I was reading an old footie magazine the other day (please forgive my sins). There was a feature discussing the ten best players in the world. It included the likes of Roberto Baggio and Paulo Maldini, the glamour boys of world soccer in the early 90s. They had the (naff) hair, the looks … you know, all the stuff that girls love that winds up us ordinary blokes. Being a cricket nut, I immediately...
It’s time for a BOGOF on TFT. Today we have two articles in one. The first, by Media Penguin, considers a fan favourite with limited red ball experience. The second, by Jack Mendel, considers a player with more red ball experience than than the whole England T20 team put together. Over to you fellas … Jos Buttler T20 artiste Jos Butter has pencilled in a £200,000 engagement in...
I had an epiphany while watching England’s T20 the other day. I suddenly realised that I didn’t care who won. This might sound blasphemous to many – most hardcore supporters care about every single result – but I couldn’t help how I felt. Normally I care a great deal whether England win or lose, so I tried to analyse my feelings. Why was I so ambivalent? After all...
Essex eh? You either love them or loathe them. There was a time when the Essex mafia dominated English cricket. Names like Gooch, Foster and Pringle were synonymous with the England team. Latterly of course, it’s all been about Andy Flower and Alastair Cook. Just don’t mention the name James Foster, or all those ‘he only plays for England because he plays for Essex’...
India is currently hosting Australia since the 17th of September for a three match T20I series and a five match ODI series that is set to last until the 13th of October. The first match is being played at Chennai, while Nagpur, Bengaluru, Indore, and Kolkata are the other hosting cities for the ODI’s. The main point of this series is certainly the highlighted fact that Gawahati and...
There’s nothing average about averaging over 50 in test cricket. But does Joe Root’s average tell the whole story? Could the skipper be doing more to help his team? New guest writer Adam Kiddie investigates … Long before Joe Root was named England captain earlier this year, discussion around his “conversion rate” was rife amongst commentators. The Yorkshireman, too, was acutely...
The third day at Lord’s really could’ve gone either way. The Windies had a slender lead with seven wickets in the hutch. With better weather in the offing, and Shai Hope still at the crease, they had a real opportunity to post a target of over 200 … something England’s fragile top order wouldn’t have fancied at all. But Jimmy Anderson crushed them. He was simply too...
After beating South Africa earlier this summer, the West Indies series was billed as a mere irrelevance bolted onto the fag end of the fixture list. England were expected to win well. The conversation was supposed to be about the demise of Windies cricket and how Joe Root’s side really needed a sterner test before the winter’s Ashes series. And yet now, after one day of the...
Cricket has changed so much over the years. Bats are different, white balls are prevalent, outfields are smaller, and then there’s the coloured clothing – some of which is so garish it hurts. England even win now and again these days – something that never used to happen when I was knee-high to a James Taylor. One thing that hasn’t changed significantly, however, is the pitches. They might have...
With Tom Westley struggling for runs, England might need a new No.3 in the Ashes this winter. Guest writer Robert Bull has a somewhat leftfield suggestion that actually makes some sense … and it would wind the Aussies up rather nicely. Joe Root will stride out to bat after the fall of England’s second wicket in Brisbane. The debate surrounding Root batting 3 or 4 polarises opinion, but...
The trust and persistence placed in Moeen Ali is how England should approach their top-order conundrum. After a decade of success, the demand for instantaneous results has cut off England’s nose to spite their face. Selection policy has become impatient and short sighted. Alastair Cook has gone through 11 opening partners since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012. And England have tried...
Only hardcore England fans who struggle to appreciate the bigger picture will be mourning today. Yesterday’s dramatic finish at Headingley was good for cricket and brilliant for the West Indies in particular. A week ago I almost wrote a piece discussing whether the Windies should be stripped of their test status. I wasn’t going to advocate doing so but I thought it might be time to at...