Jarrod Kimber
Gayle tests Bailey's smile
It was a breezy night in Colombo; the smoke should have cleared from the ground. It didn't. The Australians were forced to play perpetually under this hazy cloud of doom
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
It was a breezy night in Colombo; the smoke should have cleared from the ground. It didn't.
The Australians were forced to play perpetually under this hazy cloud of doom. Every time a West Indies player hit a six the fireworks went off, sometimes straight at them, as if to add burn wounds to the wounds from Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels. The wounds from Gayle were largely self-inflicted as Shane Watson dropped him before he'd even got started.
It was perhaps only this smoke cloud that slowed West Indies down.
Full postAfghanistan are professional cricketers, don't forget
The story of Afghanistan cricket is absolutely amazing. It's got a book, a documentary, and is mentioned in almost every article about them
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
The story of Afghanistan cricket is absolutely amazing. It's got a book, a documentary, and is mentioned in almost every article about them. So much so that their cricket deeds are often an afterthought. That these cricketers come from a war torn country, that some were refugees, and that some have had to overcome amazing hardships is a phenomenal story.
Just to make it from the bottom of the Affiliates to the top is nothing short of inspirational. But they have, twice, and it's perhaps time we focus on what the men before us actually are. Cricketers.
When, on the eve of the World Twenty20, Hamid Hassan told ESPNcricinfo that he might not be able to play the tournament, he looked on the verge of tears. This was a man who had spent months and months in the gym at Lord's, sweating and working. Hassan did this because he is a cricketer, and he wanted to be the best cricketer he could be, overcome his injuries and play in this tournament.
Full postMinnows no more
When an Australian fielder leans in to talk, there is a good chance a batsman is getting some flak
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
When an Australian fielder leans in to talk, there is a good chance a batsman is getting some flak. It could be professional advice, career counseling or questions about his family, but the batsman is getting chirped, sledged or mentally disintegrated.
Ireland were yesterday. From the first ball Australian fielders were leaning in, sometimes in unison with an aggressive clap, and saying things that seemed to upset some of the Ireland players.
It wasn't that many years ago that Australian players took to the field against a minnow with grins and little preparation. Not anymore.
Full postPreviously at the World T20
People like the World Twenty20. It's short, no one cares much, there will be another one soon, and Afghanistan plays in it
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
People like the World Twenty20. It's short, no one cares much, there will be another one soon, and Afghanistan plays in it. It's also the only tournament Australia have not won, which helps.
It's been two years since the last ICC World T20, and in short attention spans of T20 fans, that's like forever. So to recap…
Season 1 - The Pilot: Or how India learned to stop the moaning and love the T20
Full postVince knock lights up Sky
When I first came to the UK, I thought Liam Dawson was going to be the next big thing in English cricket
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
When I first came to the UK, I thought Liam Dawson was going to be the next big thing in English cricket. In one week, I saw him take wickets with his part-time left-arm spin and score impressive runs repeatedly in the middle order for Hampshire and England U-19s. I did all this without ever leaving my house. Liam Dawson just happened to be on Sky every time I turned on my TV, and I saw every single good thing he did.
Four years on, Dawson averages 32 in first-class cricket and less than a wicket a match. He's only 22, and I still think he has talent, but by this stage in his career I would like his figures to be a bit prettier than that.
There are 18 counties in UK county cricket, spread over two divisions. It's impossible to follow it all unless you're a crazy fan with too much time on your hands. Most county writers only follow one team, or one region. International cricket writers barely see any live county cricket.
Full postStrauss' over-achievement
When England travelled to New Zealand for the 2007/08 tour, I didn't realise that Andrew Strauss was on his way out
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
When England travelled to New Zealand for the 2007/08 tour, I didn't realise that Andrew Strauss was on his way out. But then, I'd never thought of him much at all. That's not to say I ever thought he was rubbish, he just wasn't someone who I thought of much. I remember he had a good start, was around during some Ashes, was on the Shane Warne highlight reel as one of his landmark wickets and liked to smack the ball through point. But for someone who had been around for so long, he was almost anonymous to me.
I think I would have picked out his image in a photo array, but it would have been touch and go.
The first time I realised there was something more to Strauss was that he moved to Hamilton to prepare for a Test series against New Zealand. It wasn't that he moved to a place to prepare for a series, professional athletes do that now, but that he did it for New Zealand. Not a five-Test series, or a series against the heavy hitters of world cricket, he did it for the team that series that some players treat more as a holiday than a proper series.
Full postSpirit of cricket invoked too easily
Imagine your favourite player was on 70. It's a flat pitch. The bowlers are tired. The batsman is flying. And a hundred is certainly on the cards
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Imagine your favourite player was on 70. It's a flat pitch. The bowlers are tired. The batsman is flying. And a hundred is certainly on the cards. Then, in a moment of nothing short of pure stupidity, the batsman is not deceived by the bowler, or out thought by the captain, he just half hits one and is caught on the long on boundary.
It was stupid, dozy and was clearly a mistake.
Now imagine the umpire went over to the captain and said, "Look, it was clearly just a stupid error, he didn't mean it, I'm offering you the chance to call him back".
Full postTahir embodies new South Africa
Imran Tahir appeared in front of me as an Alice-band wearing back-of-the-hand magician. Prancing around county cricket making batsmen look like complete idiots
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Imran Tahir appeared in front of me as an Alice-band wearing back-of-the-hand magician. Prancing around county cricket making batsmen look like complete idiots. The first spell I saw him bowl live was utter garbage. Half trackers were followed by full tosses and Samit Patel used him as little more than dental floss.
Then Patel went out, and Tahir went from a legpsinner who was there for punishment, to one there for retribution. He cut through the Nottinghamshire line up like a sword through butter. The only thing Nottinghamshire could have done to stop the carnage was to declare. Wrong'uns, sliders and legspinners came out of his hands like they were designed for nothing else. It was the ultimate in leg spinning porn.
Tahir even had the great backstory. You could almost imagine him walking around the globe, hustling people in cricket nets with his bag of tricks and telling stories about all the clubs he's played with.
Full postMorne Morkel and the age of the hippo
Morne Morkel has always interested me. There's something about him that makes me think Boris Karloff would have loved to play him in a film
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Morne Morkel has always interested me. There's something about him that makes me think Boris Karloff would have loved to play him in a film. There's a large, loveable, flawed, silent monster feel to him. Slightly doomed perhaps, but able to wreak amazing damage, even if by accident.
Even his name sounds like a made-up villain's name.
While Dale Steyn has a vicious face, and Vernon Philander has the cunning eyes of a man who would make a mint on Wall St, Morne looks like a friendly tourist bus driver.
Full postNo winners after loss of trust
It's a shame, that at least for the short term, the ECB and Kevin Pietersen aren't together anymore. They do seem to deserve each other right now
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
It's a shame, that at least for the short term, the ECB and Kevin Pietersen aren't together anymore. They do seem to deserve each other right now.
One party drops certain players based on derogatory private texts they haven't seen, and another releases a hammy video the night before a selection decision instead of just making a call, or sending a text.
Right now the sticking point seems to be that KP may or may not have sent a derogatory text to the South Africans. He's not publicly stated that the texts weren't derogatory. And the ECB have had enough.
Full post