Warning. This is a positive post. If you’ve come here to bury Caesar not to praise him, you might be disappointed. I’m astounded. The selectors have picked, man for man, the exact twelve players I would have picked. Indeed, it’s the same squad I picked in the pub last night. I can only assume that Whitaker, Fraser and Newell were hiding behind the curtain hanging off my every word (wink). I don’t want to get too carried away, as they might not pick the same XI I’d field, but the signs are good...
The Chewsday Chew Over
Welcome to a new concept in midweek cricket blogging: it’s the Tuesday Chew Over (pronounced Chewsday in honour of Richie Benaud). It’s up there with the Monday Moan and Wednesday Wipe in the pantheon of obscurity and general irrelevance. Lots has been happening in the cricket world this week, but unfortunately none of it has involved the England team, English players, or even England cricket boards. We’ve all been twiddling our thumbs waiting for the next disaster. Therefore, in a desperate...
On the eve of destruction
We love a bit of melodrama here at TFT. It’s why I couldn’t resist this headline. Deliberately blowing things out of proportion – as if cricket is the only thing that matters – reminds us that it is, after all, only a game. The emotions we’ve felt over the last few weeks – despair, frustration, anger amongst them – are all understandable, but a little silly. Cricket is our hobby; it’s for fun. Our careers and livelihoods aren’t on the line. Nor will anybody die if / when England lose the Ashes...
England Under a Cloud
When was the last time England beat meaningful opposition away from home in the first test of an important series? I can’t remember exactly, but Geoff Boycott was probably in his twenties and Kim Barnett probably had hair. We always, always seem to start series slowly – and I’m afraid I can’t see it being any different in Brisbane this month. Even our triumph in 2010 started badly. Peter Siddle got a hat-trick and we conceded a huge first innings deficit. I can still remember that inane...
TFT Ashes player ratings
Now the dust has settled, and Darren Lehmann has gone home crying, it’s time to reflect on our players’ performance during the Ashes. Who triumphed in the crucial moments, and which players were largely passengers on the good ship HMS 3-0. We’ll try to be as fair as possible here – utilising statistics when necessary, but also looking behind the statistics too. Let us know if you agree or disagree. All Ashes player ratings are scores out of 10. Alastair Cook 4 – It’s almost blasphemous to...
Clucking Bell – day one at Lord’s
England 289-7. Stumps. I have a conundrum for you: if England have so many world class batsmen, why can’t they put decent first innings totals on the board? This has been a big problem for a while now; it stretches back to last summer. Perhaps it’s because Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Bell and Prior are unlucky? Or maybe they simple aren’t as good – and by good I mean consistent and ruthless – as everyone thinks they are. When was the last the big guns fired at the same time? Yesterday was an...
