The Johannesburg wicket is expected to be quick and Joe Root’s side think they can exploit itOthers may have grabbed most attention on the first three days here, notably Ollie Pope and Dom Bess, but the performance of Mark Wood in his first Test for 11 months has given England cause for real excitement for next week’s series finale in Johannesburg. Related: Dom Bess takes five wickets but rain, drops and South Africa stall England Continue reading...
The Surrey batsman is the youngest Englishman to score a Test century since Alastair Cook and the quality of his batting conjured memories of Joe Root at the start of his careerThere are some young players who you only need to see a handful of times before coming to the conclusion they have a long and distinguished international career ahead of them. Ollie Pope, after his performance during this third Test against South Africa, can undoubtedly be classed among that rare group.It was not just that Pope, at 22 years and 15 days, became the youngest Englishman to score a Test century since Alastair Cook back in 2006 at Nagpur. It was everything about his innings, from the composure shown...
Rob Key, Graeme Swann and Paul Franks were among England’s unlikely World Cup winners. They recall a memorable tourAway from the senior team’s ongoing Test tour of South Africa, but not too far away, the latest batch of starry-eyed English teenagers are preparing for the ICC Under-19 World Cup and their opening fixture against West Indies in Kimberley on Monday.Lancashire’s George Balderson leads a squad that includes seven players with county experience. The Spin is keen to see more of Joey Evison of Nottinghamshire, a seam-bowling all-rounder, and Jack Haynes, an elegant right-hander from Worcestershire. But between 17 January and 9 February there will be plenty who catch the eye. The 16-team tournament – the 13th edition and a first...
Going back to Grace, via Hutton, Boycott and Cook, England have a long history of stoical openers. Dom Sibley’s 133 over 495 minutes in Cape Town suggests an interregnum is overAnxiety, collapses, swing bowlers, off-spinners, tea, and opening batsmen, especially opening batsmen. They’ve been part of the character of English cricket since the beginning – staunch, and stoical, as anyone who faces up to the new ball on a green pitch needs to be. Grace and Stoddart, Hobbs and Sutcliffe, Hutton and Washbrook. There was an interregnum then. Until, on 4 June 1964, Geoff Boycott came along. He made his debut in the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge (c Bob Simpson b Grahame Corling, 48), with Hutton’s blessing. “Very...
The tone of the game flows backwards from the possibility of five days – just look at Dominic Sibley’s century in Cape TownNo. No. No. And also: no. Not even: no thanks. No, later or maybe or let’s see. This is simply a hard, flat no. And indeed an angry and reproachful no, too. When it comes to the ICC’s suggestion that four-day Test matches may be the future of international red-ball cricket there is only one sensible response. That response is an aggressive, concerted and righteous rejection.This is an informed no, too, a no that understands we live in a sporting world dominated by greed and short-termism (otherwise known as the commercial or “real” world). Change and compromise have...