Today, James Walker looks back at the tour that created England’s most prolific pairing… England cricket fans will have enjoyed the first Test against NZ at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty and a thrilling finish at the Basin Reserve, Wellington. Am I alone in not regretting the loss too much? Seemingly, there is so much life in the England squad these days that we can stomach a loss because the boys had their swords in their hands. Besides Harry Brook’s fabulous batting...
Last month, Rob Stephenson wrote this interesting article on modern England seam bowlers blessed with genuine pace. It was a subject that resonated with several readers including James Walker, who sent in the following response that complements Rob’s piece by going back a little further in time. It also explores some of reasons why we’ve produced so few quick bowlers with longevity. Enjoy. Perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of post-war English cricket is that John Snow and Bob...
What an incredible day in Rawalpindi. For England to score 506 in just 75 overs was extraordinary. Was it the pitch, which looked flatter than the M1, or just the way that Test cricket is going now? England’s run rate was T20-esque all day, which brings us nicely onto today’s article by Sam Tomkinson. He reminisces about the day that a seemingly innocuous over by England’s new selector, Luke Wright, put England on course to win their first T20 World Cup. We’ll analyse...
Chris Eyes returns with a tribute to cricketers possessing ‘vocational’ names. Enjoy… As the 2022 English summer fades into memory now and the landscape of the game is changing, let us spare a thought for those cricketers not on full time contracts or big money T20 deals. You know, the ones who, like the rest of us, must return to occupations outside cricket to keep bringing home the bacon, or earning a crust. So with that in mind, I have endeavored to undertake selection of...
Wicket keeper is the most peculiar of field positions with the incumbent trapped in gloves and pads for the duration of a match. A functionary with a multiple brief who often has to stop things from happening. They gather the best and worst deliveries unleashed by bowlers; prevent leg byes, overthrows and any other brain fade that might result in additional runs being conceded. A good wicket keeper could easily save his team 30 runs an innings, but it’s far from being the only string on...
I have a small selection of old photographs on the wall adjacent to where I am sat now. Below them are old magazine articles pinned onto a corkboard; stuff I have cobbled together whilst chasing a quasi-secondary career as a freelance journalist. Underneath them are trophies, mainly from the 90s and early 2000s. The whole lot of them are worth less than the loose change shoehorned behind your average sofa. But they retain an inextricable link to those photographs, their memories perfectly...
