The batsman with impossibly high standards seems to have lost track of his off stump and his team are sufferingVirat Kohli walked. He had poked outside off, Jos Buttler pouched the ball, the cordon went up in appeal in chorus to the ringmaster, Jimmy Anderson, and India’s fight in the third Test was dead in the water. Except it was not. Doing his duty as vice-captain and non-striker, Ajinkya Rahane prevailed on Kohli to review the decision.The third umpire saw clearly the same daylight between bat and ball that Rahane had, and technology confirmed that the sound that so enthused England and foxed the umpire came from bat brushing pad. It was the last ball of the 87th over and,...
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...
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...