The Full Toss
Welcome to TFT, one of the UK’s longest serving cricket blogs. We’ll be here throughout the year to debate, moan, and occasionally rejoice about the England cricket team. If something’s bothering you, whether it’s selection, governance, or the cost of a pint, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You don’t need to be a professional writer or copywriter, just a fan with something to say. Email james@thefulltoss.com for more info. Cheers.
ECB galacticos and the smell of BS
A group of supporters reformed the Lancashire Action Group late last year to lobby for better facilities at Old Trafford. An offshoot of that campaign has been a fanzine called not The Spin. It’s first edition sold 450 copies and now the second issue is about to hit the streets. Editor and FullToss contributor Barry Turner says the plan is [...]
England Still Using All The Muscles Except The Most Important One
I love the expression above. I first heard it in The Matrix Reloaded (I think). It’s when Neo proves himself very capable of beating up enemy agents but not quite so good at using his noggin. He doesn’t even notice that Trinity fancies him! In other words, he’s a little bit daft. Just like England’s approach in ODIs in fact. [...]
Power of Scotland
Remember when we used to laugh off our ODI humiliations by saying "well, we don't really take white ball cricket seriously ... it's the Test team that counts"? Scotland humiliated England in Edinburgh yesterday. We were the world's No.1 ranked ODI side. Scotland hadn't even qualified for the next World Cup. Yet an incredible hundred from Calum MacLeod, a batsman [...]
The White Horse Awakens
Today's article comes courtesy of cricket poet Marco Jackson. He's been following Kent over recent weekends and has spotted several signs suggesting something special's brewing down south. Does that pass for an acceptable alliteration, Marco? The following piece comes in two stages: a love letter to Kent in general, and then a tribute to Daniel Bell-Drummond, a player who has [...]
No More Test Cricket Until August 1st
What's on the agenda today? The headline says it all. We're about to enter the height of summer, a time synonymous with long sunny days and Richie Benaud saying "morning everyone", yet England won't be playing a test match this month or next. Instead our ECB overlords have created what amounts to a 'no-test' zone. England's test series against India [...]
Headingley And Humble Pie
So England are back on track. At least until the next game. This win at Headlingley was ridiculously easy. We were as good here as we were lamentable at Lord’s. And the same could be said of Pakistan, but the other way around of course. Lot’s of people will be very happy with the win, and justifiably so, but I’m [...]
The Headingley Test
Back in the late 1980s and 1990s, England would often travel to Leeds trailing in test series. We'd draft in someone like Neil Mallender, who would swing the ball around corners, and we'd win inside three days - thus keeping Ted Dexter or Mickey Stewart in charge for another few months. Headingley's cloud cover was like a huge comfort blanket [...]
England’s Best Ever XI Revisited
It was my tenth wedding anniversary at the weekend, so my Mrs and I took a trip down memory lane and stayed at the hotel where we got married. "That's all very well" you might say "but on earth has this got to do with cricket"? It's because the one thing I controlled at the wedding (us blokes are usually [...]
Ignominy at Lord’s
It was another awful performance and yet another dispiriting defeat. I might as well have just cut and pasted a report from the Ashes. Is this English cricket’s lowest ebb? Obviously we’ve had worse defeats in the past, and this particular test probably isn’t a watershed, but it’s hard to think of a time when the future has looked so [...]
The Lord’s Test – Day 2
Bizarre captaincy, shambolic catching, and good traditional test batting. Suddenly Pakistan look like huge favourites for this test match. And they deserve to be in this position too. They bowled really well on Thursday and they batted just as well, if not better, on Friday. Well played guys. As for England, I'm struggling to find anything original to say. Basically [...]
The TFT Interviews
Talking Bats With Charlotte Surridge
I'm sure many readers will remember that well known cricketing brand called Stuart Surridge (SS). It was made famous by the likes of Graham Gooch and Sir Clive Rice back in the 80s. In fact, I bet a few of you owned an SS Jumbo or an SS Turbo back [...]
TFT Talks To Athers, Beefy, Nasser, and Bumble
I enjoy a good chinwag. I enjoy it even more when it's with four guys I idolised as a kid. It has always been an ambition of mine to chew the cricketing fat with Athers and Co - perhaps over a couple of beers in the pub - so when [...]
TFT Talks To Mark Butcher
Back in November 1998, a young Englishman fresh out of uni left these shores to travel around Australia. Obviously it was a complete coincidence that the Ashes was on. On the third day of the first test in Brisbane, he saw another young(ish) Englishman flay McGrath, Fleming, Kasprowicz and MacGill to all corners of the [...]
An Evening With Nasser Hussain
We arrived at the Grace Gate at Lord's. The ground was a hive of activity. Graham Gooch strolled by, shoulders rolling and head bowed in that familiar fashion, and then the penny dropped: it was corporate and media day ahead of the Royal London Cup final between Warwickshire and Surrey. [...]
The Full Toss Meets Devon Malcolm
At one point I didn’t think I’d live to tell this tale. The venue was the Lord’s Academy. The bowler was Devon 'you guys are history' Malcolm, and the batsman was, erm, little old me. And to think that I actually volunteered. The occasion was a promotional event for Play [...]
Ask Hoggy: 20 Questions With Matthew Hoggard
Last week I had the opportunity to ask the legendary Matthew Hoggard some questions. Some were serious and others were, well, not quite so serious. I think you'll enjoy his answers. Hoggy is currently plying his trade as an after dinner speaker. He's one of the leading cricket speakers on the circuit. I certainly beats running [...]
How To Save Cricket – Our Interview With Jarrod Kimber
You've seen him on Cricinfo's Polite Enquiries. You're about to see him in Death of a Gentleman. Now you can hear Jarrod Kimber's passionate and pertinent views on the future of cricket here on The Full Toss. The only drawback: you'll have to suffer my vapid tones at the same time. Sorry about that. [...]