ECB Testing Fans’ Loyalty Again
Long term readers of TFT will know that it used to have two editors rather than one. There was me, and then there was Maxie. A couple of years ago Maxie stepped down because he didn’t have time to contribute anymore. He was also (I’m sure he won’t mind me saying) completely disillusioned with English cricket and was finding [...]
Stone Rises But Batting Hopefuls Sink
I love the early championship fixtures. Spring has arrived, the sun is creeping out (well, occasionally), the magnolias are in bloom, and young England hopefuls get the chance to impress the selectors. What’s more, there are no domestic white ball distractions. It’s first class cricket all the way – unless you’re glued to the IPL but that’s another story. So [...]
Erroneous Assumptions & Hopeless Predictions: County Championship Preview
Who will be crowned this year's champions? I really have no idea. A newly promoted club tipped for relegation won the title last year whilst the reigning champions got relegated. It was just the kind of boring and predictable season you'd expect from a competition nobody likes and everyone expects to die. What a total waste of time. Jokes aside [...]
Like The Darkside, The IPL Overshadows Everything
Don't worry. This isn't another pop at the IPL. I actually like bright lights and dancing girls ... albeit when I'm in nightclub. I'm just a little irked that the county championship starts later this week and many of our best players won't be involved - twelve of them to be exact. One wonders how the championship will have any [...]
Should English Counties Sign Smith, Bancroft, and Warner?
So then. What do you reckon? The Evening Standard has suggested that Cricket Australia has quietly reached out to several English counties about the possibility of signing their three disgraced stars. The details are sketchy, and there's no guarantee it will happen, but it seems there have been discussions behind the scenes. I'd be interested to know what everyone thinks [...]
A Winter’s Tale
The England men’s team can finally come home after a very long winter. 157 days after they departed for the Ashes, the frustrating draw in the second Test against New Zealand brought the curtain down on their overseas adventures. While the players will be pleased not to have to stay in hotels any longer, those of us who have been [...]
Denied
I went to sleep with New Zealand on 91-4. I was extremely hopeful we'd be able to force a result. Anderson and Broad were bowling well, and Jack Leach was causing problems, so it was extremely disappointing to wake up and find that we'd been denied by the Kiwi tail. Credit to the Black Caps, of course, but I thought [...]
The Easter Sunday Sermon
It's Easter. The time of rebirth, chocolate, and rabbit casseroles. So let's start with the first of these three pillars of Christian civilisation ... and forgive me if the flow of this post seems random and doesn't quite work. I've had no sleep, I drank too much beer and wine last night, and I feel about as coherent as ... [...]
When Anything But Disaster Feels Like A Triumph
The headline above sums up how I feel about day one in Christchurch. I went to sleep with England on 38-1. Vince and Stoneman were looked a little more secure, and Trent Boult was having a breather. Perhaps both batsmen would make a hundred and England would score 400? I knew I was kidding myself. Vince had played a few [...]
Disgrace
** Update: Darren Lehmann has just announced that he's stepping down as Australian coach after the next test. -------- I've just watched the Steve Smith press conference in Australia. Wow. Do you think he was a bit upset? He cried more than my little sister when she watched Bambi. The poor bloke. But should we feel sorry for Smith? On [...]
ICC Must Act To Protect The Spirit Of Cricket
“It seemed completely beyond belief that the Australian cricket team were involved with cheating.” It might have shocked you Mr Turnbull, but only the brazenness of Australia's cheating surprised the rest of the world. The fabled spirit of cricket has been under attack for some time, and Australia have been one of nations leading the assault. Not that the Aussie [...]
Ignominy
Ignominy has been the word of the weekend. But I'm not using it to bash the Australians today. Instead I'm using it in reference to England's latest pathetic result away from home in test cricket: a defeat by an innings inside three days to New Zealand. I haven't got the stat book in front of me but of our current [...]
Australia’s Sticky Situation
This is quite possibly the stickiest situation for Australian cricket since Sticky the stick insect got stuck on a sticky wicket. At times like this it seems apt to fall back on Blackadder references. If only because Australia's attempts to win the second test against South Africa by using sticky tape like sandpaper was a plan so lacking in cunning [...]
What? How?
After long and careful consideration, I've decided to laugh rather than cry. England's batting performance in the first innings at Eden Park was so farcical that it's probably comic rather than tragic. Today was a comedy of errors ... and it just about summed up the team's miserable winter's tale. Although I wasn't able to stay up all night and [...]
Ta-Ra, Kevin
Although it has been on the cards for a while, Kevin Pietersen finally announced his retirement at the weekend. Forgive me for being a bit late to the party on this one. As someone who rarely watches the various T20 leagues around the world these days, I haven't seen KP play in years; therefore as far as I'm concerned he [...]