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.
Kandy Man
Roooooooot. I love it when Joe scores runs. It's entertaining to watch and it gives the whole side a fillip. This innings was particularly important because it has established (potentially) a winning position. It was also made against the turning ball when the rest of the batsmen generally struggled a bit. If Alastair Cook had made these runs it would've [...]
Caribbean Cricket Cruise with ITC Sports Travel
There’s nothing quite like experiencing cricket in the Caribbean. With a soundtrack of calypso, reggae and soca, matches here are invariably exciting, full-blooded affairs. Combine this with a fantastic climate, swaying palms, plenty of sunshine and the odd drop of rum and you’ve got the perfect recipe for the ultimate cricketing experience. ITC Sports Travel specialises in touring the world [...]
Day 1 at Kandy
First of all a confession. I wasn't able to watch much of today's play because I had a symposium at work. Therefore the following report is a mixture of second hand opinions and guesswork. However, I don't think it takes a genius to work out what happened. Perhaps I should've just cut and paste my review of day 1 at [...]
A Gunn and Moore XI
When you’re sent a line-up and your first reaction is “Wow. What an XI”, you know you’re onto a good team. Anyway, Alex Ferguson put together his best-ever Gunn & Moore XI following on from a piece on this ‘ere blog about the All-Time Duncan Fearnley XI. While Duncan Fearnley had its heyday, GM has boasted a constant stream of fantastic [...]
Bairstow In? Buttler Up? England’s XI For Kandy
It's time for a bold statement. It doesn't particularly matter what specific XI England pick at Kandy nor the order they bat in. We will win the match (weather permitting) and go on to win the series comfortably. And now for the caveat: England will win comfortably unless Sri Lanka improve big time. The problem for the hosts is that [...]
The Wartime XI
Heeding no advantage, asserting no virtue, claiming no righteousness, the August volunteers marched away, the vanguard of a generation doomed to die untimely … There was no estimating the extent to which creative thought was depleted, or the cost to learning, literature and science of the destruction of so many strong and cultivated intelligences. Reginald Pound (Great War veteran and [...]
Galle Day 3 – Jennings Sweeps His Way To A Hundred
It looks like this game is in the bag. There's always a chance that something miraculous might happen - although Sri Lanka aren't exactly blessed with many miracle workers - but one would expect England to romp home quite comfortably from here. I guess the rain might make an unwelcome return too, but we probably only need one of the [...]
Galle – Day 2
Well this is rather pleasant isn't it? England are currently sitting pretty with a lead of 177 and all ten wickets still intact. The only thing that can stop us winning this test match is the weather. Famous last words. The day couldn't have gone much better. Ben Foakes completed a debut century in the morning - the only other [...]
Galle – Day 1
Ben Foakes. Where have you been? Maybe there's some magic spell which automatically turns England No.7s into world beaters (and our number 3s into frogs) or maybe, just maybe, the selectors and all the so-called experts got Surrey's keeper all wrong. This lad can bat. He's justified his place in the side and he hasn't even put his keeping gloves [...]
Selection Dilemmas And Scheduling Ineptitude
So then. After a few weeks of inactivity, and a series of farcically wet ODIs which captured precisely nobody's imagination, we've finally got some meaningful cricket to look forward to. There's just one problem: it's still monsoon season in Sri Lanka and I sense this pre-series buildup will be a complete waste of time. I've just looked up the Galle [...]
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 [...]