The ECB’s decision to appoint the New Zealander on a four-year deal is a daring but calculated moveEnglish cricket has had a bit of a crush on New Zealand in recent times. From the buccaneering if ultimately thwarted World Cup campaign in 2015 that inspired Eoin Morgan’s white-ball side to silverware four years later, to last summer’s World Test Championship triumph, admiration has been plentiful. In some ways the move to hire one of its architects, Brendon McCullum, should not be a total shock.Nevertheless, McCullum taking charge of the Test team, with the white-ball vacancy still outstanding, is an eye-catching move by Rob Key. It is in keeping with the wind that has swept through since the lamentable winter too....
The all-rounder spoke with assuredness on his plans, his father, the Bristol incident and last year’s break from the sportThere has been a fair amount of fretting about the prospect of Ben Stokes, England Test captain. Even after a weary Joe Root called him before Easter to explain he was stepping down from the job, his wife, Clare, immediately said “oh no, oh no, oh no”, knowing full well what was likely to follow. Yet as Stokes strolled into the Colin Milburn Lounge at Durham’s Riverside Ground on Tuesday, decked out in grey-blue England training gear and that fiery red hair slicked back like a Peaky Blinder, he looked like a man at peace with the promotion. This may be...
Whether effective or not, too many of England’s leaders have had to depart under a cloud, tarnishing their reputationThe career of an England Test captain, like a life in politics, always seems to end in failure. Maybe it’s at a tearful press conference after back-to-back thrashings by South Africa. Or by a hastily arranged England Cricket Board statement sent out after a row that also cost the head coach his job. Or off the back of an almighty spat with your star batsman that started when he was caught sending texts to the opposition slating your leadership. Or at the fag end of a slump of form in which the team lost five series in a row. In the end...
Those keen on answering the ECB’s call for a new men’s head coach might want to consider the turbulent history of the roleWelcome to The Spin, the Guardian’s weekly (and free) cricket newsletter. Here’s an extract from this week’s edition. To receive the full version every Wednesday, just pop your email in below.Roll up! Roll up! The hunt is on for a new head coaches for the England men’s cricket teams. Gary Kirsten, Graham Ford, Simon Katich … Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting – heck maybe even that Aussie guy the Spin saw get ejected from Edgbaston in the early noughties for throwing cooking apples into the crowd while dressed as an alpine milkmaid – will no doubt be polishing up...
If you work out the win/loss ratio for England’s recent Test players, you end up with a surprising top fiveWelcome to The Spin, the Guardian’s weekly (and free) cricket newsletter. Here’s an extract from this week’s edition. To receive the full version every Wednesday, just pop your email in below.Cricket is not often accused of being short of statistics, but there is one that we hardly ever see. It measures what may be the most sought-after quality in sport: the ability to win. And the least sought-after – the tendency to lose. Welcome to the win/loss ratio, an off-putting name for a crucial metric. Continue reading...