There’s not a lot happening at the moment as we wait for the start of the county season. In the meantime, we’re going to bring you a couple of pieces discussing the big names in the game. Today, Sulaiman talks about one of his favourite players, AB de Villiers. And tomorrow, Will has something for you on Virat Kohli and his long-overdue return to form. With the Indian Premier League due to commence in the near future, I thought it fit to write about one of the finest cricketers we...
Today, Jack Surtees dives deep into the numbers to settle an age-old pub debate. Feel free to express your thoughts in the comments section and suggest any other statistical angles that might be interesting… It’s the eternal debate. One defined by contentious, subjective, impossible-to-answer issues such as cod vs haddock, ketchup vs gravy and the correct term for the little chunks of batter that fall off a fried fish – ‘batter bits’, ‘scraps’ or something...
When Rehan Ahmed was selected for the 3rd test against Pakistan in December, he became England’s youngest ever Test cricketer. At 18 years and 126 days, he beat the record set by Brian Close in 1949. It’s difficult to imagine any sporting record lasting for 73 years, but shows how cautious England have been in blooding youngsters. Test nations on the Indian subcontinent regularly cap teenagers. Ahmed took 5-50, the youngest test debutant to achieve a five wicket haul. It strengthens the adage...
England’s white ball teams now have a battery of left arm seamers, and often go in with as many as three. The sudden profusion of left arm options is, however, a fairly recent development, as until recently it was a comparative rarity for England to select a left armer in their seam attack. Perhaps the best known England left armer was JK Lever, and although he predated my time as an England fan, I do have vague memories watching him late in his career for Essex. Looking at his figures, it is a...