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.
The New Bothams: The Team That Nearly Was
Today I'd like to introduce a new TFT guest writer. His name is James Wilson. He's a cricket author and former lawyer. I enjoyed this, and I think you will too ... Peter Jackson Eastwood’s entertaining feature on dibbly dobbler medium pacers is a reminder that cricket fans, especially English ones, have always had a soft spot for a decent [...]
The ECB Don’t Need The Hundred. They Need To Be Bold With The Blast
Worcestershire triumphed at Edgbaston on Saturday, defeating the mighty Lancashire in the semis and then much fancied Sussex (Jofra Archer and all) in the final. It was a fairytale in many ways because Worcs have never been to finals days before, had the youngstest team in the competition, and were missing their overseas batsman Callum Ferguson. Worcs' stars were mostly [...]
England Player End Of Term Reports
Surrey won the championship title yesterday after beating luckless Worcestershire at New Road. As a Worcs fan it makes me sad, as we're probably headed back to the second division despite playing well at times this year. However, one has to admit that Surrey are worthy champions. What's more, they've done things the right way. Yes they've brought in the [...]
Jimmy Anderson: Officer Class? No. World Class? Most Definitely
Jimmy Anderson prefers beer to wine. He happier with a tinny than a Tempranillo. In fact, he probably only knows two varieties of wine: white and red. It won’t get him far in ECB circles. But his career has certainly endeared him to England supporters and connoisseurs of vintage cricketers around the world. Jimmy today surpassed Glenn McGrath’s record total [...]
Ed Smith Ties Himself In Knots: The TMS Interview
Apologies for not writing about days 2 & 3 of the test match. It's a dead rubber, so it's not particularly compelling unless you're caught up in the Alastair Cook storyline, and I've been otherwise engaged with family and other sports. In fact, news is just reaching me that Cook has indeed completed his ton. Well done him. The fact [...]
And Then Came The Evening Session: Day 1 at The Oval
It was all going swimmingly in the morning. TMS were even predicting a day 5 finish. The pitch looked so tame. There was no pace, no swing, no sting. It was almost Melbourne 2017ish. And everyone assumed it was just a matter of time before Alastair Cook signed off his test career the way he started it: with a ton. [...]
The Spin, Issue 3
The first Lancashire fanzine for more than 25 years has proved to be a great success. Last week we published the third and final edition of the season and hope to reach more than 2,000 readers. Sales at Lancashire's crunch game with Worcs at Southport were amazing. It’s been a hard road with a lot of mileage put in on [...]
Chef Finally Gets Out Of The Kitchen
Something just wasn't right at Southampton. On the first day Alastair Cook, who for so long has embodied focus and stoicism at the crease, poked at a wide ball outside off stump and guided it straight to third slip. It was a tired shot; it was a shot that said "I don't have the mental strength for this anymore". And [...]
England Win Surreal Series. But Will English Cricket Lose In The Long Run?
Rejoice. We've beaten the number one test team in the world. It was a superb series and test cricket was probably the winner overall. Who says you need high totals and bat dominating ball to create exciting cricket? The authorities can put that in their pipe and smoke it. It might blend well with the wacky baccy they've obviously been [...]
Cut and Paste
This is getting old now. England’s batting ineptitude is almost boring. What more can we say that we haven’t already said ten times before? The batting order is a complete mess. I pretty much disagree with every move Ed Smith and Bayliss have made, simply cannot understand how two experienced cricketing minds have made such nonsensical decisions, and if I [...]
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 [...]