Jon Hotten | Cricket Blogs

JUNE 18, 2013

England do it pragmatically

It's hard to avoid the conclusion that there is a deep statistical conviction behind their current method

England have been ruthlessly efficient at setting defendable totals © International Cricket Council

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JUNE 12, 2013

Pick 'em early?

Prodigies, like Yorkshire have nurtured, emerge with the expectation of something big. But really all they offer then is promise, which can be fulfilled or lost

MAY 27, 2013

Is cricket losing its sense of judgement?

Fans or experts' comments dismissing a player on the basis of a few low scores are in stark contrast to the game's natural rhythm

MAY 23, 2013

The divine madness of Kevin Pietersen

Players who compel you to watch them and be engaged in the game, when absent, stir a yearning in the spectator that has nothing to do with team loyalty

MAY 13, 2013

The legend of Cardus lives on

Neville Cardus' writing is alive, full of daring and almost novelistic observation. Cricket writing owes him a debt of gratitude

MAY 06, 2013

The day I became a semi-international

Playing against the Japan national side in London on a cold April day is a story bound to be told several times over

APRIL 29, 2013

We'll miss Mitch

Risky or not, Johnson is thrilling in his unpredictability. More's the pity we won't see him this Ashes

APRIL 23, 2013

The philosopher captain

If captaincy was not regarded as an art before Brearley, it was after he had gone. His tenure may have been brief, but his impact endures still

APRIL 17, 2013

Of unwritten laws and moral compasses

Cricket's relationship with its rules is a constantly evolving flirtation, unlike in golf, say, where things are more cut and dried

APRIL 08, 2013

Gayle forces the pace of change

Clad in his space-garb, his gold pads and his gridiron helmet, shoulders rippling under his muscle shirt, Chris Gayle is an implacable object, driving cricket forwards, challenging the world to produce another batsman that plays like him

APRIL 03, 2013

Anderson, greatness and England's lost generation

Over the course of England's next series, James Anderson should become the 26th bowler to take 300 Test wickets. That no Englishman has reached 400 - or 10,000 runs with the bat - is indicative of how the record books left them behind

MARCH 25, 2013

The incredible legacy of WG Grace

In the space of eight days in 1876, WG Grace scored 839 runs, including two triple hundreds. He shaped the game we know today, inventing technique and influencing bowling

MARCH 18, 2013

In name and deed?

Modern bat manufacturers seem to be going to increasingly absurd lengths in coming up with exotic nouns in which batsmen can attempt to locate idealised versions of themselves

MARCH 04, 2013

Barry Richards, sporting tragedy and human suffering

Although he only played in four Tests prior to the sporting boycott of South Africa, Barry Richards still managed to confirm his greatness. However, the tragedy of his lost international career must be set in the context of a far greater struggle