India on top of the world

India’s victory over Sri Lanka in Mumbai, and the series win that it has brought, has seen the hosts take over as the world’s top-ranked Test team, at least for the next few weeks. It’s difficult to imagine India enjoying the dominance of Test cricket that the West Indies, and more recently Australia, have – [...]

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Should the West Indies still be a Test side?

Kim Hughes doesn’t think they should continue to play Tests, but does the Windies’ recent run of poor form (although not too long a run, they humiliated England less than a year ago) and apparent lack of appetite for five-day cricket undermine their long history of Test greatness?

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Ireland’s application for Test status

There’s been lots of discussion recently around Ireland’s application for full membership of the ICC (and for the Test status that goes with it). Gaining membership of cricket’s top table has always been a difficult barrier for associate nations to overcome, with the list of requirements including such items as a “sufficiently large pool of [...]

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Day-Night Tests on the horizon?

What might turn out to be the future of Test cricket is taking shape with the news that Bangladesh and England are set to play a Day-Night Test- assuming that the ICC agrees. The MCC’s World Cricket Committee is set to meet ICC representatives in November to discuss the idea, which could include the use [...]

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India grind

The third day of the Fourth Test between India and Australia was an old-fashioned grind. The hosts reached stumps with an 86-run first innings lead, despite dogged resistance from the likes of Cameron White lower down the Australian order. India’s defensive tactics have been criticised in the past, but the pressure that was exacted today [...]

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Test cricket is back

Finally, some proper cricket is taking place. Gambhir has stepped up a gear (as well as impersonating Alan Shearer) in front of his home crowd, Sachin made his umpteenth Test fifty, and no-one is upset about whether or not it’s appropriate for someone to sit on someone else’s lap. Incidentally, Ricky Ponting still seems a [...]

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So long Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s tour of England has fallen victim to a combination of the IPL and the political machinations of the BCCI. Does this signal a shift in priorities on the subcontinent? The death of Test cricket has been long heralded, and Twenty20 is certainly making the headlines at the moment with the Stanford Dash for [...]

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Not the Test to change Allen Stanford’s mind

The First Test between England and South Africa is unlikely to have made Allen Stanford re-evaluate his view of Test cricket. There was a lot of excitement at times, plenty of runs, and even 10 wickets taken in a day, but ultimately it petered out into that least American of results, a dull draw. England’s [...]

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How to save Test Cricket

Test Cricket is in crisis. Dhoni is crying off from the Test series against Sri Lanka complaining of ‘tiredness’, which he’s presumably developed from playing 18 ODIs in the last 4 months, as well as a certain Twenty20 competition in India. Sri Lanka’s cricket board want to reschedule their tour of England as it clashes [...]

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England increase Test bonuses

The ECB has increased the win bonuses available to Test players to £2m, in what is likely to be seen as a response to the riches on offer in the IPL and now the Twenty20 Champions’ League. With the potential for county players to make more from domestic Twenty20 than their Test counterparts do from [...]

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Top order saved by Pietersen and Ambrose

England’s under-pressure batsmen failed once again on the 1st day of , excepting Kevin Pietersen and Tim Ambrose, who made 115 and 67 respectively. I think I’ve said more than enough about England’s top order for the time being, so I’ll leave it there. Ian O’Brien took 4-61 for the Black Caps, though, which is [...]

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England’s selection: complacent?

England have named an unchanged side for the 3rd Test against New Zealand, which seems to suggest that the selectors think all is well. All is not well. Pointing to three victories over New Zealand (two of which, at Old Trafford and at Napier, came despite poor showings from the top order) is not sufficient [...]

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