debate, sweetened with a sprinkling of nostalgia. I want to ask you all a question: If you could add one cricketer from England’s recent past to the current test...
Would the England Cricket Team Sell Out Wembley?
Today I’m going to see the Miami Dolphins play the Oakland Raiders at Wembley. It’s the first of three NFL matches in the UK this year. All sold out months ago. That’s 250,000 tickets sold, six months in advance, to watch two average teams with a small English fanbase play in stadium that’s pretty poorly located and quite hard to get to. In my opinion, that’s quite an achievement. This is the eighth year that one or more regular season NFL games have taken place at Wembley, so the novelty...
Firsts
Today I’m going to invoke a little nostalgia. The subject is first cricketing experiences – the powerful formative memories which fuelled your infatuation with the game. The landmarks which shaped your personal cricketing narrative. Your firsts. I’ll kick off by describing my own. And then I’d love to hear yours. The first time you watched cricket Although I grew up with a cricket-loving father, and similarly inclined younger brother, with the game always on TV in our...
Same Old Crap: A Look at England’s ODI Squad
Apologies for the rather blunt headline, but today I’m grumpier than a piles sufferer who’s run out of Germoloids. Only the England cricket team, organised by a cosy little club with a penchant for ignoring all evidence, would send a team to a World Cup with a captain who doesn’t warrant a place in the side and a coach who has never won a single one-day trophy. I doubt even the FA would be this daft. Can you imagine England appointing Alan Pardew as manager and then flying to Brazil with Tom...
Return of the quiz
Here’s something we’ve not done for a very long time – not since the world was a more innocent and carefree place: our cricket quiz. The usual protocol applies: enter your answers below (squinting as you scroll down to avoid seeing other people’s). To negate spoilers completely, e-mail your answers instead to maxie@thefulltoss.com In the event of a tie, the winner will be chosen by Paul Downton after three months of due diligence. First prize is a week’s camping...
