Go on. Admit it. You watched the first Test between India and Australia and couldn’t resist a smirk. Whereas England have gone from disarray to destructive under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, and actually managed to win in the subcontinent recently, the Aussies looked clueless in their opener against India. They knew what was coming but still couldn’t put up the slightest resistance – despite winning the toss and having the advantage of batting first. Strangely enough, however...
Steve Smith is in red hot form. Last week, the Australian stroked a masterful 200* against the West Indies – dismantling what looked to be a promising young Windies attack to reach the milestone off 311 balls. Smith’s monster knock laid the foundation for a commanding Aussie win. Smith and co are now playing South Africa in a three match Test series. Australia will be looking to end their abysmal run of three home series defeats in a row to the Proteas. Astonishingly, they haven’t won a...
The other day I reached up to the top of my bookshelf and brought down a large yellow book The book was The Essential Wisden, a collection of essays and match reports from 140 years of our game. I did this to remind myself why I love cricket for there has been precious little in the sport lately to love. The Yorkshire racism scandal, Tom Harrison and the ECB board’s massive bonuses, the divisive arguments about the Hundred; these are just a few of the many things...
Good news. The Ashes is going ahead. It took some intense diplomatic wrangling but eventually the England players decided to commit. Even Jos Buttler chose to tour, which shocked me as much as it probably annoyed Ben Foakes. It’s not all good news, however. England’s squad is predictably weak. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that it’s the weakest to leave our shores for Australia since 1994. One could argue that the 2002/03 squad was just as bad but at least they...
“When we come to your town, come on out, support the tour…and let freedom reign”. So said Bruce Springsteen when introducing Chimes of Freedom at a 1988 live performance in Stockholm. He was talking about supporting Amnesty International, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Granted, England’s 2021-2022 Ashes Tour to Australia is not quite the same as a major worldwide charity tour. And yet, the Boss’ famous words strike some similarities with...
Josh Samuel returns with his crystal ball. How is England’s Test team shaping up after the defeat to India? In November 2021, England will head down under for the biggest cricketing event for two and a half years. I’m referring, of course, to the T20 World C … I mean The Ashes. Did I have you going there for a second? Don’t worry, this article hasn’t been penned by Tom Harrison. The Ashes is a much bigger deal for us supporters. So what are our chances? The Aussies retained the urn in...
