Twenty20 Champions League Preview: Part One

Club cricket takes a new turn this week with the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League. Here’s a brief run-down of the sides involved: The Cape Cobras, although without the injured Graeme Smith, will still have plenty of firepower with JP Duminy and Herschelle Gibbs the main threats. The lack of access to the large pool of [...]

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Flintoff goes freelance

There’s been plenty of talk in recent months of the rise of the freelance cricketer, with first Andrew Symonds, then Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff being linked with the idea. Now it seems that the latter is set to lead the way, having turned down an ECB contract in favour of what some might call [...]

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Black Caps Agree to Pass on IPL Cash

There has been a lot of talk recently about the rise of Twenty20 freelancers, with Andrew Symonds and Andrew Flintoff both being linked speculatively with the idea of wandering Twenty20 specialists playing in four or five different countries’ domestic Twenty20 competitions a year rather than playing for their country. Kevin Pietersen is the latest player [...]

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Flintoff’s Future

Following Andrew Flintoff’s announcement that he will retire from international cricket after the Ashes, a number of overseas sides (notably the Queensland Bulls) have expressed a renewed interest in signing him for their respective domestic Twenty20 competitions. The obvious parallel to draw is with another big-hitting all-rounder with a ‘history’ and a well-publicised taste for [...]

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Flintoff misses the bus

What is it about international cricketers and buses? After Jamie Siddons’ concerns about Bangladesh’s coach-related timekeeping comes news that Andrew Flintoff is similarly lacing in bus-catching skills. Although no mention of alcohol consumption has been made by the ECB, The Times have chosen to illustrate Michael Atherton’s report with a picture of Flintoff downing a [...]

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Aussies set for a pay rise

Although many would suggest that their recent form in the World Twenty20 hardly merits it, Australia’s cricketers are set for a pay rise after the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) and Cricket Australia agreed a new Memorandum of Understanding. The move is being seen as motivated by a desire to stave off defections from the national [...]

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Andrew Symonds conforms to the stereotype

Andrew Symonds has been axed from yet another Australian squad for disciplinary reasons. Apparently he broke team rules relating to alcohol and other issues, which sadly doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

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Andrew Symonds and the Ashes

Less than 24 hours after being backed by his captain for a place in the Ashes squad, Andrew Symonds hasn’t been included in said squad, with Shane Watson, Andrew McDonald and Marcus North all being preferred to the centrally-contracted and often controversial all-rounder. Was this the right decision? Was it the wrong decision? Will it [...]

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Australia slaughtered by Shahid Afridi

Australia’s poor one-day form continued as they lost to Pakistan by 4 wickets with a whopping 35 balls remaining. Chief amongst their tormentors was Shahid Afridi, who took 6-38 from his ten overs, his best ever bowling performance in an ODI. In fact, eight of Australia’s wickets fell to spinners as they crumbled to 168 [...]

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IPL 2009 Preview: Part 1

The second season of the IPL (or the first season of the SAPL, if you prefer) gets underway this weekend, so here’s the lowdown on the teams taking part: Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore’s main pre-season activity was the purchase of Kevin Pietersen and KP will join a host of his fellow countrymen in Kallis, Steyn [...]

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Marcus North’s Debut Ton

Marcus North has made quite an impact in his first outing as a Baggy Green. Australia are in the market for new heroes at the moment, given their recent slip from the heights of invincibility, and North seems to fit the bill. The last player to make a century on debut for Australia was Michael [...]

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Australia rocked but recover

The first day of the long-awaited series between Australia and South Africa promised drama, and on that score it didn’t disappoint. The home side, having won the toss, found themselves languishing at 15/3, but Simon Katich and Michael Clarke, and then Andrew Symonds and Brad Haddin, battled back to leave the Aussies on a decent [...]

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