West Indies-England Tests will now be known as the Richards-Botham series, but it would have been an opportunity to pay tribute to a man whose biggest influence came off the fieldCall it the law of unintended consequences. Three weeks ago I wrote a column about the way in which black activism is intertwined with the history of West Indian cricket. You can’t write about that without mentioning Learie Constantine, and, rereading the details of his life, I was struck all over again by the magnitude of what he accomplished. Constantine was the grandson of a slave who grew up to become the UK’s first black peer. He was the man who fought and won the groundbreaking discrimination case against the...
Ben Stokes aside, England have played six pacemen so far and all have a case to play in the final Test against West IndiesAll square with one to play. Somehow the players of both sides have set up an intriguing climax to a series that has surpassed expectations. There have been dull patches of play, just occasionally the standard has dipped, but both Tests have been in the balance on the fifth day and the intensity of the cricket has been a minor triumph. Related: Stokes and Broad lead charge as England beat West Indies to level series Related: Where have all the great Test spinners gone? Take a quick look at T20 | Jonathan Liew Related: The Spin |...
Having tilted the second Test back in England’s favour, the paceman tore into West Indies’ top order on the final dayIt might be that by the time the expedition made it back to St Louis, Clark had got to wondering why Lewis’s name always came first. After 10 movies, Rogers definitely felt a little resentment towards Astaire. And when Martin and Lewis broke up their partnership after 10 years they didn’t speak to each other again for another 20. It’s not always easy being yoked so close, so long. But it has its benefits, particularly in cricket. Ask Hall and Griffith, Lillee and Thomson, Waqar and Wasim, Ambrose and Walsh, McGrath and Gillespie, or, of course, Anderson and Broad, best...
The West Indies opener came into the series in poor form but he has helped his side in the first two Tests with valuable runsWhatever else they got wrong in this series, one thing England definitely did get right was that they didn’t let the ECB chairman Colin Graves anywhere near a microphone in the run-up to it. They made that mistake in 2015, when Graves memorably described West Indies as “mediocre” before a series. A few weeks later, they bowled England out for 123 in Bridgetown, and won the third Test by five wickets. “Not bad for a mediocre team,” Jason Holder said afterwards. There’s an old lesson here, one England have been taught more than once over the...
England all-rounder showed such discipline in compiling his 176 at Old Trafford and that willingness to learn and improve should see him scale yet more heights for his country Many more innings like the one he scored here and there must be a peerage around the corner for Ben Stokes, though I’ve not yet ascertained where he stands on Brexit, which is obviously crucial. It is 13 years since we learned that Ian Botham was to be knighted and I recall being asked to cast aside my astonishment – and delight – for a moment to pen a swift profile for the Observer. This time no profile is required; not that much has changed for Sir Ian since 2007 but...