Sunday’s Tri-Series final represents England’s final competitive preparation for the World Cup. Since their arrival in Australia, and the sacking of the Alastair Cook, England appear to have found a new lease of life. Two good victories against India and some competitive performances again the hosts, have left England with a feeling of genuine…
England completed a workmanlike victory over India this morning to ensure qualification for the tri-series final. The manner of the victory, while frustratingly including a batting collapse, will be cause for optimism in the England camp. Learning to win ugly is a skill that is highly valued with a World Cup around the corner. One…
Ahead of the World Cup, and with England having only a maximum of 2 ODI’s to play before their opener against Australia on February 14th, I thought now was the ideal time to take a statistical look at their chances. There are many ways to approach this task; you can look into England’s historical record…
Today saw the culmination of the Big Bash League at the Manuka Oval in Canberra. The game came down to the final delivery, and in a pulsating finish, the Scorchers squeaked home thanks to a fumble from Moises Henriques. The final over was full of drama, as Brett Lee, in his final professional game, produced…
With the selection of the England squads being among the most talked about facets of the game, I thought I would turn my attention to the XI players who failed to gain recognition. I humbly present my Current County Cricket XI who have never represented England. I’ve tried to include all formats of the game…
Technology in cricket is undoubtedly beneficial to the game; that much is clear. But could technology, and DRS in particular, be limiting, and reducing the role of the umpire? For over 100 years, the role of the humble cricket umpire remained unchanged, not only were they the sole adjudicators of LBW decisions, they were also…
People say the FA Cup has lost it’s magic. That people don’t care about it anymore. That may be true for an elite ultra-rich Premier League few. But for the majority of clubs in the country, the FA Cup remains the pinnacle of their season, even some player’s careers. Yesterday was a day when the…
A very busy Saturday has led to a very short blog today. So after making some slightly fantastical predictions on New Years Day, I thought I’d maybe offer a few more considered guesses. I will, of course, be elaborating on my choices at some point over the coming months. But as things stand, here are…
It was a familiar tale. England looked good for large parts of an ODI and appeared to be ahead during long passages of the match, only to throw it all away and end up as valiant losers once again. It would be easy to suggest that England’s ODI defeat to Australia today was another failure…
In the light of the recent David Warner altercation and a few other unsavoury incidents, the idea of sledging within cricket is now firmly back in the spotlight. Warner was seen to be telling Rohit Sharma to ‘speak English’ during a recent tri-series ODI. The incident and the furore surrounding it, has meant that the…
For tomorrow’s blog I will be offering my opinion on the current sledging debate within cricket. With David Warner recently bringing the issue back into the spotlight, and following on from Jonathan Agnew’s ill-judged comments about aggression within cricket, I think it is a tough debate to settle. Anyway, I will attempt to give my…
They did it. England have finally won an ODI in a convincing fashion. Sure, other teams do it quite often; some even make a habit of doing it a few times, perhaps even to win a series. But this is England, and we are used to a few close defeats, the rare hiding and the…
With 365 Days of blogs to produce over this year, I’m afraid that some may be a little short. But with writing not being a full-time job for me, the time I can dedicate to this blog is dictated by my Uni workload and other commitments. Anyway… today I am basically laying out how I…
In the wake of the AB De Villiers show in Johannesburg this morning, I found myself asking if the balance between bat and ball has shifted too far. Was that innings from De Villiers simply a once in a lifetime display of skill from arguably the most complete batsman of his generation, or is it…
With the 2015 Cricket World Cup just a few weeks away, I thought now would be a good as time as any to revisit my first real cricket viewing experience. The 2003 World Cup is remembered by most within the game, as a tournament which went on a bit too long and was steamrolled by…
Both Australia and England began their final preparations for the World Cup this Friday at the SCG, and it was nice to see the tri-series back on the Australian cricketing calendar, but this event is only serving as a competitive warm up for the ‘big three’ sides involved. The two sides could not have entered…
Today, fast bowling tearaway Brett Lee declared that he was hanging up his boots at the end of the current Big Bash season. He is the final regular member of Australia’s all conquering Test side of the late 90’s and early 00’s to call time on his career. Looking back, Lee can be pleased at…
As Chris Gayle sent yet another delivery sailing into the Bullring crowd the other night, a thought occurred to me. Has anyone ever been so far ahead of the rest in terms of batting? If we narrow our thoughts down to just the T20 game, then I think it is reasonable to argue that Chris…
As this is the 13th post in my attempt to blog everyday of 2015, I thought I would honour the momentous occasion with a post on the unluckiest cricketers and cricketing moments. Kevin Pietersen I’m sure there are a whole host of reasons why KP will consider himself worthy of being on a list of…
For the fourth and final instalment of my look at the new generation of Test batman, I’ll be turning my attention to New Zealand’s Kane Williamson. Alongside Smith, Kohli and Root, Kane Williamson is part of a quartet that look set to dominate the Test game over the next decade. The Kiwi batsman has…
Jack Vittles 