If we were to estimate the number of newspaper column inches devoted to selection over the years, the accumulated distance would likely be enough to circle the equator of Jupiter several times and we’d still have enough left for a thinly-veiled dig at the foibles of every selection supremo the ECB have thrown at us. Selection, it seems, is an inexact science, at the whims of form, fitness, funkiness, flakiness, flunkies and whatever the f*** they were smoking at the time. I started...
TFT Exclusive: Leaked ECB Multimedia Strategy Document
Thanks to Colin Graves at the ECB strategically leaking it good journalism, I recently found a document outlining some covert ECB strategies to make the sure-fire success that is The Hundred™ even more of a sure-fire success. It was a groundbreaking plan to attract crowds of people with no interest in cricket to come and watch cricket whilst driving away those annoying die-hard Cricket Fans With Actual Standards. As many know the likes of current England Superstars™ Joe Root™, Ben Stokes™, Jos...
Selection Matters
Today we have a guest post from Gareth Fitzgerald. You won’t be surprised to learn that I’m quite sympathetic to his views. It’s a relief to know that I’m not howling into the wind alone … Last November Rob Smyth from the Guardian wrote a piece lauding the selection merits of Ed Smith. Paul Newman, the Daily Mail’s cricket writer had written a puff piece on Ed’s “left-field” approach two months earlier. Nasser Hussain in the same rag had similarly espoused Smith’s...
The Verdict On Sky’s ‘The Debate’
I’ve received some great rants from guest writers in recent weeks and this one’s a cracker. Gareth Fitzgerald, take a bow. What is there left to say about Sky Sports and their end-of-day discussion show? Anything remotely positive, the churlish might offer. As one who has steadfastly refused to suckle from Sky’s puffy teats for the duration of my adult cricketing fandom, it’s a somewhat mixed blessing that The Evil Empire, in their infinite wisdom, chose to make this (and the now...
