3 minute read Billed as “a deep dive into one of the fiercest rivalries in sport,” How to Win the Ashes is available now on the BBC iPlayer. Regular King Cricket contributor Sam Blackledge has had a watch. This is his take on it. Documentaries like this are not really aimed at people
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Why Stokes and McCullum aren’t worried about bad shots, only bad innings
3 minute read Bad shots are bad shots, but in an age when the dumbest moments are endlessly replayed and dissected, it’s important to at least try and take in the bigger picture. A batter who sometimes plays the wrong shot is nowhere near as bad as a batter who’s always worrying about
Continue readingDid you see… Joe Root blaming the ball for his drops?
2 minute read When Joe Root drops catches, Joe Root blames the ball. Remember when English commentators were talking up Josh Tongue’s “extra pace” because he was bowling 85mph? That seems even more nonsensical now after Mark Wood made the Headingley crowd gasp at not just the obvious threat of his bowling but
Continue readingWhy the word ‘Bazball’ is not helping any of us
3 minute read Bazball is a completely annoying word because any time it’s used – which is basically every other sentence in this Ashes – everybody is talking at cross purposes. The foundations for this ongoing noisy surround sound argument lie in the fact that almost no-one knows or acknowledges the definition that
Continue readingBen Stokes’ 155 v Ben Stokes’ captaincy – which was more irregular?
2 minute read Ben Stokes’ incredible attempt to play a twice-in-a-lifetime innings has tragically overshadowed the Lord’s Test’s most extraordinary passage of play: England spending two-thirds of a day bowling nothing but 80mph bouncers and it somehow working out for them. Forget day five. We’ve all seen a Stokes special before and everyone
Continue readingDo England want Pat Cummins to bowl?
2 minute read The attitude of England’s top order batters appears to be that if you aren’t Pat Cummins, you’re going to the fence. It’ll be interesting to see the impact of this as the series wears on. Australia’s most accurate bowler, Scott Boland, conceded 147 runs in 26 overs in the first
Continue readingIt’s a bit grim when Josh Tongue is talked up as the quick one
2 minute read It’s not just that England have fielded five right-arm seamers in this Test, it’s that the one bowling 85mph is being lauded as the quick one. Where’s all the pace gone? It’s there a leak somewhere? Let’s pull back the carpet and see if there’s 5mph pooling somewhere under the
Continue readingYou can ignore Ollie Robinson – England probably won’t “go harder” in the second Test
4 minute read We still don’t feel like we know Ollie Robinson all that well, but one thing we’ve concluded is that he is now pretty well established as England’s talker-of-bollocks in chief. Robinson somehow made the headlines last week for a tetchy and sweary outburst at Usman Khawaja after dismissing him for
Continue readingAshleigh Gardner sees your 10 wickets in a match and raises you
2 minute read After securing a 268-run target via Tammy Beaumont’s 208 and Sophie Ecclestone’s second five wicket haul of the match, England were, if not happy, then at least steely-eyed and up for a challenge going into their second innings. Then Ashleigh Gardner took 8-66. Moeen’s Ali’s seeping spinning finger last week
Continue readingEllyse Perry is a lot less bothered than you’d think about getting out for 99
2 minute read The climax of the last Ashes Test was so dramatic that they decided to play another one. No, not that Ashes Test climax – this Ashes Test climax. For England and Australia cricketers, Test opportunities come around either constantly or almost never, depending whether you’re a man or a woman.
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