Thoughts and observations of a Hibernophile regarding Irish cricket’s immediate future. This article saw its genesis from a litany of much cherished trips across to Ireland and a love of cricket. Whether the two naturally segue together may be up for debate! Some observations maybe accurate, some maybe wide of the mark. Hopefully all will prove thought provoking and interesting. Type www.cricketireland.ie/images/uploads/site_images/Cricket_Ireland_Strategic_Plan.pdf into your search engine and...
England Foiled By Billy The Kid: 2nd T20
There’s no point crying over a T20 international – especially one everyone will have forgotten by this time next week – but England were a little hard done by in Nagpur yesterday. We were pretty much cruising to victory, with just eight runs needed off the last over, when an umpire with a trigger finger as itchy as Billy The Kid’s intervened on the host’s behalf. Joe Root wasn’t playing particularly well at the time – he’d mistimed a few slogs...
Bowlers And Skipper Do The Job
Well, well, well. It looks like England victories in India are like buses. And I don’t mean that they’re big, red, overcrowded, and driven by people who get angry if you don’t give them the right change. I wrote an article the other day on why I think T20 is probably England’s strongest suit these days. The bowling just looks better in this form of the game: Mills provides a bit of X-factor, we’ve got options coming out of our ears – Rashid didn’t even...
Durham Academy Rated Finest In The Country
If you were upset about Durham’s relegation from the county championship last year, you’d better have your thermometer ready. This story is going to make your blood boil. According to the Northern Echo, Durham’s Academy has just been rated as the finest in the country by the ECB. That’s the same ECB who threw the book at the county for accumulating debts that are actually lower than the main beneficiaries of their demotion, Hampshire. This latest round of academy...
Alastair Cook: Records and Relevance
We’ve published a lot of articles about England’s test skipper over the years but this new one, by guest writer Jack Mendel, looks at Cook’s records from a different angle. I have to admit it’s not something I’ve considered before … Alastair Cook is the first English batsman to break into an elite group of modern-great players, but his career has been inflated by how much England play. Without a doubt, England’s captain is one of the greatest English...
Are England Better At T20s Than ODIs?
I’m going to eschew fancy headlines today. This article will do what it says on the tin. With the T20 games in India about to begin, it’s time I asked whether Eoin Morgan’s T20 side is better than its 50 over equivalent. Why do I ask? Because it has been playing on my mind for a while. England’s ODI batsmen don’t seem to make many centuries, but they sure as hell make a lot blistering cameos. I’ve even heard suggestions that Trevor Bayliss cares more about strike rates than averages: as long as...
