Unlike the farce going on in Melbourne, this is turning into a spicy meatball of a test match. England probably have their noses in front, especially as the Cricket Boks will have to bat last. The locals reckon this pitch is drying out and could get a little uneven on days four and five. We might even see some turn for Mo. It was a day of mixed emotions for England supporters: relief, frustration, joy and anger. Relief because 303 was a good total after being reduced to 49-3; frustration...
The Beard to be Revered – Day 5 at the Ageas
Bloody fantastic! It feels great to write about something positive for a change. The team has been heavily criticised over the last few months, and rightly so, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with the performance at the Ageas Bowl. It was the perfect team effort. Congratulations all round. It’s important not to go over the top – we all know this side is capable of mindless cricket as well as the inspired variety – but let’s just enjoy this victory without worrying too much about the...
Everything’s Gone Green – Day One at Lord’s
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...
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...
The Friday Roundup
The big bit of breaking news is that Bresnan’s back is bust (is that a record for the number of ‘B’s in an opening sentence?). Poor Bressie lad suffered a stress facture after the Durham Test. We cannot either confirm on deny the fictional rumour that he hurt himself piggybacking Stuart Broad across the outfield after consuming several schooners of Drambuie in the post-match celebrations. His most likely replacement at The Oval is Chris Tremlett, who obviously plays his county cricket south of...
Settee: The Search For Extratesttrivial Irreverence. part four of five
Pre 4th Test, the big shock for me was not the selection of Tickly Tummy Jackson Bird over Scattergun Roadrunner Mitchell Starc. No, I was more surprised when Ten-Nil Botham’s pitch-side blah blah was notpunctuated by showers of lead-shot, wrapped in tear-sodden betting slips. Sky Ashes lead-ups also include Master Class insights which are invaluable to dozy barstanders like myself. The contribution from recently house-trained Kevin Pietersen was a lot more thoughtful and hygienic than...
