What can you say when you’ve just been flayed to all parts by a No.8 and No.7 batsman? Two guys who barely average 30 in test cricket. Sure they’re good players - most cricketers are talented at test level - but this wasn’t Adam Gilchrist destroying our ‘attack’. It was the captain [...]
We've got two different views on yesterday's action for you today. I'll go first and then Alex, the eternal optimist, will have his say ... 77 all out. Sigh. What a stinking pile of donkey crap. If I was James Anderson I'd tell the batsmen to do one and get on the [...]
He's pretty good, isn't he. Jimmy Anderson, England's best cricketer for years, proved once again that age is no barrier in professional cricket. I would say it's no barrier in life in general, but judging by the way my hangovers seem to get worse and worse every year, I think that would [...]
England's test series against the Windies starts on Wednesday, so it's time to invoke the spirit of Tony Greig and Colin Graves by making some ill thought through predictions. Surely we can't lose to this 'mediocre' lot? Let's make them, erm, wobble. However, although over-confidence has proved England's demise in the Caribbean [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]