When England were knocked out of the European Championships on penalties last year, most people blamed the manager – failing to realise, of course, that most England mangers since 1966 have been sacked after failing miserably. Were they all rubbish? Largely overlooked was the fact that Gerrard and Parker, the only two central midfielders left standing, were running on empty after a gruelling domestic season in which they, unlike players from rival nations, didn’t get a mid-season break. Was it...
The inevitable delayed – day four from Perth
Australia 385 & 369-6 dec. England 250 & 251-5 stumps. As England fans we can’t win when we’re in the doldrums. Had we been bundled out for 47, like this Australian team in the recent past, we would’ve bemoaned our lack of fight and guts. Now that Bell and Stokes have shown a bit of resistance, we’re going to agonise over what could have been. For the first time, England’s middle-order showed that this Australian attack might be a very good one, but it’s essentially the same attack that...
Hammered – 2nd ODI from Old Trafford
If every match in the 2015 Ashes is played in Manchester, the Aussies might stand a chance. They love Old Trafford – especially Michael Clarke. After dominating England in the third test match a few weeks ago, they clobbered us again yesterday. It’s hard to know what to say really, other than “where was the bloody rain this time?” One of the problems cricket bloggers face is finding new things to say – especially when the team keeps making the same mistakes. I could talk about Josh Buttler’s...
The cracks continue to widen – day two in Durham
There are two ways to write a cricket blog. The first is to sleep on things, compose oneself, then write in a dispassionate objective manner; the other is to sod all that and write when you’re still caught up in the emotion; to write what you’re really feeling at the time. Because you’ll read plenty of level headed stuff in the newspapers, and you probably don’t read cricket blogs for their impartiality and their caution, I’m going to go for the latter option. Why hold back when I’m...
The Big Bluff? Third Test Preview
Andy Flower is no longer Andy Flower. He’s Agent Flower; working on Her Majesty’s very secretive service. Ever since the Lord’s test finished, England have been playing mind-games with the Aussies. What will the Old Trafford pitch be like? Will it be as dry as Richie Benaud’s favourite muscadet? Will England play two spinners? As a result, Michael Clarke’s canary yellows seem to be desperate to play two spinners themselves – even though we keep hearing that their strength is fast bowling. How...
Job done – day five at Headingley
Andy Flower’s deadpan persona is great at making the media look stupid – even its most cerebral members. When Mike Atherton interviewed our team director after we wrapped up the win yesterday, he asked him whether his team had squandered an advantage by not enforcing the follow on. Flower looked quizzically at Atherton – a bemused look which certainly contained more than a smidgeon of distain – and scowled “well, I don’t know what advantage you’re talking about … we won the game”. It’s...
