This is not a history of close fielding; that will have to come later. This is more in the nature of an apology. I always … Read More
The Smack of Firm Government
A number of friends – some not even cricketing friends really – alerted me to the passing, a couple of weeks ago, of the former … Read More
Here Comes the Sun
We’re now in mid-May, and, if all was right in the world, the West Indians ought to be arriving in England for their three-Test tour. … Read More
Dean Park, Bournemouth, 3 May 1970
Wisden arrived this week. Of course one always has to wait a little while for it in Singapore, but wherever you are the arrival of … Read More
Vinoo Mankad
This is a chapter from The Indian Masters, published originally in 2015 The 2004 edition of Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanack has a full page listing those … Read More
And Then There Were Twelve
My most recent post, on the little masters Tendulkar and Gavaskar, and the not so little Kohli, generated such a wave of interest – there … Read More
Little and Large
I write this on Sachin Tendulkar’s 47th birthday. He made his Test debut, against Pakistan in Karachi, a month before the fall of the Berlin Wall. … Read More
Who is the Fairest of Them All?
I remember listening to an interview with a batsman – a right-handed batsman, I just can’t remember who it was – who was struck by … Read More
April is the Cruellest Month
Whatever your interpretation of T S Elliot’s famous line, April is a month I normally look forward to. The 2020 edition of Wisden – the 157th – … Read More
Time for a Break
I saw an intriguing picture the other day while leafing through a book called Cricket – The Golden Age by Duncan Steer. You will see the image … Read More
Catch Me if You Can
Records are made to be broken. That is certainly true of sport. In some ways it is almost the point of sport. Feats that appear … Read More
Clash of the Titans
Who was the greater bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan or Shane Warne? Such questions are almost impossible to answer. This is obviously the case with cricketers from … Read More