Well done Bangladesh on a first test win over England. The victory was thoroughly deserved and the series could have so easily finished 2–0 to the hosts rather than the 1–1 draw.
Both matches were excellent adverts for test cricket in that they were testing for both teams with the Tigers in my mind claiming a points victory over the two games. In Mehedi Hasan they have clearly unearthed a young diamond who may yet help to propel his team to more victories against the top teams.… Read Full Article
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Professional England See Off Tigerish Bangladesh
Well done England on a professional ODI series victory against Bangladesh. The Tigers might not be viewed by all as the toughest opponents and the visitors will certainly face sterner tests – but any Asian opposition on home soil is anything but a pushover.… Read Full Article
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Ring of Steel Brings Tear to the Eye
It was, in many ways, reassuring to see the military might of Bangladesh and the show of force they put on ahead of the start of the ODI series starting tomorrow (Friday).
Pictures and video clips certainly show they mean business. I heard one radio commentator liken the security to that you would see for a trip by Barack Obama.… Read Full Article
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Summer 2016 — A good summer
So, the 2016 cricket season is over and the footballers are back dominating the tabloids and the TV. What did we make of this year in international cricket and domestic cricket.
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Points to Ponder After Opening Loss
One test in, England are one-nil down. Well done Pakistan
Having brushed Sri Lanka aside England are in the midst of a much sterner test against an in-form Pakistan. And the visitors succeeded where many others have failed of late, i.e. to expose England’s weaknesses.
Perhaps England’s main weakness is a lack of top quality spinner. Moeen Ali is useful for a good few overs and tends to surprise many batsmen and trick them into a false sense of security. He is, however, a second spinner. If he couldn’t bat would he be in the side? Very unlikely. He’s a backup option, not lead the attack material. How and why England have chosen to ignore Adil Rashid amazes me. Over the decades English selectors have shown a reluctance to pig leg-spinners and Rashid is seen as susceptible of leaking a few runs – but he has proven in ODIs and T20s that he is able to keep it tight. Thankfully they have at least indicated they are willing to put this right by naming him in the 13 man squad for the second test. They must pick him – especially as Old Trafford tends to offer encouragement to the twirlers. England have a bit of a selection dilemma on their hands – I suspect Ben Stokes and Moeen are fighting it out for one place.
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TMS — A Reassuring Presence in Brexiting Times
On Thursday 23 June Britain voted to leave the European Union.
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Super England Claim Super Series
With just one match left in this new “super series” format between England and Sri Lanka the home nation have proven themselves completely dominant
Winning the test series comes as no surprise – the visitors were never going to be able to cope with Anderson and Broad in home conditions – but I expected a sterner test in the 50-over format.… Read Full Article
0England vs Sri Lanka — any Lessons Learned?
The third and final test in the England vs Sri Lanka test series is now at an end after the rain brought a damp squib of an end to the match.
So what have we learned? Not a great deal really. We are almost where we were three tests ago. Nick Compton would appear not quite of test level is one obvious conclusion. Personally speaking I feel it would be a little harsh to jettison him – I would give him the Pakistan series to make a final decision on him. I doubt that will happen, however and Lords was the last we will see of him in the whites of the three lions.… Read Full Article
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Entertaining the masses — a side to please everyone, perhaps?
Many say test match cricket is languishing in the doldrums at this moment in time. There’s all sorts of plans being chucked around to try and heave it up by its coat tails. Such one sided demolitions as the England Sri Lanka series only add weight to the naysayers cause and the half empty (or should that be full?!) stands at Chester Le Street don’t exactly help matters.
As always the answer to turn things around isn’t straight forward. We’re all searching for that silver bullet or miracle cure to guarantee packed stadia but the only thing that is clear is that there is no simple answer.
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0Pitch Perfect England Need a Sterner Test
So the first test of the summer is at an end. Well done England for a victory for what was really a match of men against boys.
Sri Lanka are, to use that oft touted sound-bite, a team in “transition” and boy did it show. It must be remembered, however, that they kept a strong England batting line up to a tad under the 300 mark – and half of those runs came from the excellent Jonny Bairstow. Alex Hales did well too with a decent knock and must be kicking himself he didn’t convert it into a ton. Had it not been for those two it might have been a closer run thing. We will never know.… Read Full Article
“The pink ball appears grey/blue in red/green deficient vision, depending on its severity. I did a simulation with colour blindness…”