India wanted him, but they didn’t get him. It has just been announced that Andy Flower has renewed his contract with the ECB and will remain as England’s ‘Team Director’ i.e. the guy that does the fielding drills, picks the team, and designs team strategies (why they just can’t call him ‘England coach’ is anyone’s guess) for the foreseeable future. After Duncan Fletcher was named as India Coach last week (see, the Indians can call a spade a spade) the announcement was somewhat inevitable...
Flower signs new contract
If there were any remaining fears that Andy Flower would leave his post with England – more unlikely after India recruited Duncan Fletcher – they’ve been finally quelled this morning by the news that the ECB have concluded a new deal with the Zimbabwean wundercoach. “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to build on the considerable progress we have made to date as a squad”, he said this morning, in full press-release mode. “[I] remain fully...
Young keeper skips school, plays cricket, breaks record
When I was knee high to a grasshopper, which was about one hundred and fifty years ago, I was picked to play for the school 1st XI in a game that started at 10.30am rather than the normal 2pm. Because of the early start, I needed to get permission to miss double Latin – which, being a lazy sod, I typically failed to do. My punishment was fifty lines. It was the only time I got into trouble at school, unless you count the time I was caught having a cheeky fag behind some bushes (the huge cloud...
When Is A Full Toss A No Ball?
Scenario one. An erratic spinner steps up to the crease and delivers a slow, waist-high full toss, which the batsman pulls away effortlessly for six. The umpire then raises his arm and signals no ball. The fielding captain complains. Who is in the right? Scenario two. A medium pace bowler bowls another waist-high full toss, which hits the top of the stumps. The umpire makes no signal. The dismissed batsman complains. Again, who is in the right? This thorny old issue – of no balls for height –...
Could Simon Jones play for England again?
It was Sunday afternoon. I’d just had a slap up roast dinner and settled down to watch Sky’s first county match of the new season – the CB40 clash between Hampshire and Warwickshire at the Rose Bowl. At this point in proceedings I usually put my feet on the coffee table and cheekily ask my Mrs to fetch me a cool one from the fridge. No such luck this time. For some reason she was sitting next to me. The reason? Simon ‘heartthrob’ Jones was back. The man who makes women swoon and husbands...
Strauss in ‘dropping Ashes’ shocker
Don’t worry folks, the headline above is fictional. We all know that the Ashes stay safely ensconced in a cabinet at Lords. However, the news that Real Madrid players dropped the famous Copa Del Rey during a celebratory open top bus parade yesterday evening got us thinking. What would happen if Strauss dropped the Ashes in a similar fashion? We envisage a few scenarios. For those of you who haven’t yet seen the clip of Sergio Ramos doing a Hershelle Gibbs (i.e. dropping an important trophy) the...
