Every now and then a player comes along who reminds us all why we love sport, why it matters to us and most of all how it should be played. This year we have been blessed with 11 of them. They are the New Zealand cricket team and they really are a breath of fresh air. To those of us who follow cricket closely, this will be no surprise. The revolution in New Zealand cricket first began with the appointment of Brendon McCullum in 2012. Much has been made of the attacking, fearless brand of the...
I flipped open my laptop in a hurry. Punched the keys to bring up my usual page. I could feel the buzz of anticipation which preceded the inevitable come down. The buzz that always makes you continue. The hypnotic circle on the screen continued round and round. The premonitions start. Ball outside off, snick, gone… ball outside off, snick, gone… ball outside off, snick……..and then the screen lit up. A guilty pleasure, taking his guard, James Michael Vince. Watching James Vince bat feels...
Author Rob Harris has kindly provided this extract from his new book ‘Won’t You Dance For Virat Kohli?’ I really enjoyed it so thought I’d share it here. Enjoy. Eric Hollies bowled fast leg spin for Warwickshire for 25 years and took over 2,000 wickets. However, his name lives on not because people remember his bowling, but because the stand bearing his name has become an infamous bear pit where opponents fear to tread and livers scream for mercy. Anyone who thinks...
We all know how cricket writers and supporters in England love to romanticise certain forms of bowling. Leg spin and fast bowling are probably the best examples, in part because there are so few genuinely great exponents of both of these challenging arts. Medium pacers (and I enclose medium fast and fast medium) seam and swing doesn’t seem to get quite the same respect, although Jimmy Anderson’s skill and longevity are certainly well known and respected, as is Stuart Broad. The list of English...
As a former financial journalist, I spent a large amount of time drinking and smoking cigarettes with the characters of the Lloyds Market, for two reasons: The first was because I thoroughly enjoyed their company. The second? Because they would ever so often given me off-the-record commentary on the comings-and-goings of people within the market, as well as the probably impacts of mergers and acquisitions. So it was of no surprise to me last week when it emerged that ‘sources close to the ECB’...
So the sun is shining and all the windows are open. A game of cricket glows from the TV screen as I settle down with a cool beer. Oops, both openers have gone cheaply but we’ve still got the middle order; which slowly begins to crumble, and before you know it the all-rounder is about to be joined by the wicket-keeper. The last two recognised batsman with 5 wickets down would soon expose the tail, a mythical beast that never seemed to wag properly – unless there was a batsman who could...
