I was personally very upset when England dropped / rested Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad for the Test series in the Windies. It was tempting to write a diatribe there and then! However, rather howling into the wind for the umpteenth time this year, I’ve decided to publish this instead. It’s Mark Cohen’s brave defence of Andrew Strauss’s decision. Do you think Mark has a point? The decision to omit Stuart Broad and James Anderson from the three upcoming Test matches in...
I have a confession. Like most of us, I was suckered in by the various predictions and previews in the weeks before Brisbane. Fatalism and optimism seem mutually inclusive for followers of the England cricket team. We know the circumstances are stacked against them these days, but still believe victory can somehow be pulled out of the fire. Why else was the English Cricket’s social media team pumping out the footage of Ben Stokes’ match-winning Headingley...
“When we come to your town, come on out, support the tour…and let freedom reign”. So said Bruce Springsteen when introducing Chimes of Freedom at a 1988 live performance in Stockholm. He was talking about supporting Amnesty International, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Granted, England’s 2021-2022 Ashes Tour to Australia is not quite the same as a major worldwide charity tour. And yet, the Boss’ famous words strike some similarities with...
Today Mark Cohen discusses England’s habit of dropping crucial slip catches. He argues that consistency of personnel is the solution to our cordon woes … The cancellation of the fifth and final test at Old Trafford has robbed England of the opportunity to right a number of wrongs from a second Monday defeat of the summer. Captain Joe Root has often resembled Atlas in shouldering the middle order for much of this summer. England’s failures with the bat may continue to bear the brunt...
To coin a phrase, a week is a long time in cricket. Just tell that to Joe Root. As he did the obligatory post-match media duties on the Headingley outfield on Saturday, with his bowlers having just reduced India from 215-2 to 278 all out, Root probably wondered if events at Lords had taken place in an alternate universe. In that alternate universe, Mohammad Shami played the square cut like Kapil Dev and Ollie Robinson was physically unable to bowl an off stump line. In that alternate universe...
Following my lament earlier in the week, Mark Cohen puts a slightly different spin on England’s current predicament… So Dawid Malan is the latest recall to be called back off the white ball wagon and thrust straight into the test match arena. The announcement of England’s squad for the third test at Headingley brought with it a welcome back for the former Middlesex captain to the international fold, ahead of a likely return to the starting eleven next Wednesday. This has come with...
