With England wrapping up a test series victory against Sri Lanka earlier this week, I sat down with Bethan Moorcraft and Glen Williams to discuss the first two tests and look ahead to the rest of the summer. We discuss whether England have really been that good with the ball or whether it is conditions…
I’m back! Although I’m sure very few people noticed, and probably even less cared, I have had a near 7-month break from this blog now. Having posted everyday for over 100 days, it was almost inevitable that I would feel the need to give it a rest for a bit. Having had a pretty hectic…
On the day that it has been reported that the ECB is considering reducing the number of Championship matches from 16 to 12, I though it was about time I finally committed to this blog an idea I’ve been championing for the past three years. Restructuring the schedule and fixtures of county cricket has been…
Double standards appear to be rife at the ECB. The obvious example is the on going hideously boring Kevin Pietersen saga. A series of convoluted statements from Downton, Graves and Strauss have led to the whole affair continuing to be made into a right old shemozzle. I am not the world’s greatest KP fan, I…
As the first series of the English summer is fast approaching, now is a good as time as any to cast our eyes over both sides. The hosts are yet again in the midst of a supposed new era. The 12 names for the First Test contain few surprises, although there is a place for…
Today’s post is simply to point you in the direction of a genuinely uplifting piece of news. In a two fingered salute to the money-grabbing building companies, Sussex farmer Robert Worsley turned down a £275m offer for his 550-acres of land this week. He claims that the money would not make him any happier, and…
So the door has been firmly shut in KP’s face… Again! Just when you think this entire sorry saga can carry on no longer, it just keeps rearing it’s ugly head. When Downton said that KP was not coming back, that should have been it, but of course then Colin ‘mediocre’ Graves weighs in. Ranting…
With just 10 days until the start of an intriguing Test series between England and New Zealand, the two sides couldn’t be approaching the matches from more differing circumstances. On the face of it, this series has the potential to be extremely close and hard fought, which is certainly a rarity for the early Test…
Yesterday evening came the inevitable announcement. After 52 Test, 3835 runs, and 9 centuries, Jonathan Trott called time on his England career. It was the final move from a dignified, proud, yet realistic man. It was clear to all that Trott would not be playing for England again after his torturous Caribbean tour, but it…
As the IPL danced on from Chennai to Kolkata, a game of an altogether more sedate pace was being play out to a smattering of supporters in the spring sunshine in the Welsh capital. It was no less engrossing than matters thousands of miles away, however, as Glamorgan were able to wrestle the ascendancy from…
Stumps Day One: Derbyshire 47/2 (Slater 25*) lead Glamorgan, at Cardiff It was a frustratingly truncated day in Cardiff as overnight rain and morning showers had seeped under the covers, to render play in the morning session entirely impossible. When the players did finally make their way onto the field at 2:40 in the afternoon,…
Glamorgan and Derbyshire lock horns on Sunday for the start of their LVCC Division 2 encounter in Cardiff. The visitors arrive in the Welsh capital in the wake a superb victory over Gloucestershire in their last outing. A brutal innings of 227 in just 176 balls from Martin Guptill set Derbyshire on their way for…
Hardly anytime to write anything today, but I did manage to catch a few bits of the first session over in Barbados. Obviously, aside from England doing their best to make an average West Indies attack look like world-beaters, the main story is that of another failure for Jonathan Trott. I have always remained broadly…
Ahead of tomorrow’s third and final Test, the conjecture surrounding England’s team selection is mostly focussed on whether Adil Rashid will come into the side to offer a second spinner, or whether Jonathan Trott may see his return at the top of the order cut short. These positions are rightly being debated; I would not…
After a scintillating final afternoon from Jimmy Anderson and his teammates to pull of a remarkable victory in the Second Test in Grenada, England head over to Barbados with their tails up ahead of the final Test of the series. With a 1-0 lead, England know that simply avoiding defeat at the Kensington Oval will…
Although it has made few headlines here in the UK, Bangladesh’s recent upturn in fortunes is uplifting news for the world of cricket. Their recent 3-0 ODI series triumph over Pakistan is the third occasion they have been on the right side of an ODI series whitewash in the past 18 months. But it is…
This will be the final short post for a little while. Hopefully I will be able to start posting some lengthier and more in depth pieces over the coming weeks. This is all down to the fact that I have finally submitted my university dissertation. A 41-page epic on the Russian Gulag… thanks for asking!…
Sorry for the lack of meaningful posts at the moment, but with my dissertation deadline looming it is pretty hard to find the time to put anything together. All I can say is how nice it is to have county cricket back. I find the commentaries the perfect background noise for doing work too, and…
Just a short post today. As I watch England stroll to what should be a routine victory over the West Indies, i’m pretty knackered. After not bowling a single delivery or facing a single ball since last August, I finally managed to fit in a game of cricket today. And god was it cold! But…
In an age where cricketers, and sportsmen in general, are lambasted for being boring, lacking character, and being entirely mundane in interviews, just why are people criticising West Indies cricketer Marlon Samuels? After slapping a long-hop from West Indies leggie Devendra Bishoo straight into the hands of Jermaine Blackwood on the mid-wicket boundary, Ben Stokes…
Jack Vittles 