There’s not a lot happening at the moment as we wait for the start of the county season. In the meantime, we’re going to bring you a couple of pieces discussing the big names in the game. Today, Sulaiman talks about one of his favourite players, AB de Villiers. And tomorrow, Will has something for you on Virat Kohli and his long-overdue return to form. With the Indian Premier League due to commence in the near future, I thought it fit to write about one of the finest cricketers we have ever witnessed and a true IPL great. He is none other than former Proteas’ star batsman, AB De Villiers. &nbs ..read more

Today, Jack Surtees dives deep into the numbers to settle an age-old pub debate. Feel free to express your thoughts in the comments section and suggest any other statistical angles that might be interesting… It’s the eternal debate. One defined by contentious, subjective, impossible-to-answer issues such as cod vs haddock, ketchup vs gravy and the correct term for the little chunks of batter that fall off a fried fish – ‘batter bits’, ‘scraps’ or something else entirely? Of course, there are cultural differences that exist outside of the local chippie, but to me that is where the great ‘north ..read more

When Rehan Ahmed was selected for the 3rd test against Pakistan in December, he became England’s youngest ever Test cricketer. At 18 years and 126 days, he beat the record set by Brian Close in 1949. It’s difficult to imagine any sporting record lasting for 73 years, but shows how cautious England have been in blooding youngsters. Test nations on the Indian subcontinent regularly cap teenagers. Ahmed took 5-50, the youngest test debutant to achieve a five wicket haul. It strengthens the adage that ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’. But it also presents a dilemma; is it wise to throw t ..read more

England’s white ball teams now have a battery of left arm seamers, and often go in with as many as three. The sudden profusion of left arm options is, however, a fairly recent development, as until recently it was a comparative rarity for England to select a left armer in their seam attack. Perhaps the best known England left armer was JK Lever, and although he predated my time as an England fan, I do have vague memories watching him late in his career for Essex. Looking at his figures, it is a surprise he didn’t play more, taking 73 wickets in 21 tests at an average of 26, and 24 in 22 one da ..read more

Since its dawn in 2003, the T20 format has taken over cricket. Last year alone, there were a whopping 536 T20 international matches, including a successful World Cup alongside an array of domestic leagues and franchises. The format has been around for a mere two decades, yet has undergone a host of tactical developments. The explosion of mystery spin is an obvious example, with loopy leggings gaining favour for their variation in the shortest format. However, the T20 game’s most prominent tactical development has surely been the rise, and fall, and slight rise again, of the anchor.  In a ..read more

We shouldn’t let the ODI series in Bangladesh go unmentioned. Yes, it was ‘only Bangladesh’, but not everybody realises that the Tigers are rather handy in their own backyard. In fact, England are the only side to have won a bilateral ODI series in Bangladesh since 2015. And now we’ve done it twice! It’s an impressive achievement. Who were our stars in the 2-1 series win? Two familiar faces excelled with the bat. Jason Roy returned to form with 155 runs at an average of 52 (although the lion’s share came in one innings). And Dawid Malan followed suit with 125 runs at 63 on the back of an impre ..read more

Picture this: it’s your wife’s first time at a cricket match and she asks you what to expect – apart from a long day watching gentlemen in white throwing a red ball at a man with pads and a helmet on. “And what about the people?” she says. “It’s a wide variety” I reply, “let me explain them to you”… 1. The posh bloke Posh bloke generally went to public school, and if he went to a ‘major one’ like Eton then he’ll probably let you know all about it. He’ll be the one asking everyone else around them: “what school did you go to?”, and if they find out they know someone in common, they’ll chat abou ..read more

Today, new writer Tom Chambers discusses Jonny Bairstow’s inevitable return to England’s Test side. Will Zak Crawley be the man to make way? It’s far from clear cut. Brendon McCullum made a rod for his own back when speaking to the BBC’s Test Match Special team back in December. When asked about a certain Yorkshireman’s eventual return from injury the New Zealander said, “As soon as he’s fit he’s back in the side, no doubt. But let’s work that out down the line.” With the first Ashes test due to start at Edgbaston in just four months’ time, the prospective return of Jonny Bairstow is looming l ..read more

I’m flummoxed. How on earth does one summarise that? Should I go for the default reaction – that it was one of the best Test matches of all time and therefore the result doesn’t really matter – or should I point out that results, do, in fact, matter quite a lot? I understand the former argument, of course. Maybe we should simply feel grateful for playing our part in a humdinger? However, there’s an equally legitimate perspective that, actually, the team should be gutted for losing a game they really should have put out of New Zealand’s reach on two separate occasions. Let’s look back at simila ..read more

With the dust having truly set on last year’s painful series defeats in England and Australia, which all but damaged their hopes of making the World Test Championship final (2023), the Proteas will want to regain their form quickly against the West Indies at home. The Windies, on the other hand, would like to make it a double sweep on their travels to Southern Africa after beating Zimbabwe in a recently concluded two-match series. This instalment of the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy is therefore much anticipated in both South Africa and the West Indies. It’s also quite a special one for Temba Bav ..read more