AuthorJames Morgan

Sometimes I don’t understand Andrew Strauss. He was conservatism personified as England captain. And yet, since becoming an administrator, he’s turned into Mr Funky. We’ve had his irrational support for The Hundred, his decision to prioritise white ball over red ball (even though he was more of a red ball player), and now he’s appointed a high-risk / high reward candidate who everyone thought was a better fit for the white ball role, as England Test coach. What’s more, in doing so, he eschewed...

So England have got their new MD and captain. They’re Rob Key and Ben Stokes. Were they ideal candidates? Nope. But are they upgrades on Ashley Giles and Joe Root? Possibly. First let’s talk about Key. As mentioned before, Key was the perfect appointment for the ECB from a political perspective. He’s pro-Sky (enormous tick), pro-Hundred (gigantic tick), he’ll be seen as quite a fresh and progressive choice (significant tick), and he’s most definitely Mr Affable (essential tick). I mean, how can...

And there was me, all smug, thinking that I could put my computer to one side and enjoy the bank holiday without writing any copy. And then Root suddenly decides to resign. Thanks for that, Joe.  To be honest, though, I guess we should have seen this one coming. Root’s position, in hindsight, was probably untenable. We’ve won, what, about one of the last seventeen Tests? That’s a pitiful record really. Joe was probably too embarrassed to carry on. The big question, of course, is how much...

England’s Test match cricket team have been finding it difficult to pull up trees of late. One particular Root, that of the Joe variety, continues to aid rather than hinder the collective cause, but even he’s not immune to criticism anymore. If Joe was merely at batsman, then he’d probably be the only man in the current XI that enjoys universal approval. He is, after all, fourth in the ICC’s Test batting rankings and the only specialist batsman in the side that the opposition actually...

Hear that horrible grinding noise in the background? It’s the sound of England supporters collectively gnashing their teeth as we digest yet another predictable red ball debacle in the Caribbean. We all warned it would happen when the ECB started to neglect the county championship a few years ago. And here we are with our worst Test team in living memory. However, it’s not all bad news. It’s not like we’ve suddenly become inept at cricket per se. In fact, England’s white ball cricket is...

There’s no good time to get Covid. But if you are going to get it – and I think that’s pretty much inevitable unless you plan on living in a bunker forever – make sure there’s a Test match on. I tested positive on Monday last week, panicked for a minute (mainly because the idea of isolating in one room for ages made me feel claustrophobic), and then breathed a sigh of relief when I remembered that the second Test was about to start. Five days in confinement didn’t seem so solitary...