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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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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England’s Ashes Attack

Much has been made in the build-up to the Ashes about the supposed weakness of Australia’s bowling attack, but it is quickly becoming apparent that England’s isn’t quite as good as some people would have you believe. Flintoff has bowled plenty of overs without looking particularly menacing; Panesar‘s only wicket was more or less self-inflicted [...]

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England cast Vaughan (and Harmison) adrift

Despite their central contracts, neither Steve Harmison nor Michael Vaughan were included in the England ‘pre-Ashes’ squad of 16 (not 17 as was reported at the weekend – does anyone know what went on there?) that was announced today. Although Geoff Miller has said that “[t]he door has not been closed on any player at [...]

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England’s old boys still likely to be the new boys

Michael Vaughan missed another chance to prove his form ahead of the announcement of England’s sqaud to play the West Indies when he fell to fellow England outcast Steve Harmison for 24. Television replays suggested Vaughan may not have got a touch on the fatal ball, but the evidence from the single available angle was [...]

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County Cricket 2009 Division 1 preview

Durham surprised a lot of people with their Championship win last year, and with Steve Harmison out of favour with England once again, their bowling attack looks just as strong as it was in 2008. Ian Blackwell has come in to bolster the middle order and add a spin option, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul returns in [...]

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Things finally back to normal

Few could accuse the Test series between the West Indies and England of being predictable – a second-innings total of 51 and less than two overs bowled before abandonment in the other were both rather unexpected developments. Yet the Third Test is (so far) panning out in exactly the way I would have expected the [...]

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India shock England in Chennai

V.S. Naipaul could hardly have scripted it better for India. The crowd favourite tore up the fourth-innings rulebook, the young gun and the Mumbai legend completed the feat. For Indian fans, this must have been cathartic in the extreme – a famous triumph against ridiculous odds, victory from the jaws of defeat. Best of all, [...]

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A weakened England?

Given that the ECB will not penalise players who decline to return to India, the likelihood of England fielding a weakened side in the rescheduled Test series is steadily increasing. Graeme Swann, for whom this tour could have been a golden opportunity to establish himself, is reportedly unsure about whether or not to return, and [...]

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The Best of 2008

The county season’s over, the dust has settled, here are my picks for the best of 2008 Best Batsman: Not so straightforward this season, especially given Ramprakash’s relative slump. It’s between Marcus Trescothick and Martin van Jaarsveld, and whilst van Jaarsveld was relegated despite his team winning more matches than Trescothick’s, it’s the sympathy vote [...]

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England’s squad announcements offer few opportunities to raise eyebrows

There were few surprises in England’s squad for the Stanford Super Series. It’s pretty much the usual One-Day side. Sidebottom and Harmison are both included, and Monty loses out to Samit Patel. It’s a squad of 15 anyway, so the weeping and grinding of teeth by those left out at the last minute will have [...]

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Stanford cash already raises suspicion for England

Is the prospect of a bumper pay-day in Antigua come November skewing the judgement of England’s cricketers? Steve Harmison has already been accused of returning to One-Day cricket for mercenary reasons, and in the long build-up to the Stanford Super Series, there will be more focus than ever on who’ll be selected. Personally, I think [...]

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