In two decades playing against England, the opening batsman has rarely faced a bowler as quick as Jofra ArcherAccording to the official statistics Chris Gayle is 188cm tall. These days, when he bends down to touch his toes he seems to feel every last one of them. Gayle made a dip in their direction right before he stepped over the boundary rope at the Hampshire Bowl on Friday, the idle stretch of a man only lately out of bed and getting ready for the day ahead. It was his last half-hearted gesture towards a warm-up before beginning this, his 521st international innings for West Indies, and his last against England unless the two teams play again in the knockout rounds...
In two decades playing against England, the opening batsman has rarely faced a bowler as quick as Jofra ArcherAccording to the official statistics Chris Gayle is 188cm tall. These days, when he bends down to touch his toes he seems to feel every last one of them. Gayle made a dip in their direction right before he stepped over the boundary rope at the Hampshire Bowl on Friday, the idle stretch of a man only lately out of bed and getting ready for the day ahead. It was his last half-hearted gesture towards a warm-up before beginning this, his 521st international innings for West Indies, and his last against England unless the two teams play again in the knockout rounds...
The Trinidadian’s first-class masterpiece for Warwickshire remains the world record innings, despite the game’s evolution The Spin: listen and subscribe to our brand new podcastBrian Charles Lara. The middle name is nearly always inserted whenever the great Trinidadian is spoken about in reverential terms and being as this week’s Spin is a look back at his world record first-class score of 501 not out, it feels appropriate to do the same.At 5.30pm on Thursday, during what will hopefully be a gripping denouement to West Indies v Australia at Trent Bridge, it will be 25 years since Lara stepped to leg and scythed Durham’s John Morris to the cover boundary at Edgbaston, passing the 499 made by Hanif Mohammad in 1959...
The win over South Africa could not have gone much better for England – and that catch galvanised an unexpected amount of interest in the Cricket World CupIt was not only the England team who were grateful to Ben Stokes in the victory over South Africa. So was everyone in the offices of the England and Wales Cricket Board, which is eager to promote this “once in a generation opportunity”.The board can – and has – contrived lots of well-meaning gimmickry in an effort to galvanise interest in the 2019 World Cup. But all of its efforts were utterly outstripped by the eight-second clip shown on Thursday’s Ten O’Clock News of Stokes taking that catch to dismiss Andile Phehlukwayo on...
Victory for England, fireworks from Chris Gayle and a Sri Lankan meltdown: our pundits set out their forecasts for a month and a half of ODIsVic Marks Australia. England may have the batsmen but Australia, if they’re fit and firing, have the bowlers in Starc and Cummins, plus a highly motivated Warner and Smith. Two other reasons: they have won five out of 11 World Cups. I’m usually wrong. Related: Boos, hairbands and Cricket World Cup predictions – The Spin podcast Related: West Indies' Jason Holder: ‘Hopefully we can bring the people of the region closer’ Related: The Spin | A brief history of the Cricket World Cup Related: Gareth Batty’s guide to the Cricket World Cup grounds Related: The...