Australia vs West Indies: Test Series Preview

Australia go into their first Test series since the Ashes with a strong desire to bounce back, and one could hardly dispute that the West Indies are in need of a boost following their recent troubles, so both sides should be sufficiently motivated for the three Test series which starts on Thursday. For Australia, the [...]

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The slow rise of Doug Bollinger

Australia’s well-documented injury problems in India have allowed one or two players the chance to break into the side. The man with possibly the most masculine name ever, Burt Cockley, may not have made it into the side, but Doug Bollinger did, and took 3-38 on Monday and 5-35 today to move his way up [...]

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Champions Trophy Final Preview

The Champions Trophy, even though it’s only the Carling Cup of international cricket tournaments, has – partly due to its timing – taken on a disproportionate significance in many people’s minds with regard to the future of 50-over cricket. Leaving aside wider questions about whether the format is enjoying a renaissance, whether the tournament’s design [...]

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Champions Trophy: Group A Preview

The second most prestigious tournament in everyone’s third-favourite format of the game is nearly here. Can you contain yourself? Here are the Group A runners and riders: Australia will no doubt have had a confidence boost from driving a steamroller over England over the latter part of the summer, but doubts remain over how they [...]

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England vs Australia: One Day Series Preview

England go into the One Day series against Australia still riding relatively high on the euphoria of Ashes victory, althouhg their confidence must surely have taken a serious knock following their close escape in Ireland and their awful start to a rain-interrupted innings in Manchester on Sunday. The prospect of 7 ODI matches without KP [...]

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Mitchell Johnson’s Ashes So Far

Mitchell Johnson isn’t having the Ashes tour he was supposed to. His form is erratic, his mum and his girlfriend are complaining about each other in the press and the same papers are calling for him to be dropped. English conditions are being blamed by some, his mum is being blamed by others, but whatever [...]

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The First Day of the Ashes

The first day of the 2009 Ashes was quite a day. It had a spectacular catch from Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson scaring the horses, Pietersen and Collingwood losing their heads (and their wickets), Prior and Flintoff going ballistic, a wholly unnecessary nightwatchman being employed to protect Stuart Broad, who ended up batting anyway, and Katherine [...]

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England vs Australia: Test Series Preview

Unless you’ve been hiding away in a University tower for the last couple of months, it can hardly have escaped your notice that the Ashes starts tomorrow with the First Test in Cardiff. England’s fans (and some sections of the media) seem to have suffered a bout of collective amnesia (or perhaps repression), with the [...]

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Brett Lee’s injury opens things up

Brett Lee is injured, and may yet miss the whole (or at least the bulk) of the Ashes series. For English fans, the temptation to make a comparison with Glenn McGrath’s injury in 2005 is almost irresistable, but Lee in 2009 is not quite the frightening prospect that McGrath was four years ago – Mitchell [...]

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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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Australia’s Ashes Attack

Australia begin their Ashes warm-up in earnest tomorrow with a tour match against Sussex, and all eyes will be on the bowlers as the Aussies try to determine what their strongest attack is. Of the five pace bowlers in the squad, only Mitchell Johnson can feel confident of his place in the side for the [...]

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Ones to watch: Wrap-up

It’s more than a year now since I named my 11 to watch, so it’s probably time to weigh up (briefly) who’s lived up to their potential and who hasn’t: Nasir Jamshed is still under 20, but had little chance to impress this year given Pakistan’s effective exile from international cricket; Virat Kohli made some [...]

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