The great Richie Benaud once said that you shouldn’t expect anything from debutants. Pah! What did the doyen of cricket, and one of the best cricketing minds in history, know about the game eh? Unfortunately England were derailed by an absolutely brilliant debutant today. His name? Stephen Cook. The son of Jimmy Cook, the great Somerset opener who played three tests for South Africa immediately their readmission. I remember him well. He would’ve played a hell of a lot more international...
Glory – Day 3 in Joburg
I’m not sure what to say. That was quite stunning. If someone had told me at 8am this morning that England would win this game by seven wickets sometime after tea I would’ve laughed. Yet that’s exactly what happened. The Cricket Boks were steamrolled and humiliated. Don’t you feel sorry for them? Didn’t think so. Today was one of those days that happens infrequently in English cricket: we won a series away from home, against an old foe, with style and swagger. Yes...
Storming Test Cricket – Day 2 at Joburg
Today was a throwback to the good old days – an age when test cricket was actually a test. So many games meander along at a snail’s pace these days, with batsmen cashing in on slow, lifeless decks. Who’d be a bowler, eh? Who’d be a spectator either? In the UAE and at Cape Town, you could confidently leave your seat for half an hour without worrying you’d miss something vital. This test match has been different. For starters we’ve got a pitch with something for everyone. Secondly...
Frustration, Joy, Frustration – Day One in Joburg
Now that was test cricket as it’s meant to be: a pitch with something for everyone and a day of oscillating fortunes. This is shaping up to be very watchable test indeed. Unlike Newlands. The first session was annoying to say the least. England just didn’t bowl well. Our line wasn’t quite right and we bowled a little too short as well – a throwback to the final days of David Saker’s coaching stint. Thankfully we regrouped at lunch. Otis had a word in a few ears and our fortunes transformed...
Typical England – Day Five at Newlands
Blogging about cricket is more difficult than you might think. We’ve got to differentiate ourselves from the mainstream journos. One way to do that is to write purely from the heart. Let all those familiar emotions – the hopes, fears, blind optimism and excessive pessimism – run rampant. Nobody comes to sports blogs to read comparatively bland copy that strives for professional objectivity. It’s the visceral nature of blogs, with their strong opinions and heart-on-their-sleeve...
Records Tumble, And Become Almost Meaningless – Day 4 at Newlands
This test will go into the history books. Ben Stokes scored the fastest test 250 ever, and this afternoon Temba Bavuma became the first black South African to score a test century. Excuse me if I don’t spontaneously combust in excitement. I don’t want to pass water on anyone’s parade here. Stokes batted incredibly well, and nobody can deny the brilliant political significance of Bavuma’s attractive innings – I hope he, and other black South Africans, score many more test hundreds – but big runs...
