On December 23rd, the IPL mini auction will be held in Kochi. Squads will be finalised for the 16th Indian Premier League, before the world’s highest-profile T20 competition kicks off in May. The usual English faces will be there. Jos Buttler will hope to replicate his record-breaking form from last year’s competition, blasting four centuries to be crowned ‘Player of the Tournament’. World cup hero Ben Stokes is also back and expected to fetch the big bucks on his return to India after last...
The All-Rounders In High Demand
Cricket never stops. More specifically, T20 cricket never stops. Barely a month after England’s monumental T20 World Cup win, the Indian Premier League auction will be here. Taking place on the 23rd of December, the auction will finalise the squads for the 2023 IPL. The franchises will nominate players to add to their homegrown talent and already retained players like Jofra Archer, who was bought by the Mumbai Indians last season. Founded in only 2021, the Gujarat Titans claimed victory...
The reverse sweep – a shot that changed cricket
In 1964, Pakistan all-rounder Mustaq Mohammed changed the course of cricketing history. Playing in a club match for Rotherham’s Cavaliers, Mustaq faced up to the esteemed Fred Titmus. The England and Middlesex off-spinner was bowling neatly to a tight field. Out of scoring options, Mushtaq eyed the only gap – third man. “My shot was premeditated, but it connected and went for four,” he told the Indian Express. Bewildered, Truman appealed. “Poor old Freddie. He went wild and pulled...
Ali Orr. Future England Star.
The England men’s Test team has a problem. Well, it has several: a gallery of injured bowlers, an inconsistent middle order and the ever-looming prospect of a pace attack without James Anderson. Just to name a few. Yet one issue stands out among the rest, a conundrum so taxing that it’s had selectors scratching their heads for more than a decade. Who should open the batting. More accurately, who can open the batting. The selectors have looked far and wide in search of a sturdy...
Can Ben Foakes become the world’s premier keeper?
England have just announced their squad for the Test series in Pakistan. There were a few surprises – Livingston hasn’t played a single 1st class game in 2022 – but something that’s gone slightly under the radar is the fact that they’ve only picked one keeper: a certain Ben Foakes. We’d better hope that he stays fit! This shows, of course, that Foakes is finally England’s undisputed first choice stumper. But can he take the next step and become the...
The Case for Keaton Jennings
Today we welcome new writer Will Symonds to TFT. He argues that it’s time to give Keaton Jennings another crack at the top of the order. They say that England need two new openers. Well, did you know that the two leading runs scorers in div 1 of the championship this year were both openers? One was Ben Compton and the other was… you guessed it. The eighth of December 2016. Blistering Mumbai heat scorches down upon the Wankhede stadium, roasting players and spectators alike. A loyal...