Today, new writer Kaukab Abid brings us a different perspective on the World T20 final. No player will be under greater scrutiny, not to mention pressure to perform, than Pakistan’s superstar captain… The term ‘tragic hero’ has been used throughout history to describe a variety of characters. A tragic hero is typically a person of high status who falls from grace due to a tragic flaw. This flaw can be anything from hubris to greed to lust. The fall from grace often leads...
Well, that was easy. There were none of the usual jitters, no brainless dismissals, no worries about Duckworth Lewis, and no getting tangled up in a web of spin. England cantered over the line without breaking sweat. Imagine what the mighty Ireland might have done to India? In a way, I felt a bit sorry for Kohli and Co. After all, games like this can happen in T20. Their main sin was getting off to a slow start – understandable considering big game nerves – and thereafter they were...
All eyes are obviously on the World T20 at the moment. But if England lose to Sri Lanka on Saturday, Matthew Mott and his team’s attention will immediately turn to 50-over cricket again. With that in mind, Rob Stephenson discusses how things are shaping up ahead of our World Cup defence in India next year. The side has, after all, lost both its inspirational skipper and the man-of-the-match in that memorable Lord’s final against New Zealand in 2019… Bizarrely, even for the...
The England men’s Test team has a problem. Well, it has several: a gallery of injured bowlers, an inconsistent middle order and the ever-looming prospect of a pace attack without James Anderson. Just to name a few. Yet one issue stands out among the rest, a conundrum so taxing that it’s had selectors scratching their heads for more than a decade. Who should open the batting. More accurately, who can open the batting. The selectors have looked far and wide in search of a sturdy...
They celebrated like they’d actually won the World Cup. And good on ‘em. But Ireland’s win against England on Wednesday morning neither felt as dramatic nor embarrassing as our previous losses to minnows. In fact, it all felt a bit hollow – as most victories by Duckworth Lewis tend to feel. The hardest step in sport is always the final one, when victory is dangling in front of you. And now, thanks to the Melbourne weather – honestly, does it ever stop raining in Australia? –...
Chris Eyes returns with a tribute to cricketers possessing ‘vocational’ names. Enjoy… As the 2022 English summer fades into memory now and the landscape of the game is changing, let us spare a thought for those cricketers not on full time contracts or big money T20 deals. You know, the ones who, like the rest of us, must return to occupations outside cricket to keep bringing home the bacon, or earning a crust. So with that in mind, I have endeavored to undertake selection of...
