It’s pouring with rain at Trent Bridge, so here’s some light-hearted fun from new writer Peter Drake to while away the hours. In an era when sledging and the more sinister ‘mental disintegration’ are regrettably part of the professional game, it’s worth noting that there are many more original and inventive ways in which the performance of a player, and hence the outcome of the game, can be influenced without the need to law breaking. As a strictly amateur player...
Author Rob Harris has kindly provided this extract from his new book ‘Won’t You Dance For Virat Kohli?’ I really enjoyed it so thought I’d share it here. Enjoy. Eric Hollies bowled fast leg spin for Warwickshire for 25 years and took over 2,000 wickets. However, his name lives on not because people remember his bowling, but because the stand bearing his name has become an infamous bear pit where opponents fear to tread and livers scream for mercy. Anyone who thinks...
It was a dark, rainy night, and Sir Edward Smith was in bed. His eyes were seemingly closed and everyone else in the mansion was asleep. But when a silent notification arrived, and his phone vibrated a centimetre to the right, he quietly got up from his place. He hadn’t truly been sleeping, after all. You’ve always got to keep an eye open for new talent—or for criticism about your existing selections. He looked to his right. His partner hadn’t been disturbed. This was a relief—not because he...
The ECB has recently drawn ire for suggesting changes to essential cricketing terminology in The Hundred. As a (satirical) spokesperson for the organisation, TFT’s Abhijato Sensarma was drafted in to defend their decision-making. Let me begin by saying … I don’t get it. “Wickets” isn’t that hard to pronounce. Sure, it’s no “over”, but neither is it the tongue-twister our misguided focus groups are making it out to be. But then, most of the criticism about this matter has been coming from...
Today Srinivas returns with this look at some cricket’s of most unusual and memorable names. Billy Birmingham really didn’t have to look far for inspiration! Feel free to add your personal favourites in the comments … When I was a schoolboy in the 1990s, the following question was often asked in sports quizzes: which cricketer has the longest name? The answer to the question, of course, was Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Usantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas, abbreviated rather...
By Our Nepotism Columnist, Steve Jobsfortheboys AHMEDEBAD, INDIA – England captain Joe Root assured reporters that he retained full faith in his best mate Jonny Bairstow ahead of the Fourth Test against India, as “he may have made two ducks in t’book, but he racked up back-to-back tons in my heart.” Bairstow, who is apparently a cricketer as well as Root’s bestest buddy since they came through the youth system together at Yorkshire, endured a torrid time in the day-night test. Having been...
