Selectors have given the opener another chance as they attempt to break the link with ball-tamperingThere are stock phrases we get used to in Australian cricket. “Play his natural game” has been given a bit of a rest since the rank batting collapses early this decade. “Not crossing the line” is heard less often since the sandpaper fiasco of 2018. But “banging the door down” is alive and well.Bang the door down. That is what you are supposed to do any time you get dropped or skipped over. Go a level down, haul in the runs and wickets that demand your next elevation. Great in theory, rarely reflected in practice. Related: Cameron Bancroft joins Smith and Warner in Australia’s Ashes...
Hans Pomeranz’s thinking helped bring Test highlights to Australia and ignited his distinguished film careerWhen Hans Pomeranz died in 2007, the Sydney Morning Herald’s obituary described “a force in Australia’s film industry”. Born into a Jewish family in Enschede, Netherlands, in 1938, he survived the second world war in an orphanage and, later, by masquerading as the son of a Protestant minister. At the end of the conflict he and what remained of his family – his sister is believed to have died at Auschwitz – were reunited and emigrated to Australia, where he went on to secure an apprenticeship at a film laboratory. He became, in time, an editor of considerable renown, the husband of the film critic and...
With England looking pallid and Australia showing only faint signs of recovery, this summer’s Ashes could be thrillingly closeThe traditional role of Poms in Australia is to accept graciously the humorous insults directed at the England cricket team, responding politely without resort to obvious cliches, particularly those involving convicts.For all kinds of reasons, it is a little different this time. For a start, British visitors are now greeted with a kind of affectionate pity mixed with honest curiosity: “What exactly is a backstop?” On enervating Australian afternoons, when the mind turns only slowly, it seems best to say that backstop is a fielding position, employed by captains of incompetent teams who can’t trust their wicketkeepers. Related: Significant win for Australia...
Nottinghamshire batsman says he learned lessons from incident involving Ben Stokes and he is already making amends“It’s been a long few months,” says Alex Hales. England took a 2-0 lead in the ODI series at Brisbane, Hales pitching in with 57 in a four-wicket win. While the focus is on the 29-year-old’s return to international cricket, the interest is on his time away.For his part in September’s incident that has led to Ben Stokes and two others being charged with affray, Hales was suspended by the ECB for the final two summer ODIs against West Indies. In October, he learned he was not under investigation and began the process of getting on with life and cricket. That, in part, has...
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...