CategorySL v Eng 2018

England’s Luck Overseas Finally Turns

The prospect of watching England overseas normally fills one with dread. It’s an exercise in waiting for the wheels to fall off – which normally only takes a wobble or two. This time, however, it was different. And that’s because this England team is different. We might not be the best team in the world, and talk of becoming the best team in the world is a little farfetched, but at least we’re finally a proper team away from home. What I mean by this is that England...

Bairstow’s Brilliance Kicks The Can Down The Road

As someone who once argued that Jonny Bairstow was the second best batsman in the England team, and perhaps the most dominant batsman in county cricket since Graeme Hick, I was beginning to feel a tad silly a week or so ago. England’s batting line-up is notoriously porous, yet poor Jonny couldn’t even make the XI at Kandy. It has been a weird year or so for the ginger nutter. He’d firmly established himself as England’s first choice keeper, played reasonably well in the...

Pats On The Back All Round

Overseas wins for the England cricket team are rare. Two wins in a row is rarer. And series wins are even rarer than sightings of Lord Lucan and Elvis Presley. England have therefore achieved something quite impressive this month. This is the side, remember, that couldn’t even win in Bangladesh two winters ago. Instead they were humiliated by a teenager. The fact this game has been won in spinning conditions is even more impressive. 38 wickets fell to spin at Kandy (a world record) and...

Kandy Man

Roooooooot. I love it when Joe scores runs. It’s entertaining to watch and it gives the whole side a fillip. This innings was particularly important because it has established (potentially) a winning position. It was also made against the turning ball when the rest of the batsmen generally struggled a bit. If Alastair Cook had made these runs it would’ve been held up as a shining example of ‘leading from the front’ and etched into a plaque outside Lord’s...

Day 1 at Kandy

First of all a confession. I wasn’t able to watch much of today’s play because I had a symposium at work. Therefore the following report is a mixture of second hand opinions and guesswork. However, I don’t think it takes a genius to work out what happened. Perhaps I should’ve just cut and paste my review of day 1 at Galle? When England were 134-5 I assumed we were playing exactly the same test match. The top order failed yet again – I don’t know why we even...

Bairstow In? Buttler Up? England’s XI For Kandy

It’s time for a bold statement. It doesn’t particularly matter what specific XI England pick at Kandy nor the order they bat in. We will win the match (weather permitting) and go on to win the series comfortably. And now for the caveat: England will win comfortably unless Sri Lanka improve big time. The problem for the hosts is that I can’t see this happening. They’re in complete disarray. Herath has retired, Chandimal is injured and will miss the rest of the series, and...

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