English cricket

Vaughan reborn

Dec 16, 2007: Not only is Michael Vaughan showing signs of re-scaling the heights of 2002; he is also beginning to come to terms with what so many assume to be the toughest job in sport: captaining a cricket team

Fielders of dreams

Dec 11, 2007: There is, however, one department of expertise for which claiming that we’ve never had it so good is entirely justifiable, incontrovertibly so

English cricket

Rauf justice

Dec 5, 2007: Surely the third umpire, the grandly-monikered Tyron Hirantha Wijewardene, should have been in a position to pick up his walkie-talkie and gently alert Asad Rauf to the bat’s involvement before he made a fool of himself

An undiluted champion

Dec 3, 2007: We Hebrews have a word for such occasions: mazeltov

Dear David Morgan

Nov 22, 2007: David/Dai, it will be on your watch, in 2009, that the ICC celebrates its centenary

Of greed and stupidity

Nov 14, 2007: So the Indian board have backed Cricket Australia’s decision to charge agencies for the privilege of reporting matches, have they

Machine-made humanity

Nov 8, 2007: To retain credibility, professional sport, its practitioners and audience, deserve as much justice as is humanly possible

Dunkin’ Duncan

Nov 1, 2007: Here was the perfect subject: a scorned public figure with a year’s salary and a hefty publisher’s advance in his pocket, nothing to lose and an axe or 50 to grind.

Both v Chappelli (Part 31)

Oct 24, 2007: On the other hand, this is a grave time in our planet’s history

When the Law is an ass

Oct 22, 2007: How reassuring, then, to read the comments of Syd Millar, chairman of the International Rugby Board, who believes his sport should be “freed up a bit” and “produce more options for players”

England's Brave New World (Chapter 382)

Oct 13, 2007: Despite the drubbing in the final ODI, England have a lot of positives to take from the series win in Sri Lanka

Goodbye ugly duckling, hello Swann

Oct 1, 2007: He still needs no encouragement to open those slim shoulders and clout balls to all parts but now, as today’s innings underlined, he can place and flick, pace and judge

Time to forgive Ramprakash

Sep 26, 2007: How can an England team without Ramprakash be truly representative of the nation’s cricketing talent

Time to crunch more numbers

Sep 23, 2007: Now, thanks primarily to the broadcasters’ thirst for the telling stat, we have a whole new ball game: longest six, most dot-balls, even speed off the bat

Reality bites for Flintoff

Sep 21, 2007: Two years ago, when comparisons with Ian Botham were all the rage, most Poms were convinced that Our Fred’s career graph would maintain its inverse relationship to that of His Beefiness

Ten positives of the ICC World Twenty20

Sep 14, 2007: Four days into the first major event to showcase cricket at its most bastardised and most, if not quite all, the signs are encouraging

And on the seventh day...

Sep 6, 2007: Contrary to received wisdom, humble pie doesn’t actually taste that awful

Five jewels for Wisden

Sep 5, 2007: He should be extra careful and avoid getting excited while playing, else, it may dampen his game.” So says astrologer Bejan Daruwalla’s Tarot card reading for Guyana’s gutsiest

Warne remains at his entertaining best

Sep 1, 2007: Shane Warne’s list of his 50 finest flannelled fools, published in the Times over the past few days was delightful on so many counts, most notably the irate reactions

The heavy price of cost-cutting

Aug 29, 2007: It didn’t have to be this way