Playing ODIs at the end of test series is a bit like having foreplay after sex. Just as you’re ready to go to sleep after the main event, you’ve got some fiddly business to attend to. ODIs were so much more satisfying when they served as the warm-up to the test series. Heaven knows why they swapped them around. However, while the prospect of an ODI series in the UAE is usually about as thrilling as a post coital trip to the local STD clinic (or so I hear), I’m actually looking forward to these...
That Was the Tour That Was
And a very warm welcome to my first guest post for Eat My Sports! Thanks for dropping by. It’s quite an interesting experience, actually – returning to the backbenches after so many years at the despatch box on The Full Toss. Once lord of the manor, I am now a mere footman. Thankfully, James has allowed me in through the servants’ entrance with a delivery of miscellaneous thoughts about the Pakistan v England series. The close series that, er, wasn’t FICJAM, commenting...
Hope in Despair? Day Five at Sharjah
Well, we all knew it was coming. Most of us knew it was coming from the moment the tour was announced. England just weren’t good enough. There’s no point sugar coating it. The saving grace, however, is that few teams are good enough to compete with Pakistan in the UAE. Losing to this opposition, in these conditions, is no disgrace. Pakistan duly wrapped up their series win this morning in emphatic fashion. Only Alastair Cook, and for a short time Adil Rashid, offered any resistance. Our middle...
Up the Creek – Day Four in Sharjah
A game that promised so much now looks to be slipping away. Try as we might, the paucity of English spin bowling and our batsmen’s inability to play the turning ball has been our Achilles heel. I suppose it was inevitable really. We needed early wickets to compete on day four but they never arrived. Jimmy made one early breakthrough but we needed three or four. Broad also bowled well but our admirable seamers needed some support. The spinners just haven’t delivered. I don’t even know who our...
Sharjah Binks – Day Three in Sharjah
Scrap yesterday’s report. Today didn’t follow the script. Perhaps we should have known. Pakistan played brilliantly today and probably have their noses in front at the end of day three. What a shame. I really thought a lead of 120ish was possible. Taylor and Bairstow had looked so good on Monday. But all our optimism was wiped away by a flurry of wickets this morning. It was like watching Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace all over again. Painful. Normally I’m the first person to criticise...
The Mighty Atom – Day Two in Sharjah
You know what? We might actually win this test. We’re in a great position: just twelve runs behind with six wickets in hand. I don’t think many people expected us to compete so well at Sharjah. The really pleasing thing is that different batsmen have finally stood up to the plate. It wasn’t Root or even Cook that got us into this position (although the latter took the shine off the new ball) it was a relative newbie: James William Arthur Taylor. Even Jonny Bairstow batted well and made a good...
