We’re a broad church at TFT, so it’s only fair we give counter-arguments a chance. So after all that criticism of The Hundred, here’s Alex with a more positive spin. Has he got a point? Be gentle folks. “Loathing, Unadulterated loathing, For your face, Your voice, Your clothing, Let’s just say: I loath it all! Every little trait, however small, Makes my very flesh begin to crawl …” – Wicked If there’s anything English cricket fans loath more than...
The Gray Nicolls Wonder XI
The Powerspots….The Scoops…..the Dynadrives…The Elites…..Gray-Nicolls bats made everyone at schools across the country drool. They still came from the same willow as their rivals, but they looked a whole lot better. Anyway, so I, Alex Ferguson – who had his best-ever season slogging a GN Elite before it was broken by a schoolmate who nicked it for a match – have compiled my top all-time Gray-Nicolls XI. For the record, we could have easily opened up with Atherton-Cook, but we went with...
Cheer Up Misery Guts
Some might call TFT and its readers pessimists. And to be fair they’re probably right. There’s been a lot to grumble about in recent years, from the ECB’s marginalisation of the championship to their irritating and elitist tendency to hire yes men or men cut from a certain kind of cloth (you know what I mean) to top off-field jobs. This makes me a tad cantankerous. And because I’m in a bad mood generally I have a habit of looking at events through a somewhat cynical lens...
Goodbye Keaton Jennings. It Was Nice Knowing You.
You’re a great close catcher. You’re always smiling. I’ve seen you take selfies with kids on the boundary at The Oval, and even get a 50 for Lancashire at Finals Day. And yes, I think you look like Hollywood actor Matthew Lillard (see ‘Scream’ for details). But my God, you’ve been the most frustrating opening batsman to watch. The problem is not that you’ve looked terrible at the crease. Often you haven’t. It’s just been the terrible decisions – over and over again – that have walked you...
Best-Ever Combined England Vs West Indies XI
I know what you’re thinking. It would be easier for us to simply put the great West Indies team of the 70s and 80s into the best-ever England vs West Indies combined XI. But we’re trying to find some semblance of balance here. Before I get stuck in I should make it clear that this is an XI comprised of players who did brilliantly in England v Windies fixtures rather than all test matches against all opposition. It’s like one of those post-series combined XIs but for all time. So...
The Best & Worst Of 2018
Here’s Alex with his best and worst moments of 2018. He was better qualified than me to write this piece as my answers invariably involve the words ‘bah’ and ‘humbug’. Do you agree with his choices? MOMENT OF THE YEAR: Alastair Cook’s Last 100: This writer was at The Oval , joining tens of thousands on their feet, clapping and cheering as ‘Chef’ made his final hundred in his final Test inning. It was a moment when cricket was part of the national conversation...
