The Dutch are coming (again), but the Irish aren’t

The Netherlands (or rather, the Dutch cricket board – the KNCB) have accepted the ECB’s offer to take part in their shiny new 40-over competition (not to be confused with their old, irrelevant 40-over competition). Ireland, meanwhile, have (somewhat controversially, in some quarters) decided not to take part, partly due to the difficulties involved in [...]

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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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England swing the axe

The ECB’s decision not to offer central contracts, nor even incremental contracts, to Steve Harmison or Monty Panesar has left both with their international futures in doubt. Harmison has been rumoured to be considering international retirement in any case, but Panesar now looks to have been cut adrift, particularly when the fact that Adil Rashid [...]

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Ups and Downs for the Dutch

Dutch cricket has had quite a summer – as England can attest – but it will no longer be able to rely on the services of ‘Don’t Call Him Dirty’ Dirk Nannes, who has been called up by Australia (at last) for the Twenty20 internationals at Old Trafford that will follow the Ashes. Although Nannes‘ [...]

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County Cricket Takes a Sensible Turn

The ECB has, somewhat out of character, done something that makes sense and decided that having two county Twenty20 competitions might be a little over the top, scrapping the proposed ‘P20′ league format (which was itself an alternative to the ‘EPL’ city-franchise-based competition which was previously favoured by some) in favour of expanding the existing [...]

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Pakistan vs Australia – in England

The ECB have announced that Pakistan will play two Tests and two Twenty20 matches (no ODIs, interestingly) against Australia in England (and possibly Wales – the venues are yet to be confirmed) next July. Previously, hosting matches in England had been considered too expensive for the PCB, but that obstacle seems to have been overcome. [...]

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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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Has Twenty20 jumped the shark?

Just as Twenty20 cricket seems to be taking over, with the IPL looking to expand, Gayle’s recent comments and the upcoming World Twenty20, there are whispers that the tournament that started it all, the Twenty20 Cup in England and Wales, is struggling to attract fans. Advance ticket sales are reportedly down by as much as [...]

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Bopara the Bradman of the empty ground

Since his Test recall in the West Indies, Ravi Bopara averages 118, and his overall average (at the time of writing) is nudging 50. It seems England have found their number three. That said, such were conditions today that even Alastair Cook was able to convert his 50 into 100 (his first century at home [...]

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Samit Patel still not fit enough for England

Despite his county furnishing him with free gym membership, Samit Patel has missed out on his second sucessive England selection for reasons of fitness. The “bouncing all-rounder from Nottinghamshire”, as the Independent describes him today, has again failed to meet the ECB’s standards. Geoff Miller has said that there are “various measurements we go by”, [...]

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It was Ian Bell’s turn

Ian Bell still doesn’t quite get it. The most promising Warwickshire young player 1999, 2000 and 2001 told Cricinfo that England “were beaten heavily so someone had to go and it was my turn“, failing to grasp the fact that it was his ‘turn’ because his form had been pants and he keeps throwing away [...]

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Who should captain England in the Twenty20?

Given the fact that England’s preliminary squad for the World Twenty20 doesn’t include current captain Andrew Strauss (who admittedly doesn’t have the best T20I pedigree), the selectors will be on the hunt for a new leader. Here are some of the contenders: Andrew Flintoff has been there before, got the t-shirt and sunk the pedalo. [...]

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