Ed Smith

Former Kent batsman. Writer of Luck - A Fresh Look at Fortune

@edsmithwriter

Does pure talent matter more in ODIs than in Tests?

It's one way to explain India's turnaround in the 50-over games in England

08-Sep-2014•Ed Smith

What if Pietersen had played for England this summer?

Would he have fared better than the incumbent middle-order batsmen, Root and Ballance?

25-Aug-2014•Ed Smith

How we misunderstand risk in sport

Aggression, defence, success, failure, innovation - they are all about our willingness to take risks and how we judge them

28-Jul-2014•Ed Smith

How do you view sporting success?

Do you gauge it by rewards or in terms of the experiences accumulated on the way?

14-Jul-2014•Ed Smith

It's time to stop treating umpires with contempt

Since players know they can get away with murder, umpires are often reduced to being a chorus

30-Jun-2014•Ed Smith

The incredibly malleable spirit of cricket

It's possible for two people to argue for hours about someone "crossing the line" without anyone knowing what or where the line is

17-Jun-2014•Ed Smith

Is cricket ripe for a tactical overhaul?

Like football, can it be reinvented by master tacticians, or is it too individual to be shaped?

02-Jun-2014•Ed Smith

How much talent does the difficult player need?

Exceptionally gifted but unreliable players are often given lots of rope by management, but far too many seem to believe themselves to be deserving of that leeway

20-May-2014•Ed Smith

Can a player's life explain his career?

Looking to autobiography for insights on how sportsmen play obscures the truth more often than it illuminates it

28-Apr-2014•Ed Smith

India: cricket's Brazil

It's difficult to beat a huge talent base exposed to good facilities, and possessed of a long history of competing as a nation

14-Apr-2014•Ed Smith

Wanted: mentors, not coaches

Elite sportsmen today don't lack motivation, nor do they need to be whipped into shape. What they need from their coaches is tact, judgement and clear speaking

31-Mar-2014•Ed Smith

Can the cricket coach be king?

The role is still evolving, but it's unlikely it'll become the centrepiece of the narrative like in football

03-Mar-2014•Ed Smith

The power of good team culture

Teams that encourage individualism along with a sense of belonging to the larger group are likelier to succeed

17-Feb-2014•Ed Smith

Temperament changes, like technique

Too many sportsmen are classed as "mentally not good enough", and though that may be true at one moment in their life it's not necessarily true for all time

29-Jan-2014•Ed Smith

A sportsman's naivety is part of his magic

The media wants constant access to players, and insights and honesty from them, but this desire can only cheapen the experience of sport

15-Jan-2014•Ed Smith

Sledging's inevitable? That's just silly

The idea that trash talk is a by-product of competitiveness, and essential to spice up a contest, is laughable

01-Jan-2014•Ed Smith

Champs today, chumps tomorrow

In separating sportsmen into two distinct categories - tough men and cowards - we not only miss the subtlety, we miss the whole truth

12-Dec-2013•Ed Smith

Hold the judgements and the congratulations

Hasty assumptions will not help Jonathan Trott, or our understanding of mental health

27-Nov-2013•Ed Smith

Tendulkar: forever icon

In some ways, we know less about him now than before. The more he has played, the more godlike and inscrutable he has become

13-Nov-2013•Ed Smith

Stillness in the stance isn't what we might think it is

The real characteristic of good players in form is not the immobility of the head but rhythm and poise

17-Oct-2013•Ed Smith

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