They will have the fastest bowlers on show at Edgbaston, but a new batting star will need to emerge if the tourists are going to find the runs to put England under pressureWith uncertainty comes excitement. So it must be a good thing that we don’t quite know what to expect at Edgbaston over the next few days. We do know that the ball is pink, that ticket sales are good and that it might be a good idea to bring a jumper (and maybe a blanket and a balaclava for the final session, which will probably end around 9.30pm every evening). Even better: get an invitation to a swish, warm hospitality box.We are less sure about how the pink...
West Indies are in town from Thursday, when a pink Dukes ball and inappropriate break names are the least of the adjustments to the staple Test match fareThe first of many questions that executives at Edgbaston had to ask as they commenced preparations for England’s first ever day-night Test was: what do you call the breaks? Standard, daytime Tests have their lunch break at, well, lunchtime, and their tea break at, give or take, tea time. A 2pm start distorts the timetable and, while 4pm can be referred to in many ways, if you are calling it lunchtime something has gone badly wrong with your day.In Adelaide, where Australia played day-night Test matches against New Zealand in 2015 and South...
The 20-year-old Hampshire spinner is unlikely to play in the day-night Test against West Indies at Edgbaston but he could soon buck a troublesome trendIt seems we have some dewy-eyed romantics as selectors. From Hampshire they have plucked the young wrist-spinner, Mason Crane, whose bowling average is twice his age. A fresh-faced novice of 20 is on the verge of playing Test cricket after 25 first-class games.It is an eye-catching selection and a heartwarming story and – who knows – might have a happy ending. Whether Crane actually plays in Birmingham against West Indies is debatable. This is England’s first ever day-night Test with the devious pink ball, which sometimes gets up to tricks when the sun goes down. During...
A visit to the Dukes warehouse reveals a lovingly crafted ball that could help light up the spectacle when English cricket steps out into the night“New ball bowlers will look forward to bowling with this,” grinned Stuart Broad, just after zipping one past his best mate Luke Wright’s outside edge in a live demonstration on Sky last Friday. Broad was referring to the pink Dukes ball, which he will use at Edgbaston when England play West Indies in a day-night Test in August, and in nine Championship games from Monday.These rather lovely little pink things are made at the endearingly ramshackle warehouse that is Dukes’ north-east London home, and Dilip Jajodia, the company’s boss, is explaining the process to the...
Michael Holding says he bowled plenty of faster and better overs in his career, but the six balls that assailed and finally dismissed Geoffrey Boycott in Barbados 36 years ago today do take some beating Continue reading...