England test team in need of ODI-like reform
In 2015, England to qualify for the knockout stage of the ODI World Cup. A team which contained the likes of Ian Bell, Garry Balance and Jimmy Anderson were unfit…
Ben Stokes’s Ashes heroics will not be forgotten
Rorke’s Drift. Dunkirk. Headingley 2019. The sportswriters stopped short of comparing the fourth day of this Ashes Third Test to Thermopylae, but the military analogies and journalistic grandiosities were out…
Sportsmanship – the grey area where ‘spirit’ meets the rule book
Over the last fortnight notable international sports stars have been caught up in sportsmanship spats. Controversial Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios – a name too well known for someone ranked…
Root’s response to homophobic sledging was exemplary
During the Third Test of the recent series against the West Indies, England cricket captain Joe Root was asked by an opposition bowler, Shannon Gabriel, if he “liked boys” in…
Rashid shows red-ball form is no longer required for England selection
So, the news is out. After a lot of debate, Adil Rashid has been selected to represent England in the form of a game that he does not currently have…
Vince’s style must give way to substance if he is to secure his place
Watching James Vince carve another crisp cover drive across the luscious summer grass, one could be forgiven for thinking that they were watching one of the greatest players in the…
Kevin Pietersen was a trailblazer, not a divisive egotist
Few sportsmen, let alone cricketers, can dazzle and excite nearly as much as they split opinion. Kevin Pietersen embodied this as the ultimate entertainer in a sport so often regarded…
Optimism low as England prepare for New Zealand series
Each Test series has its own character and history, and success or failure is viewed quite differently. If Ashes victory is perceived as the pinnacle of English cricketing achievement, defeat…