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

English cricket

The Bell Curve

Aug 22, 2007: In the first ODI against India, Ian Bell scored his maiden one-day century and turned the corner separating boys from men

Muralitharan v Bedi

Aug 15, 2007: Of course nobody wants to see such a case come to court, especially those of us who recall Bedi’s maverick spirit and unmatchably gorgeous action with huge affection and heartfelt gratitude

English cricket

Schofield, Schofield give us a twirl

Aug 6, 2007: But the suspicion remains that the traditional English mindset – cautious, pragmatic, proud, more fearful of embarrassment than failure - is at odds with the art of spin

Of sticks and stones

Aug 2, 2007: But let’s not confuse the pros and cons of all this with ethics

The most over-rated sin

Jul 28, 2007: If you went to a day’s play in a Test that featured 320 runs, eight wickets and a couple of dazzling catches, would it bother you that “only” 80 overs were served up for your delectation

To walk or not to walk

Jul 20, 2007: One member of the Walking Lobby expressed the view that the pursuit of money – in individual and collective terms - lies at the heart of the dishonesty that underpins the philosophy of the Non-Walkers

The ballad of Murali and Barry

Jul 16, 2007: Racism and jealousy: does it really matter which comes first

When averages strike out

Jul 8, 2007: Strike rates tell us how often a bowler achieves his aim; averages tell us the price he has to pay for every success

The beauty of ugly

Jul 4, 2007: Chanderpaul seems oblivious to it all, disdainful of such niceties, and, crucially, wholly un-self-conscious