• Is cricket damaged? You bet it is
    Tuesday, 31st August 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH
    ANDY LLOYD
    THERE’S an old saying in life, which goes: “It’s just not cricket” – a phase which is testimony to the fair nature and traditional values of the game of cricket. But never has that been more... [Read more]

  • More than a series at stake in final Test
    Wednesday, 25th August 2010
    ANDY LLOYD
    AT THE CREASE WITH THE IMPORTANCE of a win for England in tomorrow’s deciding Test against Pakistan should not be underestimated. With an Ashes tour just months away, Andrew Strauss and his men would... [Read more]
  • Selectors are right to give Cook time
    Wednesday, 18th August 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITHANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    ALASTAIR COOK is clearly lacking in confidence at the moment but the England selectors are right to keep faith with him. He is struggling to make his mind up which deliveries to play and which to... [Read more]
  • Time for England to stake their claim
    Thursday, 29th July 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH
    ANDY LLOYD
    TOURING Australia in an Ashes series is every young English cricketer’s dream and you can be sure it will rest in the back of the players’ minds when they line up for the summer series against... [Read more]

  • When chips were down, captain shone
    Tuesday, 13th July 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH
    ANDY LLOYD
    aI’D like to have been a fly on the wall of the England dressing room in Bristol after their defeat to Bangladesh on Saturday night. But while I’m sure some of the choice words used would’ve turned... [Read more]
  • So far, so good for England
    Wednesday, 7th July 2010
    ANDY LLOYD
    THERE’S no better habit than a winning habit and England’s recent 3-2 series success over Australia will give them plenty of confidence for the rest of the summer – and beyond. True, the Ashes is a... [Read more]
  • Now’s the time to unleash Shahzad
    Wednesday, 2nd June 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    RYAN SIDEBOTTOM will be playing for his future in the second Test with Bangladesh at Old Trafford on Friday. A foot injury to Tim Bresnan has given the Nottinghamshire seamer what could be a final... [Read more]
  • Time for Morgan to stake his claim in the Test arena
    Thursday, 27th May 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    HE’S taken Twenty20 by storm – now Eoin Morgan has the chance to prove he can do it at Test level, and I’ll be intrigued to see how he gets on. Morgan has concentrated on making an impact in the... [Read more]
  • Brilliant England worthy winners
    Monday, 17th May 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    ENGLAND are worthy winners and you have to tip your hat to the selectors and coach Andy Flower for the way they picked and prepared a team to do a specific job. At first we thought perhaps Jimmy... [Read more]
  • England look the real deal
    Wednesday, 12th May 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    WELL, it’s terrific to watch isn’t it? I don’t think I can remember an England side playing with such confidence and guile as they are in this World Twenty20. With specialists such as Michael Lumb,... [Read more]
  • Collingwood’s men can rival the favourites
    Wednesday, 5th May 2010
    CRICKET COMMENT
    ANDY LLOYD
    IT may have been anticlimactic, but England are through – and I think they now have a hell of a chance of winning the World Twenty20. We’ve seen two very different England performances, but then they... [Read more]
  • Bangalore blasts will concern ICC
    Wednesday, 21st April 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    THE blasts in Bangalore at the weekend were not only a worry for Indian Premier League chiefs, but will also be pretty disturbing for the ICC ahead of next year’s World Cup on the sub-continent.... [Read more]
  • Get set for intriguing county season
    Wednesday, 7th April 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH
    ANDY LLOYD
    I’M no weather forecaster but if traditions are anything to go by then you can expect rain on Friday for the start of the County Championship. After the coldest of winters the domestic season is back... [Read more]
  • Tredwell deserves chance
    Wednesday, 17th March 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    WHAT England captain Alastair Cook will have taken away from the first Test in Bangladesh is that it is typically a very hard place to play cricket. The pitches are slow and low, and that makes it... [Read more]
  • Tigers won’t be taken lightly
    Wednesday, 10th March 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    AT the end of a competitive one-day series and a tough warm-up match against a second string side, England will have come away with plenty to ponder ahead of the first Test match, which starts on... [Read more]
  • Eoin has talent and bottle
    Wednesday, 3rd March 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    EOIN MORGAN’S knock in Dhaka yesterday was as good a one-day innings as you’ll see. The young Middlesex batsman is blossoming into a big player on the one-day stage and the character he showed in... [Read more]
  • Craig has world at his feet
    Wednesday, 24th February 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH
    ANDY LLOYD
    HE may have only been on the scene five minutes, but Craig Kieswetter is almost nailed on to retain his place in the side for the three one-day internationals with Bangladesh, starting on Sunday.... [Read more]
  • Finding that match-winner is England’s aim in Dubai
    Wednesday, 17th February 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    CAPTAIN Paul Collingwood talked about this being a big week for England’s Twenty20 side, but I feel this tour of the middle east is being seen more of a fact-finding mission than the start of a... [Read more]
  • Strauss will rue his clanger
    Wednesday, 20th January 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    I’VE been one of Andrew Strauss’ biggest supporters since he took over the mantle as England captain. He took the reigns at a difficult time, yet brought togetherness to the side, eventually... [Read more]
  • Tourists on brink of a top-notch victory
    Thursday, 14th January 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    FINALLY, after six or seven weeks of character-building and good old-fashioned hard graft, this is it. The fourth and final Test in Johannesburg, starting this morning, is simply a massive game for... [Read more]
  • Collingwood could be key if England are to salvage draw
    Thursday, 7th January 2010
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    ANDY LLOYD
    LET’S give credit where’s it’s due, South Africa have played extremely well these last two days to take this stranglehold on the third Test. Graeme Smith, in particular, batted superbly in the second... [Read more]
  • Crazy hour mustn’t haunt us
    Tuesday, 22nd December 2009
    AT THE CREASE WITH
    BAR that last “crazy” hour, as Andrew Strauss described it, England played some fantastic cricket in the first Test at Centurion over the weekend and have every reason to be encouraged ahead of the... [Read more]
  • England can end a fine year in style
    Wednesday, 16th December 2009
    AT THE CREASE WITH ANDY LLOYD
    Andy Lloyd
    LOOKING back, you have to say 2009 has been a pretty successful year for the England cricket team. Bar the disastrous one-day series against Australia, which England lost 6-1, captain Andrew Strauss... [Read more]