Scenes like this will have English cricket fans, whatever the result at Edgbaston, nervously dreaming of the Flintoff of old. To type any more would be tempting fate.
Archive for July, 2008
Is Flintoff (whisper it) back?
Posted in england, tagged andrew flintoff, england on July 31, 2008| 2 Comments »
Sehwag defies Mendis
Posted in india, sri lanka, tagged ajantha mendis, chaminda vaas, gautam gambhir, geoffrey boycott, india, mendis, rahul dravid, sachin tendulkar, sourav ganguly, sri lanka, virender sehwag on July 31, 2008| 1 Comment »
Sehwagology gained another batch of converts today, as its Leader (who may or possibly may not have any brains, according to one non-believer) made an unbeaten ton, notable for the seeming ease with which he played the bowling of Ajantha Mendis, the scourge of Indian batsmen and claimer of two more wickets today (those of Gambhir and Dravid).
India could have been out of sight, but four wickets fell for only 11 runs, with Mendis making the breakthrough before Vaas snared Bollywood’s Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly. Tomorrow is likely to be an interesting day of cricket.
Vaughan gets bat on ball, allegedly
Posted in england, tagged england, jonathan agnew, mark boucher, michael vaughan, south africa on July 30, 2008| 2 Comments »
Michael Vaughan was out first ball today, but at least he managed to get bat on ball (sort of) and edge it to Mark Boucher rather than get bowled in a hilarious fashion as he usually does.
As previously noted, Vaughan’s recent form with the bat has put him under pressure, to which, as Aggers can confirm, he is not necessarily reacting positively.
Bolster v. “to give a boost to, to support as if with a bolster”
Posted in england, south africa, tagged andre nel, dale steyn, england, paul collingwood, south africa, stuart broad on July 29, 2008| Leave a Comment »
England have dropped/rested/grown jealous of Stuart Broad‘s good looks, restoring Paul Collingwood to the side to face South Africa at Edgbaston in his place. Given that this is apparently being done “to give the impression of bolstering their batting line-up“, isn’t it odd that the player dropped has a higher Test batting average (albeit from only 11 innings) than the player coming in as a replacement?
From South Africa’s point of view, the main news is that Steyn is injured, so Andre Nel will be playing, in a gift to cricket bloggers everywhere.
Rob Key doesn’t know or care
Posted in england, tagged county cricket, ecb, england, icl, indian cricket league, justin kemp, kent, rob key, twenty20 on July 28, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Rob Key still isn’t sure whether or not Kent will be able to take part in the Twenty20 Champions League, as they fielded ICL-contaminated players like Justin Kemp in the Twenty20 Cup.
And if Rob Key doesn’t know (or indeed care), who does? The ECB are hopeful that a compromise can be reached, but what do they know?
The World Twenty20 Qualifier
Posted in bermuda, canada, ireland, kenya, netherlands, scotland, tagged bermuda, canada, dwayne leverock, ireland, john davison, kenya, netherlands, ryan ten doeschate, scotland, twenty20, zimbabwe on July 27, 2008| 1 Comment »
Not all countries are automatically invited to the Twenty20 party. Some have to qualify. There are three spots available for Associates in next year’s tournament, including the extra slot which has been created by the non-participation of Zimbabwe. Next weekend, the following teams will try and fill them:
- Group A features Ireland, Scotland and Bermuda. Ireland should probably top this group, but you can never reckon against the mighty Sluggo.
- Group B includes Kenya, the Netherlands and Canada. Kenya are hotly tipped, but their preparation hasn’t gone to plan. How they will cope with the Belfast weather is anyone’s guess.
Harmison returns – wicketkeepers beware
Posted in england, tagged edgbaston, england, south africa, steve harmison on July 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Steve Harmison has been recalled to the England squad for the Third Test against South Africa at Edgbaston. Is this a short-term measure, a knee-jerk reaction to the failure of innovative selection in the last Test, or simply evidence that the 2005 Ashes DVD isn’t worn out yet?