I’ve often been accused of being a miserable, pessimistic, not to mention cantankerous, old git on this blog. And justifiably too. Therefore, I’m going to give an optimistic appraisal of the match situation today. They say a change is as good as a rest and all that. Basically, I think England were let off the hook somewhat yesterday. Or rather they got themselves off the hook. At one point the Windies were 267-5 (a lead of 63) and we were looking down the barrel of a massive deficit...
Holder Shows Us Who’s No.1
This game was supposed to be the Ben Stokes show. He is the world’s leading all-rounder after all. But is he? We’re all forgetting the bloke who’s actually the world’s best all-rounder according to the rankings. His name? Jason Holder. It’s easy to see why Stokes gets all the attention. He rises to the big occasion and he’s an extremely aggressive cricketer who makes things happen. What’s more, he plays for one of the ‘big three’ wealthy...
Little Cricket, And Just A Hint Of Swing, At The Ageas Bowl
The bloody English weather. It’s about as reliable as Del Trotter’s Robin Reliant. We’ve had no cricket for months, everyone’s aching for some live action, but the overhead conditions just wouldn’t comply. I guess we should’ve known. What a shame that day one at the Ageas Bowl was curtailed by rain and then bad light. I was looking forward to writing a traditional TFT daily report but the lack of meaningful action has scuppered my plans. However, at least...
Welcome Back
Live cricket will finally return to our TV screens tomorrow (if the weather behaves). How we’ve all missed it. Billy Crawford is here to celebrate the belated start of the English summer … This week marks the long awaited return of competitive cricket to our televisions and radios. It may seem trivial in these difficult times but, after the challenges of the last few months, it will provide a welcome relief for many of us. As Gary Lineker said upon the resumption of Premier League...
England Favourites … But We’ve Been Here Before
Series against the West Indies used to be entirely predictable. Viv Richards, Malcolm Marshall and Co turned up, rolled us over, tickled our tummies, and walked away with a comprehensive victory. Series sometimes finished 5-0. Glenn McGrath would’ve approved. However, things began to change in the 1990s. After losing 5-0 in 1984, 5-0 in 1985/86, and then 4-0 in 1988 (there must have been a bit of rain around in that one), England suddenly started to get competitive. We surprised Sir Viv’s men...
Jos Buttler Still In Vogue, Naturally
I don’t care much for high fashion. People who wear trendy stuff look like try hards. They’re suckers too. Why invest in something (and pay over the odds) just because it boasts a certain label and fits a fad? Call me old fashioned but I measure true value on whether something does its job well enough and how long it lasts. I might be a boring traditionalist – I’m not exactly Prada and Armani’s target audience – but I use the same criteria when judging...
