2 minute read We’re picking an England XI comprising the players we invested in the most. We’ve got to be honest, there was more competition for some spots in this team than there was for others. This is entirely unsurprising. After all, you only ever play one wicketkeeper at a time. We did
Continue reading3 minute read Perhaps it’s mankind’s predisposition towards seeing the world in terms of stories that has resulted in there being so much emphasis on the latter stages of Matt Prior’s career. Stories build towards an ending, so we tend to think that’s the most important bit. Such a way of looking at
Continue reading< 1 minute read After Matt Prior missed one particular catch in the second Test, a Sky commentator – possibly Mike Atherton – suggested that the wicketkeeper might be having trouble moving to his right due to all his accumulated injury problems. In his statement announcing that he was standing down for the rest
Continue reading2 minute read Who plays for England these days? NO-ONE KNOWS. They don’t even have a coach and the uncertainty pours down from there, covering everyone in a sticky, unctuous goo that at first you think might be some sort of over-ripe berry that’s fallen from a tree, before realising that there’s no
Continue reading< 1 minute read Following on, with plenty of time left in the game, it was a day for slow twitch muscle fibres. England needed batsmen to show endurance and so it was perhaps unsurprising that the cyclist (Matt Prior) and the player they say is England’s fittest (Alastair Cook) were the ones to
Continue reading< 1 minute read Please take a look at it by clicking here (opens in new tab). We believe this photo provides a window into the future, even though it was actually taken in the past. It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what it is, but basically most of the people in
Continue reading< 1 minute read Rob Smyth is waxing lyrical about Matt Prior in The Spin, this week. We’re inclined to agree with him and not just because of Prior’s magnificent beard and love of cycling. Last week, we had a conversation with someone who has had a certain amount of contact with pretty much
Continue reading1 minute read Even without Ian Bell returning to the crease after being run out, yesterday was an odd day’s cricket. In what had seemed a low-scoring match, England somehow scored over 400 in a day. There were four reasons for this. Ian Bell When the bowling was good, he was better. England’s
Continue reading< 1 minute read Of all the available opening options, Matt Prior was pretty much our last choice, but we’re sick of having opinions and so have reacted without emotion. That might reflect a lack of caffeine at this early hour as much as anything. Just thought we’d check whether anything had happened while
Continue reading< 1 minute read Not sure we’ve got Imran Khan or Garry Sobers on the cards, but it’s not looking bad. Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh, age 22 As a cricket-writer, we’re worried there’ll be no words left in a few years time, because they’ll all have been eaten by Bangladesh criticisers. Shakib Al Hasan
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