Test cricket will lose a part of itself when England’s elder statesman retires and, while it will survive, it will be painful“Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head.” A few weeks ago English cricket was thrown into a medium-sized spasm by the news that Jimmy Anderson had sustained a groin injury playing for Lancashire against Somerset. On one level it felt faintly ridiculous that England’s Ashes chances should rise or fall on the fitness of a man old enough to have bowled at Derek Randall. But the predominant sensation was really a kind of paralysing fear: the sort that grips you when you hear that an elderly relative has fallen over at home. Everyone knows the...
The bowler’s pace and style will be sorely missed, as will the highly anticipated rematch with Steve Smith and companyIf you started following cricket recently, you might wonder why the fuss about Jofra Archer missing this year’s Ashes. A player with 13 Tests for England, the last well over two years ago, and 42 wickets averaging 31. Those who watched four years ago will know why Archer is imprinted on an Australian cricket consciousness as firmly as on England’s. His earlier work in Australia’s domestic T20 league had already introduced an incredible athlete in the field and a force with the ball. Then he showed up in the second Ashes match of 2019 in place of the injured James Anderson.Weeks...
Bairstow is the best Ashes option at No 7 and England have not taken the easy route of picking both wicketkeepers in squad for Ireland TestSurrey didn’t hang about. Just 10 minutes after the England squad was announced, confirming Jonny Bairstow’s return behind the stumps for Ireland and thus the start of the Ashes summer, and with Ben Foakes missing from the list of 15 players, the club’s Twitter feed fired up in solidarity with the fall guy.“The best keeper in the world was at it again last week,” read the pointed post, accompanied by a lightning emoji and a video of his silken glove work during the win against Middlesex. Alec Stewart gave Foakes that title a couple of...
England’s game-changing play 70 years ago was nothing like Bazball, but it regained the Ashes in a summer of royal pompAre you excited for the biggest royal event since the last one? Have you downloaded your official quiche recipe and your print-at-home bunting? The Spin may not be about to stand in the street shouting oaths of allegiance to a new king, but that’s because The Spin was taught not to stand in the street swearing at anyone. And be you a coronation watcher or dodger, it’s impossible to ignore the prime cricketing omens embedded in this weekend’s celebrations.The last summer a monarch was crowned, England won back the Ashes by playing an entirely new brand of cricket. Admittedly, the...
Andrew Strauss reset England’s white-ball team successfully; now he should dismiss Chris Silverwood and find a new Test leaderSeven weeks ago, at the start of the Ashes, Joe Root made a strikingly clear statement. “Of course it will define my captaincy,” he said. “I’m not naive enough to think that it won’t.”He was right and there’s no wriggling out of it now. To lose one Ashes series 4-0 may be regarded as a misfortune, as long as the captain is inexperienced. To lose two that heavily, when you have been in charge for more Tests than any other England captain, looks like a reason to resign. Continue reading...