Ramps often seems drawn to platitudes, which makes this even more striking. It’s a peculiar role being hired as a columnist when your USP is your personal experience. Suppose the answer is to deal in generalities wherever possible. “Test batters tend to…” or “it is common for international cricketers to…”

Not sure this column will help him get future coaching jobs. You can imagine players being a bit more reluctant to reveal their flaws and insecurities when trying to work on stuff.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/12/100-innings-facts-jos-buttler-not-test-batsman-england-ashes

Anyway, I guess it takes not one to know not one.

…and Marshall and Daniels and Garner and Roberts and Holding…

I must say my interest in The Ashes drops off a cliff once the series is mathematically decided. Ok, it’s still a Test match. But it doesn’t matter nearly as much.

It’s so hard to compare.

Is Fred a good example or is Fred the one bowler from that era with the freakish physiology to handle that workload? How much did he vary his pace match-to-match, day-to-day and spell-to-spell? How much difference did it make that he had a huge off season rather than playing 12 months a year?

Yes, I read an interview with a teammate of Marshall’s who said something similar. So why do English quicks not get taught the same thing?

https://youtu.be/bbDQRfqzekA

In those so-called English cricket good old days, the standard of the three day cricket was way below the standard of four day cricket now. On the seventh day the pace bowlers had to bowl of short runs in the John Player League – imagine what Bob Willis looked like thus restricted. And don’t say Darren Stevens.

English cricketers were unprepared for overseas conditions then and are to a lesser extent are unprepared for them now.

Limiting the talent pool to the 7% of the population who get the privilege of going to a posh school really does limited the talent pool.