When England win an ODI by the ridiculously emphatic margin of 186 runs, I guess we should all be happy. Back in the 1980s our batsmen rarely scored 186 across two innings of a test match against the Windies …. well, maybe we weren’t quite that bad, but you get my point. When England got slaughtered by a Windies pace attack that included the likes of Marshall, Holding, Patterson, Garner etc, our press would often moan about too much short pitch bowling, intimidation and what some...
Is Steve Smith A Cheat?
He’s the golden boy of Australian cricket. But did Steve Smith cheat? I don’t think too many would argue that Smith cheated, or at least tried to cheat, when he looked at the balcony for advice before deciding whether to review his dismissal in the second innings in Bengaluru. Does this make Smith a cheat per se? I guess it depends where you want to draw an arbitrary line. Virat Kohli seems to think a ‘line was crossed‘ in the second test, but unsurprisingly the ACB’s...
Calm Heads Avert Setback
Keep cool, man. I quite enjoy watching cricket from the Caribbean. It’s not quite what it used to be, when the stadiums were close to city centres, and Gravy was dancing in the stands, but it still makes a nice change. There are usually quite a few cool cats in the stands too – although the coolest two men in Antigua yesterday were probably Joe Root and Chris Woakes, who kept their heads brilliantly when England’s chase spun out of control at 124-6. Even though...
Morgan’s Resurgence Gives Unnecessary Series Some Relevance
Here’s a question for you. Do you think scheduling this short ODI series in the West Indies makes it more likely that England will win the Champions Trophy? Personally I don’t think it makes a rat’s arse of difference. If anything it probably hinders our chances. Surely the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes would be better served by having a breather after a busy winter? Let’s face it. The conditions in the West Indies are totally different to England in May and June;...
Lions Watch
I always enjoy following the England Lions. In some ways they’re a barometer for the general health of English cricket. If the Lions team is buoyant, successful, and looks mouthwatering on paper, then I usually feel optimistic about the full England side’s future. If, on the other hand, the Lions team is populated by journeymen who really should have made it by now, or youngsters who probably never will, then it’s safe to assume that the post Anderson, Broad and Cook...
What On Earth Happened in Pune?
I take it you all heard about Australia’s unexpected win against India last week? It wasn’t what we expected and certainly not what I’d personally hoped for. Although I’m tempted to call it a fluke – simply because it’s against my nature to offer our antipodean cousins any credit whatsoever – we should probably give this unexpected turn of events a more objective assessment. Here’s our man down under, Frazer Loveman, with his thoughts on the game...
