England keep riding the cricket wave with another Test series in the bag December 12, 2022 England’s last overseas Test cricket tour was a shambles. Two draws and a loss to the West Indies ended a run of international Test cricket few were proud of. Joe Root left the captaincy, Chris Silverwood was already sacked as head coach and the remaining void lingered for a number of months. But less than [...]
England win in Pakistan one of their greatest ever Test victories December 5, 2022 Pakistan legend Waqar Younis said he’d never seen a crowd like it on the fifth day of a match in Rawalpindi, and they flocked to the cricket stadium not too far from Islamabad yesterday for the crescendo of one of the great Tests in recent times – and arguably England’s greatest ever win in Asia. [...]
Ed Warner: Is Infantino a moonbeam or a clown? Either way, Fifa boss is here to stay December 1, 2022 Gianni Infantino. Moonbeam or clown? Flibbertigibbet? Certainly. Problem-solver, or problem to be solved? All depends on where you are coming from – quite literally. Just don’t expect Fifa’s demon/angel (delete according to taste) president to be going anywhere soon. Most likely not until 2031. Football’s Swiss-Italian head honcho has been front and centre of the [...]
England’s Test series in Pakistan is about more than just cricket November 30, 2022 When the opening batsman faces the first ball of tomorrow’s Test series between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of Islamabad, it will represent far more than just another five-day cricket match. Pakistani cricket has long been dogged by the shadow of security fears, but that has faded of late and the proud [...]
Ed Warner: If Liverpool’s owners want to sell, expect more American buyers November 17, 2022 Ed Warner addresses why American investors are the most likely purchases of any Liverpool shares on the market, why England’s Rugby World Cup defeat was good for the women’s game, and cricket song choices with a sense of humour. Forty-three days without the Premier League. Three days in and already I’m suffering withdrawal symptoms. Yes, [...]
England do white-ball World Cup double as Stokes earns redemption November 13, 2022 England became the first men’s team to hold both the one-day Cricket World Cup and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup yesterday when they beat Pakistan by five weeks in front of 82,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the final that nearly never was given England’s poor Super12 stage and the threat of [...]
Ed Warner: Richard Thompson must continue bold start at helm of English cricket November 10, 2022 No deckchair shuffling for Richard Thompson. English cricket’s new leader has pretty much cleared the deck of the governing body’s directors. His kind words about departing colleagues he has barely overlapped with suggests this is a diplomat with admirable stiletto-wielding skills. Now he must hire replacements capable of backing the reset that the sport so [...]
England must win T20 match, but even that might not be enough November 4, 2022 They’ve only lost once so far in the Super12 stage but Matthew Mott’s first T20 World Cup as England limited-overs cricket coach could end with his side being dumped out before the semi-finals should they stumble tomorrow against former coach Chris Silverwood’s Sri Lanka. Wins against Afghanistan and, most recently, New Zealand have handed them [...]
Ed Warner: English football of all levels penetrating hyper-commercial US sport November 3, 2022 Does anyone in England call the Premier League the EPL? I ask because I had a random encounter at Heathrow last week with one of a group of five Crystal Palace fans headed to Selhurst Park for their “first EPL game”. The Ted Lasso effect maybe? I only hope they made it to the Clifton [...]
England hang on in T20 World Cup but need to beat Sri Lanka November 1, 2022 England’s T20 cricket side kept alive their hopes of progressing through to the final four of the World Cup yesterday with a 20-run victory over New Zealand in Brisbane. Captain Jos Buttler impressed with the bat as England prevailed in a must-win match against the Black Caps to keep them in the competition. Heading into [...]