It’s the second test of a five match series, and it’s already a game too far for England’s bowlers. It doesn’t bode well. Despite being presented with a perfect pitch for seam bowling – ‘swamp green’ would be my description – our jaded pacemen laboured like lumbering lamas and totally fluffed their lines. Broad and Plunkett were particularly woeful. The fact that Moeen Ali was the most reliable bowler (a spinner, on a green-top) says it all. When we arrived at Lord’s it was tricky...
Another Kick in the Goolies – Day Two at Trent Bridge
Another day, another kick in the teeth for our beleaguered captain. Things could not have gone much worse for Cook yesterday. First, India’s last wicket pair humiliated the hosts with a century stand (thus wiping out the promising position England had established immediately after lunch) and then he failed with the bat yet again – this time bowled behind his legs after getting too far across. Cricket can be unbelievably cruel sometimes. In trying to improve his offside game, and better judge...
Captain Cook’s Diary – Part One
The walls seem to close in on us. How long we’ve been down here I could not say. Time holds no meaning. Our orders from General Clarke are clear. We are to advance on the enemy at 1100 hours. The atmosphere is cloying, the claustrophobia almost unbearable. Tick tock. Tick tock. I’m aware that my sense of foreboding is shared by the older men, though they would not admit it. I look across at Mr Anderson. His expression has been unchanged since the battle of Headingley. The eyes are glassy and...
The Cult of Alastair Cook
I feel sorry for Alastair Cook. It’s no secret that the English media, and certain fans, love to build someone up and then knock them down. We see it in other sports all the time. You’re either brilliant – a world class hero, a pin-up boy, a genius or an all time great – or you’re a waste of space, a steaming pile of donkey manure or even worse, Luis ‘the biter’ Suarez. But what makes Cook a unique case is that his employers have built him up as much as anyone. In order to justify...
The Three Stooges – A Headingley Autopsy
It’s tempting to just blame Cook. He’s an easy target. Few people seem to like him. He’s going through another one of his batting malaises (they’ve happened before and they’ll happen again) and his captaincy yesterday was lamentable. However, let’s not forget that Cook’s captaincy is simply a product of the Andy Flower era. Under Flower’s iron fist, England became utterly dependent on stats and pre-determined methodologies. Plans were determined before games and Flower’s captains stuck...
A tale of two openers – day two at Leeds
When England’s openers strode to the crease yesterday, one was a fresh faced youngster with just one test under his belt (in which he looked unconvincing), and the other was a seasoned test player with more hundreds under his belt than any other England player in history. People who had never watched a cricket match before would have assumed that Alastair Cook was the former, not the latter. Cook’s dismissal was so predictable it was painful. He should have been given out on Friday evening...
