New Zealand’s one-run victory over England gave devotees a pinch-yourself moment of glee at one of the greatest TestsMemorable things happen at three o’clock in the morning. Perhaps you watched the then Conservative defence secretary Michael Portillo climb slowly on to a wooden stage, to be sent into the political wilderness by a returning officer in a ceremonial chain at 3.10am on 2 May 1997. But forget that – were you up for Neil Wagner?Were you pulling on your second pair of bedsocks on a chilly February night as he thundered in, all big-hearted fury and handyman vibes, at the Basin Reserve? Were you wrapping your hands round a cup of tea with your ear against the radio? Were you...
Key to victory against New Zealand were England’s seamers but Ben Stokes’s role in the team invites plenty of questionsThis was a very satisfying game of cricket, a mid-tournament group match in a rain-frazzled week that stayed alive for 39 of its 40 overs, played out in front of a semi-packed Gabba. In the broader sweep of things England’s 20-run defeat of New Zealand was another note in an excellent World Cup of deeper gears and genuine engagement.The lesson of these contests, which have felt jarringly real after the thin gruel of the year-round franchise circuit, is that the product works; that all the cricket is good, red or white ball, when it actually means something. Continue reading...
This series will be remembered for England’s new dazzle but New Zealand’s resolute middle-order pair have kept games aliveFarewell then, Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell. However it concludes on Monday this series will chiefly be remembered for the rebirth of England in a new, thrilling and at least temporarily successful form, but this granitic pair will stand forever at its heart. While their opponents threw their wild and colourful brushstrokes, Mitchell and Blundell patiently set about resculpting the record books.They came into the fourth day at Headingley with their final partnership of the summer in its infancy, only seven runs in, and with England knowing an early breakthrough would almost certainly mean the game concluding swiftly and in their favour....
Opener’s flashy 25 was of a piece with the McCullum ethos but he could do with a bit more fear, and a return to his countyAnd frankly, were we not entertained? There were times during Zak Crawley’s blustery, tempestuous second innings at Headingley when you wondered whether we were watching a kind of brilliant performance art, perhaps even a sort of interpretative dance in which a 24-year-old man attempts to express the full gamut of human emotion via edges alone.Either way you could argue that there is no player in this all-singing England team fulfilling his brief more perfectly than Crawley. Continue reading...
England still have a frail top order and an unbalanced attack but this team do not need to dwell on failings from the pastShortly after half past five a wild and barbarous noise consumed Headingley, the sort that brings local residents to their windows and the day-trippers in the hospitality boxes streaming out on to the balconies.A few of the dozing members in the pavilion may even have been stirred from their evening slumbers. Out in the middle Stuart Broad was pumping his arms like a preacher. England’s slip cordon were clapping in time, beating out a fearsome tribal rhythm. Continue reading...