The strange things real fast bowlers make you do
(an extract from Who Wants to be a Batsman, recounting a reality check against two of the most feared fast bowlers who ever lived.) Aged 29 I did eventually get to raise...
Category: Featured
AB: the fearless peerless destroyer
AB de Villiers is the most complete batsman of the modern era. He is a player for all seasons and formats. He can adapt his game to any requirements. The year 2015 will be...
The future for cricket in the United States is not Sachin v Shane
Here’s a picture of a cricket match. It could be in Sussex, Hampshire or Dorset perhaps? Or maybe Palmerston North in New Zealand, or Tasmania? All wrong. This is High Point CC playing a...
Is the Bell finally tolling for England’s no3?
What to do about Ian Bell? After his duck in the final innings of the Pakistan series his career test average (42.7) is the lowest it’s been since March 2010. In 13 tests in...
Wasim Akram: the fastest bowler I never saw.
If you want an example of how not to prepare to face a seriously brilliant Pakistani fast bowler, read this account of Middlesex v Pakistan at Lord’s two decades ago… (extracted from Who Wants...
Is this Pakistan series worth it? Well kind of….
Tours of ‘Pakistan’ are not what they used to be. Stories abound from previous decades of difficult road journeys in dodgy coaches – including, terrifyingly, the time the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked...
Cook’s three crucial ingredients: fitness, focus and finding the dimmer switch
The edifice painstakingly constructed by Alastair Cook in Abu Dhabi deserved better than to be consigned to white elephant status by the absurdness of test cricket’s playing conditions. How do you explain to a...
How ever you calibrate it, Bradman is still the best (but Boycs ain’t bad!)
Comparing test batsmen from different eras was always a mugs game. Style of play, playing conditions, bowling attacks have varied so hugely it is almost impossible to make a balanced judgement. But what you...
It’s a batter’s game (book extract)
Fast bowlers put six times their body weight through their knee and ankle every time they deliver the ball. It’s a shocking fact. In my case, that was a force of almost 500kg per...
Ashes afterthoughts: Moeen could get Lyth’s opening berth in the UAE
Adam Lyth would have had mixed feelings during yesterday’s celebrations. He could never have dreamt, three months ago playing for Yorkshire that on August 23rd he would be doing a lap of honour around...
