Here’s Billy Crawford with his thoughts on Jofra’s summer … This season was undoubtedly the summer of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. The two old stagers raged against the dying of the light and occasionally against journalists on Twitter. For another bowler, however, it has been a rather different summer. Last year Jofra Archer was the great hope of English cricket. Against Australia at Lord’s he had produced the most terrifying spell of fast bowling seen in an Ashes contest...
Glorious Guildford
Today Billy Crawford talks about his favourite county cricket outground. What’s yours? There are few pleasures in life quite like a day spent at a county outground. I am sure you all have a favourite one. Perhaps it is the picturesque surroundings of the Cheltenham Festival or historic Scarborough where the history of Yorkshire cricket drips from every blade of grass. Mine has always been the Guildford Cricket Club, where Surrey have played most seasons since 1938. From the outside the...
Welcome Back
Live cricket will finally return to our TV screens tomorrow (if the weather behaves). How we’ve all missed it. Billy Crawford is here to celebrate the belated start of the English summer … This week marks the long awaited return of competitive cricket to our televisions and radios. It may seem trivial in these difficult times but, after the challenges of the last few months, it will provide a welcome relief for many of us. As Gary Lineker said upon the resumption of Premier League...
Men Of The Moment Volume 2 – Mike Atherton, 2001
Today Billy Crawford returns with the second instalment of his ‘Men Of The Moment’ series. The first put Nasser Hussain in the spotlight for the way he transformed England’s fortunes in 1999/2000. Next up is the heroic Mike Atherton, who won the last of his 115 England caps in 2001. Here’s Billy’s article entitled ‘Mike Atherton: Out Of Time’ … It ended in a familiar way at the end of the 2001 summer. A thick edge to the slips, dismissed by his...
Men Of The Moment Volume 1 – Nasser Hussain
Today we kick off a new series of articles by Billy Crawford. Over the next few weeks, while we wait to see when cricket can resume, Billy will be writing a series of pen portraits of the players who have defined each cricketing summer since since he first fell in love with the game back in 1999. The first one focuses on Nasser Hussain. Enjoy and stay safe. From Billy and James. English cricket was at its lowest ebb in the Summer of 1999. Not only had the side crashed out of their own World...
Andy Caddick – A Man Apart
Today we welcome back Billy Crawford who profiles one of England’s best pace bowlers of recent times. Do you think that Andy Caddick was somewhat unappreciated? There are many players from English cricket’s rich history who are still remembered with love and affection many years after their retirement. Men such as Phil Tufnell ensure their memories live on through amusing anecdotes, books and reality TV appearances, whilst many others, such as Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton, migrate to...
