Mark Wood’s comeback from injury shows the strength in depth England’s bowling attack now has January 29, 2020 England won the fourth Test match against South Africa on Monday to seal a 3-1 series victory and there are a lot of positives for them to take out of the last six weeks. South Africa are in a transitional phase and are clearly not what they used to be, but the fact England bounced [...]
England should not rush Ollie Pope up the batting order – let him develop his game at No6 January 22, 2020 England’s win over South Africa in the third Test in Port Elizabeth came by a margin of an innings and 53 runs and gave them a 2-1 lead in the series and yet some people still were not happy. I saw some criticism of England’s top-order batting, with people saying openers Dom Sibley and Zak [...]
Fit-again Mark Wood the way to go for England in third Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth January 15, 2020 Jimmy Anderson’s broken rib has left England with a decision to make for the third Test match against South Africa, which starts in Port Elizabeth on Thursday morning. Anderson took seven wickets in the 189-run win in Cape Town and will be a big miss, but his absence is an opportunity for one of Jofra [...]
Four-day Test matches are a divisive issue but they might have their place for emerging cricketing nations January 8, 2020 England’s dramatic victory over South Africa in Cape Town on Tuesday came at a good time for them, but also for the wider cricketing community. With the International Cricket Council set to discuss the idea of reducing Test matches to four days to create space in the schedule and ease players’ workloads, England’s gripping 189-run [...]
Review of 2019: Stokes has been England’s inspiration and Archer has broken through December 18, 2019 This year has been a memorable one for English cricket, with the World Cup and the Ashes getting people talking about the sport. My end-of-year review could not overlook that impact. Player of the year I can’t pick anyone other than Ben Stokes, who became the first cricketer since Andrew Flintoff in 2005 to win [...]
My life after cricket: How I transitioned from fast bowling to property investment December 11, 2019 When I was 23 my cricket career was nearly over. I had a nasty operation on a ruptured hamstring, which put me out of action for six or seven months, and after it became infected the surgeon told me I might not be able to play again. Back then I had no idea what I [...]
There are no alternatives – Joe Root should keep the captaincy as England build towards a new era November 27, 2019 England begin the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton tomorrow and there is one man in particular who could do with a positive performance. Joe Root is enduring a difficult time at the moment, with his position as captain coming under fresh scrutiny after he managed just 13 runs in the defeat by an [...]
Archer has the ability to be the difference on New Zealand’s flat pitches – if England use him cleverly November 19, 2019 England’s bowlers have been readying themselves for the first Test against New Zealand tomorrow knowing that they need to adopt a different approach to the one they use at home. It sounds like the Bay Oval pitch could be a flat one and England, who are used to a Dukes ball, swing-friendly conditions and Jimmy [...]
Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley are perfect fits for Chris Silverwood’s old school approach with England November 13, 2019 Chris Silverwood will be delighted with how England are shaping up for his first Test match in charge against New Zealand next Wednesday. They might have drawn their first warm-up match against a New Zealand XI in Whangarei this week, but there were some real signs of encouragement for England’s new head coach. Silverwood talked [...]
England’s experienced players need to step up in New Zealand to allow youngsters time to develop November 6, 2019 I think England‘s inexperience has shown as they have lost the last two Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand to slip 2-1 behind in the five-match series. Six players went on the tour without a cap to their name and all of them played the most recent game on Tuesday, which England conspired to lose when [...]