I have a confession to make. I can’t deny it anymore. I’m as English as a cup of tea in Buckingham Palace, and I’ve supported the England cricket team through thick, thin, and thinner, but it’s time to face the uncomfortable truth: my country hasn’t produced an all-time great cricketer for decades. Now don’t get me wrong. We’ve produced some excellent players, world class ones even, since I started watching cricket in the late 1980s. One of them – the fantastic Jimmy Anderson...
Evasion and Disingenuity: The ECB At The DCMS Committee
I really wanted to go in person. I even toyed with the idea of turning up in full cricket kit or a cookie monster costume. But I hurt my foot on Tuesday so had to make do with the live stream on the parliament website. It was a fascinating three and a half hours as the DCMS committee grilled Colin Graves and Tom Harrison about their (mis)management of English cricket and their controversial new Hundred tournament. Although it could’ve been a lot worse for the ECB had the Department of...
Glorious summer
Some things can not be overhyped. A few events live up to every word of hyperbole. And occasionally our memories do not deceive us – the reality was every bit as good as our recollection. The 2005 Ashes, which began ten years ago this month, were one such passage of time. It was the greatest series I have ever witnessed. It was the greatest series ever played in England. Who can say it wasn’t the greatest series of all time? The 2005 Ashes were a perfect storm, a narrative sent by...
Ker-ching
England’s 2015 international summer begins tomorrow, with the first test against New Zealand at Lord’s. The second test begins on Friday 29th May, at Headingley. Do you fancy going along? If so, how much will it cost to get in? The price of test and ODI tickets in England – variable, but often high – ought to be higher up the news agenda than it usually is. The host venues are charged six- and seven-figures sums by the ECB to stage international fixtures, although the...
Kevin Pietersen: The Sinner and the Sinned Against
Many people are still apoplectic about the Kevin Pietersen sacking. “He was a scapegoat” they cry “he was our best batsman and the faceless suits murdered him”. Similar things were said about Jim Morrison when he was arrested in Miami for exposing himself on stage. “The establishment don’t like what he represents man” fans of The Doors said. “It’s a CIA conspiracy against individualism baby”. What they forget, of course, is that simulating fellatio in front of thousands of people is against the...
The Cult of Alastair Cook
I feel sorry for Alastair Cook. It’s no secret that the English media, and certain fans, love to build someone up and then knock them down. We see it in other sports all the time. You’re either brilliant – a world class hero, a pin-up boy, a genius or an all time great – or you’re a waste of space, a steaming pile of donkey manure or even worse, Luis ‘the biter’ Suarez. But what makes Cook a unique case is that his employers have built him up as much as anyone. In order to justify...
