Oh dear. That wasn’t what the doctor ordered. Pakistan are now firmly in position to dominate this game. And it’s mostly thanks to Azhar Ali, who scored a brilliant old fashioned test hundred. Hales and Vince please take note. I wasn’t listening to TMS today as I was at home watching on TV. However, apparently Graeme Swann said he’d eat his hat if Pakistan made 400. It could have been his cat, not his hat, but I got this information second hand. I wonder if he’ll...
Good Day, Bad Day – Day 1 at Edgbaston
So what do we make of that? Overall I think England have had both a good and a disappointing day. That might sound a little bizarre but bear with me. For starters, I think England will be delighted that Pakistan chose to bowl first – a decision I really don’t understand. We’ll now be spared from batting last on a wearing pitch. I can only speculate that Misbah thought his best chance of dismissing Cook and Root was early on the first morning. Personally I think England will be quite happy with...
Whatever Next? 3rd Test Preview
The 3rd test starts tomorrow and England are big favourites. We’ve got all the momentum, won the last game at a canter, and our record at Egbaston is pretty good. Most pundits expect Pakistan to collapse in a heap again. However, and this is a rather large ‘but’, this is England were talking about. Our greatest disasters often seem to follow our most impressive conquests (and vice versa). What’s more, this is Pakistan we’re talking about. They routinely oscillate between the sublime and the...
The Periodic Table Of Cricket
As we wait for the 3rd test to begin – more about that tomorrow – I thought I’d treat you to a quick book review. When I was sunning myself on holiday a couple of weeks ago, I was able to read John Stern’s enjoyable The Periodic Table Of Cricket. I found that it goes quite nicely with a glass of crisp white. I don’t always enjoy cricket books these days. Autobiographies in particular usually leave me a bit cold; therefore I don’t always write about every review copy I’m sent. However, I’m more...
T20 Or Bust? The ECB’s New Radical Plan To Shake-Up County Cricket
Details are slowly emerging of an ECB plan to double the TV revenue it currently receives from Sky. At first I assumed this might come via a bidding war between Sky and BT Sport when the current deal elapses in 2019. But I was wrong. The actual plan is a completely separate initiative that wouldn’t even involve the England team. Indeed, income generated from the plan would be ring-fenced, and according to Nick Hoult in The Telegraph, not a single penny will be invested in the national side. So...
A Job Well Done – 2nd Test Review
The margin of victory was a decisive 330 runs. That’s basically an innings (or an innings and a half if you’re Pakistan). For all the furore surrounding Alastair Cook’s refusal to enforce the follow on, England won and they won bloody well. The victory didn’t vindicate the decision, as England obviously didn’t need the extra runs they scored, but it renders the debate irrelevant. It’s hard to complain when you’ve bounced back as emphatically as England did in Manchester. The main question now...
