It was a dark, rainy night, and Sir Edward Smith was in bed. His eyes were seemingly closed and everyone else in the mansion was asleep. But when a silent notification arrived, and his phone vibrated a centimetre to the right, he quietly got up from his place. He hadn’t truly been sleeping, after all. You’ve always got to keep an eye open for new talent—or for criticism about your existing selections. He looked to his right. His partner hadn’t been disturbed. This was a relief—not because he...
The ECB has recently drawn ire for suggesting changes to essential cricketing terminology in The Hundred. As a (satirical) spokesperson for the organisation, TFT’s Abhijato Sensarma was drafted in to defend their decision-making. Let me begin by saying … I don’t get it. “Wickets” isn’t that hard to pronounce. Sure, it’s no “over”, but neither is it the tongue-twister our misguided focus groups are making it out to be. But then, most of the criticism about this matter has been coming from...
Yesterday’s decisive ODI might have ended in defeat, but at least it was an entertaining contest. A 2-3 defeat in India isn’t a bad result considering that Root, Morgan and Archer were missing. However, it’s a bit alarming that we squandered so many excellent starts. What’s going on? Here’s Abhijato with a tongue in cheek perspective … The England white-ball team might have come away empty-handed from both the series they played in India, but their approach...
England’s loss in the first ODI was the latest by-product of England’s approach to playing this format of the game. All-out attack needs to be persisted with, Morgan reasoned, even in the face of reason. This approach almost took them out of World Cup contention in the group stage. But they ended up winning the tournament playing with the same approach anyway. Morgan’s men must be on to something. But there is one qualm to be had with him, which he cannot truly do anything about at the moment...
What’s the toughest job in cricket? BattingBowlingFieldingBeing Moeen Ali The answer’s none of the above. Well, at least until the team management puts in a request for Moeen Ali to become a professional umpire as well. Because if Thursday’s 4th T20I had anything to teach us, it was that only the most desperate apply for an umpiring gig. Even trying to extract spin out of English surfaces in the middle of April is an easier task than trying to make peace with dubious replays. The latter’s...
Us Indians are infatuated with pace. It’s just not about the cricket either. We’re always looking for ways to get done with things done without breaking a sweat—a task even tougher to accomplish when you factor in the humidity of the subcontinent. But it suits us better when the going gets slow. The country’s bureaucracy has a fascination for delaying proceedings. It’s not always about corruption or incompetence either. It’s a reflection of our ethos. If cricket’s a reflection of society, then...
