From shirt numbers to the Test Championship, via concussion substitutes, bantermime booing and much more1) At Edgbaston on Thursday, Test cricket will be dragged kicking and screaming into the early 1990s. For the first time, players with have their name and number on the back of their shirts: as in white-ball cricket, Joe Root will wear No 66, proving that the responsibility of captaincy need not get in the way of a popular pun.2) After years of vetoes and false starts, the all-singing, all-dancing, all-context-providing Test Championship will begin this week. Teams collect points over a two-year cycle, with the top two playing in the final in June 2021. There are 120 points available in each series, so winning a...
England are best when underrated in the Ashes but after Lord’s feats they must beware thinking they can recover any situationA clique of radical extremists have seized the levers of power. A risky event that was unthinkable three years ago now seems unstoppable. Those with experience and acknowledged expertise have been marginalised. Dissent is discouraged.Sensible people are sceptical, uneasy. Lesser officials suppress their doubts and keep working within the system, hoping the leaders are right and that the damage will be less than they fear. They block out fears of ruin and look forward to promised cash. But many others stand aside aghast, some believing the only hope now is for the revolution to happen and fail so that life...
When England and Australia meet in the Ashes there will be plenty of talk on the field but there’s no evidence that it worksTick.”“Tock.” Related: James Pattinson: ‘Every wicket is like a release ... I need that feeling’ Related: The new tough: skill trumps sledge as Australian cricket moves into new era | Sam Perry Related: Australia’s new coach Justin Langer: sledging is a fun part of the game Continue reading...
Selectors have given the opener another chance as they attempt to break the link with ball-tamperingThere are stock phrases we get used to in Australian cricket. “Play his natural game” has been given a bit of a rest since the rank batting collapses early this decade. “Not crossing the line” is heard less often since the sandpaper fiasco of 2018. But “banging the door down” is alive and well.Bang the door down. That is what you are supposed to do any time you get dropped or skipped over. Go a level down, haul in the runs and wickets that demand your next elevation. Great in theory, rarely reflected in practice. Related: Cameron Bancroft joins Smith and Warner in Australia’s Ashes...
For England to have a fast bowler that menacing is unusual, for them to have a wrist spinner that deadly is almost unprecedented as Australia found to their cost in the semi-finalSome strange daydream, this, a child’s idea of what an England win might look like, or a revenge fantasy perhaps, cooked up by despondent English fans in their lowest moments. By the middle of the afternoon, the thousands at Edgbaston seemed almost drunk with happiness watching it come true in front of them.From the top of the pavilion, where their victory songs echoed around the rafters, you could see the heavy weather circling Birmingham. The Met Office had put out a weather warning and, judging by the smudges away...