Cricket Comment: Belief is now so important for a fragile England THAT narrow T20 win against India at Edgbaston on Sunday will have given England players, management and supporters just a little bit more confidence, which was something that was sadly lacking previously. India are particularly strong in limited overs cricket and I do think England salvaged some respect and credibility from what looked like being [...]
Cricket Comment: Ditch Cook, but it won’t cure one-day misery WEDNESDAY was a sad day. In probably the most one-sided one-day international between top teams that I’ve ever seen, England were not just beaten but annihilated by India by nine wickets. It was embarrassing. A fresh low point in an already dreadful series has led to more pressure on Alastair Cook who, once again, faces [...]
Cricket Comment: Tormented Cook suddenly faces another must-win match AFTER the high of a Test series win, it’s been another week to forget for England captain Alastair Cook. Stinging public criticism from a former team-mate was followed by a thumping one-day defeat against India, and suddenly tomorrow’s next match has taken on must-win status. Graeme Swann may well have had a point when he [...]
Cricket Comment: India shake-up is no surprise as one-day series England’s to lose August 20, 2014 IN ALL sport winning is a habit and, though the personnel will be slightly different, the emphatic manner in which England won the Test series means it will be extremely hard for India to reverse that trend in the one-day series, which starts on Monday. England must be cock-a-hoop at the 3-1 Test series victory, [...]
Cricket Comment: Reaching Ashes without loss is England target August 12, 2014 A THIRD successive Test victory this week to round off the series and beat India 3-1 at the Oval would be a terrific way for England to cap a transformative few weeks, but it’s not vital. Defeat would puncture a fragile feel-good factor that has developed, but a draw would still be enough to take [...]
Sport Comment: England have been galvanised by tourists’ failed pursuit of charges August 6, 2014 I ADMIRE an awful lot of things about how India try to play cricket but I haven’t been impressed with their pursuit of James Anderson over an altercation with Ravi Jadeja during the first Test and, ultimately, I think it has seen them shoot themselves in the foot. To me, the incident seems to have [...]
Cricket Comment: England still facing uphill task to win series July 31, 2014 IMPRESSIVE though it was, yesterday marked England’s first victory for almost a year and talk of them now steamrolling India and winning the series is premature. Positives weren’t hard to come by, though, so let’s enjoy those first. Alastair Cook got big scores and won the match, and nobody is questioning his captaincy skills. He [...]
Cricket Comment: Fear of failure crippling England means selectors must break cycle July 22, 2014 I DON’T want to hammer England’s selectors. They generally get it right. There is a huge gap between county and Test level and not everyone is able to bridge it, yet they tend to choose well. But they really must grasp the nettle right now and remove captain Alastair Cook. England cannot get any worse. [...]
It’s now or never for Simon Kerrigan July 16, 2014 Lancashire spinner Simon Kerrigan’s possible recall for the second Test against India has provoked a real fuss, with fears that another flaying could end his international career. Clearly nerves got to Kerrigan when he made his England debut against Australia at the Oval last summer. He conceded 28 runs off his first two overs alone [...]
Cricket Comment: Confident Stokes can relight England’s fire July 8, 2014 ENGLAND may go into today’s first Test against India reeling from a first home series defeat to Sri Lanka but I strongly fancy them to come out on top in the next five matches. The climate could dictate whether we get a result at Trent Bridge, but if either team wins then it’ll be England, [...]
