In America they call it ‘having a man crush’. I’m not sure what we call it over here. Most teams have ‘cult heroes’, and most fans have a particular favourite player, but it struck me recently that crowd favourites are rarely world class talents. Indeed, my favourite cricketer is more known for failing miserably than winning matches. Why should that be? Nobby Stiles wasn’t the best player in England’s 1966 World Cup winning team, but he is still remembered more fondly than, say, Martin Peters...
England’s likely lads – but which one will make the test team?
The England Lions take on Sri Lanka tomorrow in what many people see as a trial match. Who will replace Paul Collingwood in the test team? And who will replace Tim Bresnan, whose calf injury (did he eat too much veal?) will keep him out for a few weeks. The pundits reckon that the batting spot will either go to Eoin Morgan or Ravi Bopara. Both candidates have baggage. Morgan has a relatively poor first class record and he can’t bowl for toffee – so he’s hardly a like for like replacement for...
2011: the summer of cliches
Sri Lanka and India are this summer’s touring sides – and across the land cricket commentators are already licking their lips. Because there’s nothing like the sight of Asian teams to get pundits reaching for their store of cliches and going into platitude overdrive. The reason? A combination of reverence and political correctness. Analysts are congenitally awestruck by the exotic mystique associated with subcontinental cricket, whatever the reality. And they can’t find...
Have England got any better since 2005?
As it’s approaching my third wedding anniversary my thoughts have turned to English cricket once more. It’s not that I got married at Lords (although believe me I tried), neither did I marry Beth Morgan (the England women’s cricketer), the reason is that our wedding breakfast table plan was based around a classic cricketing concept – one I’m sure we’ve all considered from time to time. As we had eleven tables, I picked what I considered to be the best eleven England cricketers...
ICC cricket committee decide not to give the DRS its P45
It looks like the DRS (the much maligned Decision Review System) is officially here to stay. Even though the BCCI think the DRS has got all the detective prowess of Pakistan’s ISI, the ICC’s cricket committee has decided to recommend the universal use of technology in all forms of international cricket. India are the only nation that will oppose the move at the ICCs executive board meeting in June – which obviously suggests that the rest of the world thinks the DRS is A-OK. It will be really...
How to become the Mike Brearley of village cricket
Not long now till the village cricket season gets underway in earnest. And if you manage or captain a side, you’ll now be experiencing the usual combination of naive optimism and cynical dread. Along the lines of ‘can we play a bit better this season?’, or ‘can we get any worse?’ So we thought it timely to start a discussion about the tactical side of village cricket. How can you get the best out of your team’s abilities, without taking it too seriously or...
