A thumping defeat at Lord’s by Pakistan in mid-May has set alarm bells ringing and raised concerns about the methodologyNever mind The Hundred; English cricket is in dire need of any old hundred. The inability of England’s Test team to convert fifties into centuries has become one of their defining foibles. And it’s getting worse: 24% in 2016, 20% in 2017 and, so far in 2018, a pitiful 6%. An elite batting lineup – such as England in 2010‑11 – would be at around 40%. An even more perverse statistic is that since English cricket’s new dawn in the summer of 2015, the one-day international team have a much better conversion rate (27%) than the Test team (19%). Given the...
There is of course a line you do not cross but if you can get a batsman’s mind not 100% focused on what is his primary job then it’s fair game for meJonny Bairstow is an engaging cricketer who I know well from my time at Yorkshire. It was simply his quirky sense of humour that led to the clash of heads with Cameron Bancroft four weeks ago and resulted in a great Ashes Test victory for Australia ending with a storm in a teacup.World cricket is a year-round circuit during which players need to unwind over a few beers. Stories are swapped, tactics discussed and jokes are exchanged between opponents. In this instance, before Bancroft was even picked for Australia, a...
Wicketkeeper-batsman farmed tail expertly to score 99 against South Africa and claimed 100th victim behind stumps to underline balance he brings to the sideJonny Bairstow farmed the strike with England’s tail so superbly on the second morning here at Old Trafford that the wicketkeeper from the other side of the Pennines could well be challenging Alastair Cook as the team’s most agriculturally inclined cricketer.Though he fell one run short of what would have been a fourth Test century, the Yorkshireman’s impact on this series finale could well prove the decisive blow against a South Africa side that finished 220 for nine by stumps, trailing by 142 runs and looking ever more ready for the airport. Related: Jimmy Anderson and Jonny...