We knew things couldn’t get any worse. And most people thought it would take a while before they got better. In almost every respect England’s … Read More
Men’s International Cricket in the 1990s: A Golden Age?
Like everything else, cricket has changed immeasurably in the last forty years. The international game has probably changed more than most sports. The development of … Read More
Brave New World
England cricket supporters are well used to looking forward to the dawn of a new era. The last seismic change came at the end of … Read More
The Greatest of Our Time
In a world where all news is bad it still came as a terrible almost bruising shock. For cricket, it had been a very difficult … Read More
The Year of Living Dangerously: International Cricket in 2021
For a second year in succession, international cricket had a challenging time. It didn’t win any matches or series. It didn’t come anywhere in the … Read More
A Tale of Three Tests
Three Tests were played in the opening week of 2022, in Mount Maunganui, Sydney and Johannesburg. Each of them was truly memorable, demonstrating why Test … Read More
Drama at the ‘G: Boland’s Triumph Transcends England’s Pitiful Defeat
The Boxing Day Test saw Test cricket at its best. No, really. And I am not echoing Chris Silverwood’s inevitable call to take comfort from … Read More
Same Old Story
“…Anderson and Broad declined to pitch the ball up.” This is from Lawrence Booth’s match report of the second Test between Australia and England at … Read More
The Honourable Member: Tim Paine, and a Story for Our Times
With English cricket still reeling from the shame and embarrassment of the Azeem Rafiq saga, and with actual cricket not being a possibility because of … Read More
Today Yorkshire: Tomorrow…?
In all of English cricket’s long history, there have been few more chilling, more harrowing, days than 16 November 2021. At the same time it … Read More
The Fight for The Ashes 2021-22
Had this preview been written earlier, it would have been very different. The sudden and unexpected announcement that the England all-rounder Ben Stokes had been … Read More
Take Your Pick
“It is not the strongest squad England have taken to Australia – nor is it the weakest.” This was Mike Atherton’s decidedly non-committal verdict, published … Read More