The all-rounder’s court case may be over but the England and Wales Cricket Board’s handling of this affair doubtless has a few more embarrassing twists and turns to take yetI am relieved to learn that the not guilty verdict in the Ben Stokes affray trial has ended what has been widely acknowledged as a period of awkwardness for the England and Wales Cricket Board. “ECB’s embarrassment over after Stokes cleared,” declared Sky News.Newly unembarrassed – or found not guilty, if you prefer, of being embarrassing – the ECB moved swiftly after the verdict to issue a statement. “Ben Stokes will now join the England squad for the third Specsavers Test against India,” this ran, “which starts at Trent Bridge on...
After winning three successive Tests England’s coach has not been widely heralded but Trevor Bayliss has shown that he is more astute than he lets onIt was not so long ago – after the first Lord’s Test of the summer, when Pakistan defeated England by nine wickets – that several sages were quick to start suggesting immediate replacements for Trevor Bayliss as the coach of England’s Test team.They felt able to conclude Bayliss was somehow a fine one-day coach but useless in the Test arena. This was the cutest of arguments somehow differentiating the qualities Bayliss can offer by the colour of the ball in play. It was mostly convenient, headline-making nonsense triggered by England’s poor run in Test cricket....
After his senior colleagues had faltered the young all-rounder took the fight to the Indian bowlers in swashbuckling styleOf course it is the hope that kills you. Anyone who has followed England long enough knows that. Which was why the thousands of fans inside Edgbaston’s Hollies Stand were so damn happy on Friday lunchtime. Because England were flat out of it, had not enough of the stuff to make the match worth fretting over. Related: Virat Kohli steels India for dramatic finale after Curran revives England Related: Ishant Sharma and dropped catches leave Dawid Malan facing England axe | Ali Martin Continue reading...
The world’s best Test bowler had the No 1 batsman’s measure for much of the second day of the first Test yet India’s captain punished England’s other bowlers in scoring 149Virat Kohli does not care to talk about the 2014 tour any more. After four years it seems the India captain has grown sick of being asked about it. But he did open up on it once, in 2015. “I put too much pressure on myself,” he said in an interview with Cricket Monthly. “I made it seem like a big mountain in front of me and once I was not able to scale it I was really disappointed.” Related: Virat Kohli’s brilliant century frustrates England in India fightback Anderson...
Side chosen by 6,000 voters is no more than a hybrid, with three current players from a middling England team, two recent ones, and three Sky punditsWe cricket fans love a good selection, whether it’s Tom Graveney, summoned at 39 to have the time of his life, or Jos Buttler, flying in from the IPL to give today’s England more flair. We secretly love a bad selection too, as it gives us the chance to moan and mansplain. This summer, the process has become livelier still under a new selection supremo. Ed Smith has brought a spark of fresh thinking, driven half of Yorkshire to frothing rage, and made a bold selection for his own panel by signing up James...