Paul Hayward’s piece in the Daily Telegraph remains unimprovable. Plainly the grief that matters most is that of the Hughes family, who saw his life cast into a maelstrom on a cricket pitch, where, despite the risks posed by a hard object travelling at 90mph, death was never thought to be a serious possibility until the victim, who was attacking a head-high ball with a hook shot, fell forward onto his face and began his journey into darkness. A loss that must be beyond comprehension to...
Cut and Paste – Thoughts on the Second ODI
I have a feeling our match reports might get a little repetitive over the coming weeks (and months). We know what the problems are, and they’re not going away. There’s little point banging on about it considering recent events in Sydney. We just don’t have the appetite for a thorough post-mortem. All I’ll say is that English cricket is in a dire position at the moment. There are problems with the board, coach and captain. The number of people watching and playing cricket in our country is...
Phil Hughes
There is little I can say which will adequately convey the brutal sense of shock and sadness we all share this morning. A young man, only twenty five years old, went off to play a cricket match and never returned. Greg and Virginia Hughes could never have seriously imagined that when their son went out to bat at the SCG, he was putting his life on the line. Their loss is inexpressible. For us, at this remove, perhaps the over-riding feeling is disbelief. How can something like this happen in...
The Mo, the Bad, and the Ugly – Reaction to the 1st ODI
So come on then. What did you make of England’s predictable ODI defeat to Sri Lanka today? Bopara was a positive, Moeen Ali was a humongous positive, but other than that … erm … For me the experience was all too predictable. The batsmen did their best to chase an imposing total, but we simply don’t possess genuine international class in the bowling department. I hope I’m proved wrong, but Woakes and Gurney just don’t look up to it. Tredwell is a respectable spinner, and Stokes a...
Phil Hughes in hospital
I’m really not sure what to write about today’s events. It’s so sad. Words seem more than a little inadequate at this time. Cricket is a game we watch and play for enjoyment, so when someone gets seriously hurt our passions and partisan support for one team or another seem entirely trivial. It’s a bit more serious for the professions – careers and livelihoods are a stake – but even for them cricket is still, in essence, just a game. I’m sure all English cricket fans wish Phil Hughes all the...
Mo Cuts Lankans Down to Size
It was low key, and it probably doesn’t mean a great deal, but a win is a win. You can’t ask for more than that. Our much maligned ODI team started their tour of Sri Lanka with a convincing win yesterday. They dispatched Sri Lanka A, whose performance probably warranted an F, with consummate ease. Even the captain got some runs. Wow. The star of the show was undoubtedly Moeen Ali, who picked up three wickets with the ball – out-bowling James Tredwell in the process – and then bludgeoned a 21...
