It’s all looking rather promising eh. England quite often start overseas tours at a slug’s pace (apparently they’re slower than snails). But this time we’ve started in the perfect fashion – thanks to a couple of our middle-order dashers. Seeing Ben Stokes return to the side and score an imperious 158 at almost a run a ball warms the cockles. He’s becoming a bit of a streaky batsman. When everything clicks, he’s unstoppable. I think we can safely say that the lad has regained something close to...
South Africa v England: Battle of the Middleweights
So England have arrived in South Africa – a nation of biltong, wildlife, beautiful scenery, guns, macho men, and foreigners spouting generalised clichés. South Africa is also home to the world’s best test team – or so we’re repeatedly told. Most of us realise this is a bit of a fib though. The Proteas might be ranked number one (by a whisker) but there’s no dominant team in test cricket right now. The world is awash with teams in transition – teams with some strengths but also glaring...
