He’s the guy we loved to hate. What on earth are we going to do now that Ricky Ponting has relinquished the Australian captaincy? Aussie selectors usually toss away former captains like a sweaty jockstrap, so Punter’s international career could be over. Michael Clarke’s Home & Away good looks may irk England fans somewhat, but his face will never be as irritating as Ponting’s contorted mooey. A new pantomime villain will be required. Shane Watson, anyone? However, much as we’ve loathed...
Why our World Cup exit wasn’t quite as bad as it looked
It was hardly a surprise We are crap at World Cups. The very words are cricketing kryptonite to anyone in an England cap. And after the debacle against Ireland, an exit in the quarter-finals doesn’t seem too dreadful. How many teams win the World Cup without their best players? Our most destructive one-day batsman, Kevin Pietersen, was out injured – as was our best ODI bowler, Stuart Broad. And no sooner had Ajmal Shahzad demonstrated just how useful he could be, with both bat and...
Can we go home now please?
England’s winter, I mean, England’s autumn, winter and spring, finally came to an end yesterday when we got stuffed by a team that actually knows how to play ODI cricket on the subcontinent. There’s no point dwelling on the result – I think most of us realised we were going to lose – it’s just a shame our weary troops had to endure the ignominy of a ten wicket thrashing. Maybe it would have been better to go out in the group stages after all? The truth of the matter is that we haven’t played...
Swanny tells it like it is
You’ve got to love Graeme Swann. If there’s a spade in the room, the chances of him calling it a shovel are zero. When interviewed about Michael Yardy’s withdrawal from the World Cup yesterday, the world’s premier off-spinner, fans’ favourite, and general good egg, said what all England’s players (and most fans) have been thinking for a long time: “Players can get into pretty dark places on tour … as international cricketers we are frequently away from home for months, often playing...
Yardy down and out
We expected groin strains, broken fingers and side strains, but not this. England announced this morning that Michael Yardy, who has been having a pretty miserable time on the field during the World Cup, is battling depression and has returned home. It’s impossible to feel anything but sympathy for the guy. Being away from home for months, playing high pressure cricket in front of thousands of critical eyes, must surely be the worst environment to battle a mental illness. The question is, did...
Why we will beat Sri Lanka (no really)
So what if we’ve been utterly pessimistic throughout this World Cup? Sometimes you’ve got to drag yourself from a general malaise and embrace a new mood of unbridled pie-eyed optimism. Consequently, we’ve decided to ignore rational thought and back England to beat Jayawardene’s boys in Saturday’s quarter final – despite the fact our team is so knackered that we’re amazed Strauss and Co can still get out of bed. The bookies might make Sri Lanka overwhelming favourites (we concede that they’re at...
