Who would World Cup opposition openers least want to face on a nibbly early-summer morning? Anderson, Wood or Stone?If I had to draw up a top-five list of eccentric 20th-century British army officers Jack Churchill would definitely be up there, at the very least in the mix. A male model, film actor and expert archer and fencer, “Fighting Jack” was also the last British soldier to insist on marching into battle with a sword, longbow and a set of bagpipes, as he did to great effect against the mechanised might of the Third Reich.Churchill used his bow and arrow to lead a successful ambush of a German patrol in northern France in May 1940, an act that helped him win...
The world’s best Test bowler had the No 1 batsman’s measure for much of the second day of the first Test yet India’s captain punished England’s other bowlers in scoring 149Virat Kohli does not care to talk about the 2014 tour any more. After four years it seems the India captain has grown sick of being asked about it. But he did open up on it once, in 2015. “I put too much pressure on myself,” he said in an interview with Cricket Monthly. “I made it seem like a big mountain in front of me and once I was not able to scale it I was really disappointed.” Related: Virat Kohli’s brilliant century frustrates England in India fightback Anderson...
England’s record-breaking, unbreakable new-ball partnership has held firm for 10 years at the top but they will be under the microscope in New ZealandExactly 10 years ago to the day England started a Test match in New Zealand with what was to prove a lasting and very successful change in personnel. The second Test in Wellington was seen as crucial for England and their captain, Michael Vaughan, coming as it did after seven without a victory and with the team facing the prospect of a series defeat with a game to spare, and some personnel changes were inevitable.Though the batsmen had been misfiring – being bowled out for 81 and 110 in successive Tests – it was the bowlers who...
A new challenge could revitalise Alastair Cook, wildcards in squads can help find the X-factor and the exits of Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad must be staggeredThe search for Alastair Cook’s opening partner has overshadowed an even greater need to fill the most important batting position of all. James Vince, for all his seductive talent, is the antonym of a Test No3. There will be more calls for Joe Root to move up, though few captains have had long-term success in that position – Ricky Ponting is a spectacular exception – and there’s a reason why Steve Smith and Virat Kohli bat No4. Dawid Malan has the temperament and adaptability, though exposing him to high-class new-ball bowling might kill the...
The Australian opener demonstrated his maturity and judgment in a duel with the England seamer that showcased two masters of their craftThe impulse on sodden days is to say nothing much happened but there is a joy in our game in locating something meaningful from these moments. Fractals within fractals, where the greatest beauty sits within the deepest detail.Sure, there will not be a documentary made about the middle session of day four of this Ashes Test, where 33 runs were tallied in not even 19 overs before rain intervened. When the Wisden bible reports on this middling fixture, it may not even warrant a line. Related: Rain stalls England's push for victory after attritional day of Ashes cricket Warner...