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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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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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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Who will win the Twenty20 Champions League?

With the Twenty20 Champions League now down to the last four, who’s going to win the thing?

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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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England remember how to bat

Something has happened to England’s batsmen – have they been replaced by replicas grown from plantlike pods, identical in every way apart from their ability to pace an innings and remain steady under pressure? Certainly, Owais Shah demonstrated a seldom-glimpsed ability to keep his head, making 98 (OK, he didn’t maintain his composure long enough [...]

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Champions Trophy: Group B Preview

South Africa have always been the nearly men of 50-over cricket, but they did win the Champions Trophy back in 1998, since when they have developed a reputation as big tournament bottlers. This is South Africa’s best chance in years to win some ICC silverware, as well as to cast off the ‘chokers‘ tag. New [...]

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England back to being rubbish after Ashes anomaly

England’s batsmen have failed for the second match in a row, failing for the second time in three days to knock off the required runs after their bowlers had restricted Australia to an unexceptional total. With a large Pietersen-shaped hole gaping in the top order (Matt Prior batting at number three? Seriously?), the home side [...]

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Sri Lanka Planning their Ascent

Sri Lanka’s 2-0 series win over New Zealand now means that, if things don’t work out for South Africa against South Africa B England this winter, Kumar Sangakkara’s side could potentially end the year as the world’s top-ranked team if they win the series in India. If India were to win the series 2-0, then [...]

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What’s Next for Test Cricket?

Now that Australia have slumped to fourth in the ICC rankings, what does the future hold for Test cricket?

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Australia Face up to Fourth

Australia are facing the prospect of losing their ranking as the world’s best Test side for the first time since 2003. Only victory at both Headingley and The Oval would see the Aussies hold on to top spot, whilst defeat in the Ashes series could see them sink below South Africa, India and Sri Lanka [...]

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Jonathan Trott

For anyone currently scratching their heads and thinking ‘who on earth is Jonathan Trott?’, here are a couple of nuggets of information about the man they call ‘Trotters’: He’s yet another Saffer import, having being born in Cape Town, playing alongside Graeme Smith for Western Province and representing South Africa in World Cups at Under-15 [...]

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