The doom-mongers are wrong, it’s not all gloomy for England December 14, 2016 There seems to be quite a lot of negativity being written and spoken about English cricket at the moment and quite honestly a lot of it is a load of rubbish. Yes, England have been hammered by India and defeat in Mumbai was their seventh Test loss of 2016. A further setback during the fifth [...]
It’s premature to talk about the end of Alastair Cook’s England captaincy – bowing out after revenge Down Under and reaching No1 Test ranking would be a more fitting farewell December 7, 2016 It would be fitting for Alastair Cook to continue as Test skipper, lead England to Australia next winter and right the wrongs of the previous tour Down Under, when we were mercilessly whitewashed. I have seen it argued that if England lose the fourth Test against India, which starts on Thursday, then Cook should relinquish [...]
India is proving tough, but some tours are brutal – try the 2013-14 Ashes series in Australia November 30, 2016 The tour of India is not going the way England would have hoped – 2-0 down with two Tests to play doesn’t make for pleasant reading, while injuries have also struck. It’s important that spirits are kept high and skipper Alastair Cook, together with the management and coaching staff, has an important job to make [...]
Faf du Plessis ball-tampering saga is ridiculous. It’s nothing new, England have been doing it for years November 23, 2016 The ball-tampering saga which has engulfed South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis is all a bit ridiculous and something which has been blown way out of proportion. Chewing sweets and shining the ball, with the theory being that the polish is kept on the ball better with sweet saliva, is something which has been done [...]
It may very well spin more in Visakhapatnam but it’s a chance for England to prove their credentials to be world No1 November 16, 2016 When England reached No1 in the Test world rankings in 2011 there were questions from subcontinent nations about whether we deserved that billing as we’d only really won in our own conditions and in Australia. The ultimate test of being the top team on the planet is to perform in any given circumstance as the [...]
If Alastair Cook feels he needs to ditch the England captaincy then he should November 8, 2016 It's critical for England that Alastair Cook is in the side and scoring runs for years to come so if he feels he needs or wants to give up the captaincy to be able to do that then everyone should respect that. Cook has played a lot of cricket. He’s clocked up more Test appearances [...]
It will be far from easy, but the only thing England can do is stand up and fight India November 2, 2016 Even if England had wiped the floor with Bangladesh during their two-Test series and hinted at mastering subcontinent conditions, the upcoming tussles with India were always going to be much harder propositions. Going into the Bangladesh series I felt England were more than capable of winning 2-0, but I don’t necessarily think 1-1 was a [...]
My old Surrey team-mate Zafar Ansari will not be fretting over his expected England debut October 26, 2016 My former Surrey team-mate Zafar Ansari is set to make his England debut during the second Test with Bangladesh, which gets underway on Friday, and he is the sort of character that will take it firmly in his stride. Zafar is a very intelligent person and is a bit different to some of the other [...]
Spin will be a huge factor in Bangladesh but the role of England’s seam attack cannot be underestimated October 19, 2016 Spin is being touted as the main weapon during England’s two-Test series against Bangladesh, which starts on Thursday, and that is likely to be the case although the role the seamers have to play cannot be underestimated. The new ball is not going to stay hard for very long and it is vital that England’s [...]
Jos Buttler, fracas and all, has done his future claims to lead no harm in Bangladesh October 12, 2016 Despite England inflicting defeat upon Bangladesh for the first time in their last seven home one-day series, I fully expect skipper Eoin Morgan and opener Alex Hales to return to the side for the 50-over tussles with India in January. Hales has scored four one-day centuries in the past year, while England have done extremely well [...]
