With the Ashes three months away, Malan returned to Test cricket and showed why he belongs on the biggest stageIt always comes back to Australia. The tour that was, the home series to come. Every two years, a relentless obsession for English cricket. A trap.And now, with only two and a half Tests left of the summer before a possible winter tour down under (Covid permitting), thoughts intensify. Performances count double through a baggy-green lens. England, despite a confusion of planning – at times too clever by half – of who to rest and when, the Ashes roadmap unfurled, seem to have fallen on their feet. A No 3 has appeared. He was, it turns out, hiding in plain sight...
The popular Hameed got stuck after reaching his half-century when he could have been making hay at HeadingleyThere was a rather tender moment after lunch on day one, as Joe Root gathered his England team into their traditional post-interval huddle. This can be a deceptively fraught moment for a captain, geometrically speaking. Allow the same faces to occupy their usual place in the huddle, and you risk letting cliques develop. Huddle too quickly or in the wrong place, and you can kiss goodbye to your dreams of a perfect circle. Watch Kane Williamson’s New Zealand team if you want to see it done properly.The code-red scenario for a captain occurs when the huddle has formed, all the gaps have closed...
The popular Hameed got stuck after reaching his half-century when he could have been making hay at HeadingleyThere was a rather tender moment after lunch on day one, as Joe Root gathered his England team into their traditional post-interval huddle. This can be a deceptively fraught moment for a captain, geometrically speaking. Allow the same faces to occupy their usual place in the huddle, and you risk letting cliques develop. Huddle too quickly or in the wrong place, and you can kiss goodbye to your dreams of a perfect circle. Watch Kane Williamson’s New Zealand team if you want to see it done properly.The code-red scenario for a captain occurs when the huddle has formed, all the gaps have closed...
Strange things happen at this ground and, despite a sensible strategy after winning the toss, India fell apart in the third TestIt’s 11.23am and Virat Kohli is jogging down the Headingley steps. The sky is a watery grey, the air is thick with cheers and boos and India are four for two. In his 15-year career as a batter and captain, Kohli has pretty much seen it all. He has played international cricket in 17 countries, overcome adversity of every sort, faced down every kind of challenge in every format. But he has never won the toss at Headingley before.Maybe this matters, and maybe it doesn’t. But there’s something about this place that seems to play tricks on the mind....
Strange things happen at this ground and, despite a sensible strategy after winning the toss, India fell apart in the third TestIt’s 11.23am and Virat Kohli is jogging down the Headingley steps. The sky is a watery grey, the air is thick with cheers and boos and India are four for two. In his 15-year career as a batter and captain, Kohli has pretty much seen it all. He’s played international cricket in 17 countries, overcome adversity of every sort, faced down every kind of challenge in every format. But he’s never won the toss at Headingley before. Related: Anderson cuts through India before Burns and Hameed prosper for England Continue reading...