County Championship Div 1 preview

So after yesterday's Division Two, we now come to the big boys. This is the top standard of English cricket, the creme de la menthe as Del Boy would say. So many questions and permutations with a league that is tighter than Phil Tufnell at the bar. So therefore, you know what to do. Re-mortgage your property and take this guide as gospel, visit your local turf accountant on the basis of what is written below and come September, you'll be thanking me. Erm, hopefully....

Champo to Chelmsford?

County Championship Div 2 preview

So it's that time of year again. The sound of lambs bleating, of the cuckoo in the distance and it is pissing down with rain. Therefore it can only mean one thing - that the County Championship is amongst us. Here we have a look, in Grand National week, at all the runners and riders in Division Two. And remember folks, the more you bet, the more you win...

Dizzy...fired up

Review of the 1st Test in New Zealand

Who said this leg of the tour would be easy? After the pummelling in Australia, England’s cricketers crossed the Tasman Sea for more of the same medicine. Plenty of questions were raised before the series. Could Trevor Baseless improve his shocking Test record abroad? Could England batsmen stop losing wickets on the stroke of an interval? Could the top order batsmen get any more than 50? Like a petty criminal in a police interview, England ‘no commented’. Naturally in no way is the previous sentence of any correlation (for any lawyers reading) but this was also the return of Ben Stokes to the side. Could England finally kick start their winter?

Eden Park

Cricket Hospitality

Lord’s changes every year. A new stand here, a new stand there – expect more to change in the coming years as the Nursery End of the ground gets redeveloped. A number of things never change though. The Pavilion, the immaculate grass which could easily replicate the surface of the baize at the Crucible, the electric sound of the crowd from outside, as an English boundary crashes over the rope but one thing you can't hear, see or touch, is the buzz, the anticipation of the first morning of a Test at Lord’s...

The Home of Cricket

Overkill?

For those of you who are regular readers, I have recent been writing about the problems that face club cricket at present and an article in The Cricket Paper recently has drawn much debate regarding the number of juniors who are turning their back on the game. The following, thought provoking article was sent to me by a chap called Adrian Butters who plays his cricket up in sunny Staffordshire. Adrian wonders if we are playing too much cricket at a junior level and it is an interesting point. It's definitely worth a read...

Lloyd...trading blows

A Clear Blue Sky - Book Review

Twenty years ago yesterday, an eight year old boy came home from school with his sister Becky and found that the man he looked up to, adored and even idolised had committed suicide. That boy is now playing his 50th Test match for England, the pinnacle of his dreams and his career. So it is only fitting that I review the brilliant new book by Jonny Bairstow and Duncan Hamilton called A Clear Blue Sky. I have to say it is one of the most moving and honest books that I have ever had the fortune of picking up.

Ones to watch in 2018

So we do this every year. We have a look at who will be the names to look out for in 2018. We look into the magical crystal ball we have here at Stump Towers (not Trump Towers) - sort of like Doris Stokes to pick out the next Ben Stokes. Sometimes we get it right - Haseeb Hamed, Toby Roland Jones and many others who have represented their country. Other times we get numerous names such as "that Joe Root at Yorkshire has got a good chance of making it in 2018". These are the guys who are on the fringes of their county sides, the ones that you will hear more about and these are our ones to look out for in 2018.

Tector...quality

Review of the 4th Test in Australia

So the famous Boxing Day test hey? When Australians turn out in their thousands and bash the Poms all over the place. Well it didn't exactly go to script and it was the home side who hung on for a draw in the end. A pitch so placid that it made Mother Theresa of Calcutta look like a violent psychopath ruined the game whilst the hatred, the Pom Bashing by the Aussie press and the verbals continued. Oh and there was a career saving knock by the Chef, whilst Steve Smith broke English hearts to go along with the countless mirrors during his lifetime. This was the Melbourne Test match...

The G...iconic venue

England in Good Health?

There was an article the other day, written by the excellent George Dobell on ESPN Cricinfo where the ECB Chief Executive, Tom Harrison announced that the English game is in good health. I read in amazement at either how deluded this was or whether it was a load of spin trying to cover up for the plethora of mistakes made in recent years. I'm still not sure. One thing I do know though, is that the game is in a shocking state and the future of grass roots cricket worries me. Read on and I will tell you why...

Harrison...

Christmas, The Ashes and open the pumps...

Thorpster is back, fuming with England, Trevor Baseless and fraternising with Australians at his Christmas do...this is worth a chuckle or three.

Baseless