Jimmy takes five

Jimmy Anderson’s first ever ODI five-for was a sight to behold (highlights here and here). South Africa’s batsmen, having been so imposing at Newlands on Friday, were in disarray as the hosts were skittled for 119, with the ‘Burnley Express’ taking 5-23, including the pivotal wickets of Amla, Boucher, and Duminy. England’s tour so far [...]

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Wind gets the better of Kent

Kent have well documented problems with wind, and not just after Rob Key‘s gone to town on the baked beans and Scotch eggs. The county has announced that they won’t play any day-night matches in the 2010 season as high winds would cause issues with the temporary floodlights at the St. Lawrence Ground. Two matches [...]

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Nannes the nomad joins Nottinghamshire

Dirk Nannes is the latest overseas star to sign up for next season’s Twenty20 Cup (following Adam Gilchrist’s move to Middlesex and the various other county comings and goings), having been snapped up by Nottinghamshire. The Dutch-Australian fluent Japanese speaker and skiing enthusiast is widely regarded as a Twenty20 specialist, and given his success with [...]

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England in ‘good at ODIs’ shocker

Could England be getting good at One Day cricket? The batting line-up actually seems to be reasonably balanced, with openers who are neither ridiculously cautious, overly aggressive, or Ian Bell. Meanwhile, Eoin Morgan has found a useful niche, and Matt Prior and Luke Wright at six and seven are actually quite good. The bowling was [...]

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Gilchrist and Sachin at Middlesex?

Next season’s Twenty20 cup looks set to be an altogether more glamourous affair, with Middlesex having already signed Adam Gilchrist and hopeful of adding Sachin Tendulkar as well. Add to this the arrival of Ajantha Mendis at Hampshire, and county cricket in general is looking like it might be a little easier on the eye [...]

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Shakib joins Worcestershire

Good news for any West Midlands-based fans of under-exposed world class Bangladeshi all-rounders (of which, no doubt, there are many) – Worcestershire have signed Shakib Al Hasan for 2010. “I am thrilled and inspired to be joining the team once graced by Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Vikram Solanki”, he didn’t quite say. Does this [...]

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The Return of Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen is feeling ‘refreshed‘ after his forced break from cricket (time which he exploited to promote pomade, although sadly not Dapper Dan). England will certainly be glad of his return, having had an uneven and inconsistent end to the summer, and apparently Pietersen has prepared himself for the winter by spending “a month on [...]

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David Shepherd RIP

David Shepherd, a true cult figure amongst umpires, has died at the age of 68 following a long battle with cancer. For a generation of English cricket fans, Shepherd’s many superstitions (including hopping when the score reached 111, and his status as “full-bodied in good nature and girth” will be much missed.

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Monty’s Mission

Monty Panesar may have been cut adrift by England despite winning the Ashes for them with the bat, but he’s on a new mission now – trying to bring success to the Highveld Lions. Monty looks set to make his debut in tomorrow’s match against the Chevrolet Warriors, and it will be interesting to see [...]

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Hoggard’s departure from Yorkshire

Yorkshire’s decision to release Matthew Hoggard (if it was indeed their decision rather than his – reports so far tend to take one side or the other) is surprising, to say the least. He took more First-Class wickets than any other Yorkshire bowler (although admittedly he didn’t do too well in the shorter formats), and [...]

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The Best of 2009

The county season’s over for another year, and so here are my picks for the best of 2009 Best Batsman: With more than 1800 runs at an average of more than 75, it has to be Marcus Trescothick again, although Michael Di Venuto’s contribution to Durham’s successful defence of their County Championship title deseves commendation. [...]

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Twenty20 Champions League Preview: Part Two

Part two of the Twenty20 Champions League Preview: The Bangalore Royal Challengers have almost as many South Africans in their squad as the sides representing that country (even without the injured Kevin Pietersen). Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Dale Steyn all feature, whilst Rahul Dravid demonstrated in this year’s IPL that there’s a role for [...]

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