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.
Goodbye Keaton Jennings. It Was Nice Knowing You.
You’re a great close catcher. You're always smiling. I’ve seen you take selfies with kids on the boundary at The Oval, and even get a 50 for Lancashire at Finals Day. And yes, I think you look like Hollywood actor Matthew Lillard (see ‘Scream’ for details). But my God, you’ve been the most frustrating opening batsman to watch. The problem [...]
What Should England Do? And What Will They Do?
You'll see two very different questions in the headline above. The first is what England should do. In other words, what changes they should make to their team for Antigua. This involves looking a problem rationally and objectively. The second question asks what England will do. And this is rather complicated because it involves putting oneself in the shoes of [...]
2019 IPL Preview
The defending champions Chennai Super Kings will open up the 2019 season on the 29th of March in the M.A Chidambaram Check Stadium, Tamil Nadu. Here they will face the Sun Risers Hyderabad, the team they beat by 8 wickets in the 2018 final. This is sure to be a great way to start the 2019 IPL season. Will these [...]
Chase Is On The Case
Those of you with young kids might know a cute / irritating cartoon called Paw Patrol. It’s about a band of puppies who solve crimes and generally frustrate the evil machinations of the feline group 'Cat-astrophe'. One of the puppies is called Chase. And he’s as harmless as wet cotton wool. A bit like Roston Chase’s bowling in fact. The [...]
Holder Of All The Cards
What can you say when you’ve just been flayed to all parts by a No.8 and No.7 batsman? Two guys who barely average 30 in test cricket. Sure they’re good players - most cricketers are talented at test level - but this wasn’t Adam Gilchrist destroying our ‘attack’. It was the captain and wicket keeper of a team that usually [...]
77 All Out: The Rant And The Rave
We've got two different views on yesterday's action for you today. I'll go first and then Alex, the eternal optimist, will have his say ... 77 all out. Sigh. What a stinking pile of donkey crap. If I was James Anderson I'd tell the batsmen to do one and get on the next plane home. He and Ben Stokes deserved [...]
Anderson Saves England’s Blushes
He's pretty good, isn't he. Jimmy Anderson, England's best cricketer for years, proved once again that age is no barrier in professional cricket. I would say it's no barrier in life in general, but judging by the way my hangovers seem to get worse and worse every year, I think that would be stretching things - almost as much as [...]
Best-Ever Combined England Vs West Indies XI
I know what you're thinking. It would be easier for us to simply put the great West Indies team of the 70s and 80s into the best-ever England vs West Indies combined XI. But we’re trying to find some semblance of balance here. Before I get stuck in I should make it clear that this is an XI comprised of [...]
Let’s Make Them Wobble: Windies Series Preview
England's test series against the Windies starts on Wednesday, so it's time to invoke the spirit of Tony Greig and Colin Graves by making some ill thought through predictions. Surely we can't lose to this 'mediocre' lot? Let's make them, erm, wobble. However, although over-confidence has proved England's demise in the Caribbean before - don't forgot we've only ever beaten [...]
That ECB Strategy Document Translated
It’s time to “come together” for the greater good. It’s time to rally behind a plan - the only plan on the table. Sounds like Theresa May’s Brexit pitch doesn’t it? But actually this was pretty much the message conveyed by the gruesome twosome, Tom Harrison and Colin Graves, as the ECB launched their strategy document for 2020 to 2024 [...]
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 [...]