England have lost a great batsman in order to gain a poor captain. It doesnt make sense and the semi-honorific status of the Test captaincy needs to be looked atShall we have a debate about whether Joe Root should carry on as Englands Test captain? OK, Ill start. The answer is, no. Of course not. Time to give up, concentrate on being a brilliant batsman and give someone else a go. The end.Unfortunately a question this clear-cut does present some formal problems when it comes to writing a column. It is necessary at this point to whistle nonchalantly and glance down at the open white spaces below this line, like a man in a crowded lift staring with furious feigned...
There will be only three rounds of matches next year in the three months that constitute high summer, offering few chances for those seeking to break into Joe Roots teamOne day after a numbing, naive innings defeat against New Zealand the impetus for England to become as effective with a red ball as they are with a white one is surely redoubled. Joe Roots team were ultimately thrashed on a true, hard, unyielding pitch upon which the Kookaburra ball seldom deviated.Often the conditions in New Zealand are likened to those in this country but that no longer seems to apply. The announcement of the first-class fixtures for the 2020 domestic season in England offers little encouragement that our Test team...
Perpetrators even within the game have been tolerated, indulged and celebrated so, yes, it is a problemJofra Archer has been an international cricketer for just over six months and has been racially abused twice. Those are just the two incidents we know about. As many people of colour will tell you, for every comment that comes to light, there will have been dozens more that go unheeded: ignored or shrugged off so as not to cause an unseemly fuss, internalised and rationalised as simply the price of doing business as a non-white athlete in 2019. Related: Jofra Archer says he was racially abused in England's defeat to New Zealand Related: England resistance ends as New Zealand wrap up crushing first...
Cricket tour allows supporters to be enthusiastic again after semi-final defeat in the Rugby World CupWhichever side loses the Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama on Saturday, the country concerned will be plunged into what you might call shallow mourning. Or at least a portion of it will: largely but not wholly white, male and middle-class.But in a faraway and now, once again, more or less forgotten country, it goes deeper and wider than that. Continue reading...
Chris Silverwood knows England’s cricketers and selectors well but the erstwhile bowling coach has taken on a great deal of extra responsibilityIn becoming only the second Englishman in two decades to be appointed as the national head coach, Chris Silverwood represents less of a risk than the man to precede him, Peter Moores.Moores, who was – bizarrely – given the post twice in 2007 and 2014, was first handed the job with undue haste after the departure of Duncan Fletcher at the end of the World Cup in the Caribbean; seven years later he was chosen to replace Andy Flower. Related: Chris Silverwood confirmed as England’s new head coach Related: Was this cricket's best summer ever? – The Spin Podcast Continue...