Men against boys
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
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England's batsmen have enjoyed themselves against a weak West Indies attack, with seven centuries already in the series. In The Observer Mike Brearley looks at the power of the modern player and the differing styles of Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen.
England's Test team look - against all but Australia - to be full of modern batsmen, in this sense, and their two centurions at Leeds are great exemplars. Michael Vaughan's trademark shots are the swivel-pull and the off-drive, and each feeds off the other. When a bowler finds that a slightly short ball is pulled wide of mid-on for four, he tends to pitch the next one further up, thus risking the drive. And vice versa.
In The Sunday Times, Lawrence Booth suggests that the county system could be doing more to nurture the next England captain.
Stalwarts among the current breed of captains are rare. Chris Adams is in his 10th season in charge of Sussex, yet even he almost joined Yorkshire in the close season. Ronnie Irani has been at the helm for Essex since 2000. Among other England-qualified captains, only David Sales of Northamptonshire, in charge since 2004, has hinted at longevity.
Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo