A Natter with Nobby

Niall O'Brien has been a driving force behind the success of Irish cricket in recent years. Having been just awarded Test status, the ex Kent, Northants and Leicestershire gloveman spent a few days recently at my club and was an absolute gent. With his Dublin brogue and happy character, he charmed all and sundry and even gave us an interview. Now contracted to Cricket Ireland he has been great for the game and his country in general. Here we discuss why he wanted Surrey to win certain games, what it is like to compete at a World Cup and meeting his hero Jack Russell on debut. Read on for our chat with the man nicknamed Nobby...

A Downright Angry Review of the 2nd Test v South Africa

This was a shocker. England were absolutely hammered at Trent Bridge by 340 runs as they fell apart to South Africa. This was rottingham in Nottingham and led to dissent by the Trent. On a weekend when they named the first female Dr Who, most England fans would prefer to see Jodie Whittaker as Head of Selectors, whilst James Whitaker can fly the Tardis. From Day One, South Africa outclassed England and on a wicket that offered bounce and pace, where no doubt you could hear the salivation of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood from Down Under. This ain't pretty reading but here is my review of one of the worst English performances for years. And India was pretty bad...

England lament by the Trent...

Free Chapter of my Book! Losing Your Temper...

Need some holiday reading? Be the envy of your new found mates who you will never see again as you whip a copy of this out...You might even see why it is getting 5 star reviews. Why, even Joe Root would review this one well! Below is a free chapter of The Definitive Guide to Club Cricket. You can get your copy here...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/…/dp/1535396…/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0…

Oh and feel free to tag a team mate who regularly loses the plot when out for a duck!

Review of the 1st Test v South Africa

This was a strange old Lord's Test. We may have moaned about the boring Chief Executive's pitch at Lord's but this was the complete opposite. From the sublime to the ridiculous, it would be nice to have some balance. And after the selection of the Yorkshire number three, not many England fans have said that recently! However, it was interesting, there was thrills, spills, sledging and England won easily by 211 runs. Here is the review of the Test...

Park Pitch?

Politics and Cricket

We are all building up to a General Election here in the UK on June 8th. However, politics and cricketers do not always go hand in hand. To most cricketers, T. May was Shane Warne's spin twin on the 1993 Australia tour of England whilst most players are more au fait with Jeremy Coney than Jeremy Corbyn. Saying that, the pacifist Labour leader probably still has more venom in his bowling than the Kiwi ever did, although I have to question if the current Conservative leader has modelled her hairstyle from Coney's team mate, Ian Smith. There are one or two exceptions to the non political cricketers though and here are a few that have made the transition from their whites to the blues and reds.

Jeremy Coney

County Champo Div 2 Preview

Here it is with part 2...Division Two of the County Championship looks an interesting league this year with a couple of the big boys in Notts and Durham coming down. Some sides down here have serious potential whilst others have the budget of the Greek Finance Minister. With a ten team division it looks as if there will be plenty of spills and thrills this summer in the lower league. As usual, don't come crying to us if your bets go wrong on our advice and your children get an orange this Christmas. Here is our Division Two preview...

Title for Trent Bridge?

County Champo Div 1 Preview

It's nearly here. Like a kid at Christmas, the eve of the County Championship is an exciting time for us cricket badgers. I personally love this competition. For me, it is one of the best in sport. With 25% of the sides getting relegated this year, it promises to be tighter than a Yorkshireman at the bar. Here are the predictions for this year. As usual, I hold no responsibility should this go tits up and you have gambled away your nest egg. Here are the runners and riders for Division One...

TRJ clinches the title for Middlesex in 2016

The Cricketer's Daughter

Apologies I haven't written for a while...a new job has been keeping me out of mischief. However my daughter had to write something for a University assignment, so she wrote this about growing up in a cricket club. It's a great piece and encapsulates what cricket clubs up and down the land are about; a sense of community, of being part of something and the cricket family. Have a read...

Bec as a 4 year old...why do kids like flipping the top of pads?

Flat Track Bullies

"It's a batsman's game" so the old saying goes but having a look around the world, it really is starting to look that way. 400 is the new 300 in One Day Cricket, scores of 200 aren't safe in T20 cricket and we even saw a 223 chased down recently in the Big Bash. But is it all becoming a bit boring? Is cricket in danger of killing the goose that is laying the golden egg? Bigger bats, tracks as flat as the lager served up at Lord's and boundaries that make the KwikCricket kids ones look big at times are all part of the reason. But are we getting a bit bored of it all?

The Big Bash and all that razzamatazz

Silly Points