The Full Toss
Welcome to TFT, one of the UK’s longest serving cricket blogs. We’ll be here throughout the year to debate, moan, and occasionally rejoice about the England cricket team. If something’s bothering you, whether it’s selection, governance, or the cost of a pint, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You don’t need to be a professional writer or copywriter, just a fan with something to say. Email james@thefulltoss.com for more info. Cheers.
Adil Rashid Selection Is An Insult
Those who have listened to TMS over the years (and read the Economist) might have a solid insight into the mind of Ed Smith. I'll tell you what I gleaned. I saw someone who was articulate, intelligent, but somewhat enamoured with what I can only describe as 'thinking differently'. Clever people like to think differently. It makes them feel cleverer [...]
The Hundred: A Crap Idea That Keeps Getting Crapper
If I told you today that the ECB's new Hundred competition would involve ten overs of ten balls, all bowled from the same end, using florescent yellow balls, with only eight fielders allowed at any one time, you'd probably believe me. It doesn't matter how ridiculous an idea may seem. Anything and everything is now believable because a host of [...]
Tears On My Pilau? India Series Preview
After what seems like an eternity, test cricket returns to the English summer this week. This means that results, rather than having a good time, suddenly matter. The serious stuff is about to start folks. What's more, this upcoming series against India should be a humdinger. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. Although I'll be [...]
Cakewalk
Yesterday's intriguing decider at Headlingley was a complete letdown if you're a neutral. Fortunately, I'm about as neutral as Fox News. Therefore the fact the decider proved to be a cross between a walk in the park and a piece of cake (hence the title above) was extremely sweet ... a bit like eating a Victoria sponge as one strolls [...]
The Decider
It was great to see England bounce back at Lord's in the ODI series. The defeat at Trent Bridge was a bad one. A chastening one. And it was made worse by the fact that everyone predicted we'd struggle against leg-spin. I thought Kuldeep would prove a handful but 6-25? Wow. That was even worse than the pessimists expected. Luckily, [...]
How Big Is The Loss Of Steve Smith & David Warner For The Australian Cricket Team?
The recent news that has created ripples in the world of cricket is about the 12-month ban imposed on Australian cricketers Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft for ball tampering. What will happen to the Australian cricket team and how will the rest of the players respond to this loss is being discussed these days. Does this punishment mean [...]
We Came, We Saw, But It Didn’t Come Home
Bollocks. It just wasn't meant to be. Much as we wanted to believe this particular England team could go all the way, they just weren't quite good enough. There's no shame in that, of course. This young group of players were given no chance a few weeks ago. But I can't deny they were second best on the night and [...]
Mind The Spin: England v India ODI Series Preview
We should all be looking forward to this series. It's the world's two best ODI sides going at it hammer and tongs. What a shame the series has arrived in the middle of a white ball glut (I've had enough already to be honest) and the middle of the football world cup's climax. Even Joe Root has admitted that he's [...]
Less Is More
Sorry I've been largely absent for the last week. I've had loads of work on, plus I'm in the middle of a rather complicated house move with buyers threatening to walk out and solicitors moving at Gavin Larsen pace. Needless to say I'm rather stressed out. However, at least I've had a break from the somewhat monotonous treadmill of international [...]
All The England I Could Eat – Part Two
Today we have the second part of Paul Potter's piece remembering some great Ashes moments from an Australian perspective ... Adelaide 2010 Bell and Pietersen didn’t play a Test together in the ’09 Ashes. It was the latter’s injury that allowed the former back into the team at Edgbaston. Come the next series in South Africa, they were playing in [...]
The TFT Interviews
The Full Toss talks to Simon Jones
Last week I had the pleasure of talking to Ashes favourite Simon Jones. I picked his brains about that famous series in 2005, his new book The Test and England's chances against Australia this summer. We also asked him for his thoughts on Kevin Pietersen, who has remained a good friend of Simon's since that [...]
Our Jonathan Agnew interview
Here's our interview with BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew - the backstory for which is here. It was a really interesting conversation, and we're very grateful to Aggers for finding the time to speak to us and share his thoughts. He discusses the recent criticism of the cricket media over [...]
The Full Toss Meets Andrew Flintoff
When Shell wanted an ambassador to help promote their new FuelSave range, Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff was the natural choice. There’s always been a connection between cricket, automobiles and people nicknamed Fred: The Flintstones' car looks exactly like a cricket pitch roller. Fortunately, today’s automobiles are rather more comfortable than the ‘Flintmobile’. Petrol technology is [...]