England’s test series against the Windies starts on Wednesday, so it’s time to invoke the spirit of Tony Greig and Colin Graves by making some ill thought through predictions. Surely we can’t lose to this ‘mediocre’ lot? Let’s make them, erm, wobble. However, although over-confidence has proved England’s demise in the Caribbean before – don’t forgot we’ve only ever beaten the Windies away from home once in recent times –...
It’s time to “come together” for the greater good. It’s time to rally behind a plan – the only plan on the table. Sounds like Theresa May’s Brexit pitch doesn’t it? But actually this was pretty much the message conveyed by the gruesome twosome, Tom Harrison and Colin Graves, as the ECB launched their strategy document for 2020 to 2024 on Monday. So what exactly is their plan? It’s not unlike the Maybot’s strategy really. Talk everything up but leave the detail to later. Much later. Now...
Happy new year everyone. Sorry about the delay between articles. I’ve just had my first extended break in nine years of editing (and co-editing) The Full Toss. Where have I been? Skiing in The Alps. Was it any good? No not really. I have all the balance of Channel 9’s commentary team. Throw in the inherent anxiety of a diehard England cricket supporter (the fear that disaster lurks around every corner) and I was less Eddie The Eagle and more Bambi on ice. Basically I spent the whole...
Progress. I guess that’s the word people will use to describe 2018. Our ODI team continues to blossom, and our test team has finally shown signs of life too. The year started badly with a 0-4 drubbing in Australia, and an unsatisfying 1-1 draw at home to Pakistan. However, things improved thereafter with an enthralling 4-1 win over India (although the series was closer than the score suggests), and a somewhat surreal but surely significant 3-0 win in Sri Lanka. There’s just one...
What’s the difference between being a cricket blogger and a member of the mainstream cricket media? I could mention the salary, and the long months spent away from home covering the team, but what really sets us apart is the ability to write from the heart. Bloggers can write polemics. Bloggers can write what they want without worrying about editors or employers. And that’s their USP. If they don’t write with complete honesty then their subscribers would have no reason to read...
Ashley Giles won’t be a bad Director of English Cricket. He’s competent. He’s a good bloke. He’s a safe pair of hands. But I doubt he’ll be an excellent appointment either. Words like ‘competent’ and ‘safe’ could easily be replaced by ‘conservative’ and ‘unimaginative’. However, I’d like to chose a completely different word to describe Ashley Giles’s appointment. And that word is ‘predictable’...
