England v Afghanistan: Used Old Trafford pitch and Rashid Khan’s magic the key for visitors June 17, 2019 On the face of it England’s World Cup game against Afghanistan tomorrow comes at an opportune moment. With opener Jason Roy sidelined by a torn hamstring for a few games at least and captain Eoin Morgan recovering from a back spasm, it appears the perfect time to play the side bottom of the group table and without [...]
Sir Garfield Sobers interview: West Indies legend on short-pitch bowling, Chris Gayle and the current team’s World Cup chances June 13, 2019 The sport may have evolved since he retired 45 years ago and he may have only played a single one-day international, but Sir Garfield Sobers still knows a thing or two about cricket. The West Indies legend, who played 93 Test matches between 1954 and 1974, scoring 8,032 runs at an average of 57.78 and [...]
Chris Tremlett: England should combat the dangerous Chris Gayle with all-out pace at the Rose Bowl June 12, 2019 England play West Indies at the Rose Bowl on Friday and I’m sure they won’t be complacent about what Jason Holder’s side can do. West Indies’ fast bowling attack have shown how good they can be, demolishing Pakistan for just 105 in their opening game and reducing Australia to 79-5 in their second with aggressive [...]
Cricket World Cup: Scotland chief executive Malcom Cannon on qualifying heartbreak, the 10-team format and becoming a full member June 11, 2019 The World Cup may be in full swing across the country right now, but not everyone involved in cricket is revelling in the occasion. With the focus solely on the 10 teams competing, it is easy to get swept up by the occasion and forget the longstanding debate surrounding tournament’s format. Not if your name [...]
Indian fans make themselves at home in The Oval amid thumping win over Australia June 9, 2019 There was a fun game to be played at the Cricket Wold Cup match at The Oval today: spot the Australian. Canary yellow shirts were an endangered species inside the stadium, bright dots amid a sea of raucous, passionate, pulsating Indian blue. Even when you thought you’d located a group of Aussie supporters there was [...]
Chris Tremlett: England mustn’t panic despite Pakistan defeat June 6, 2019 England’s 14-run defeat by Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup on Monday won’t have triggered any major alarm bells in the camp, but it should act as a minor wake-up call for Eoin Morgan’s side. Despite their 11 successive one-day international losses, and recent 4-0 series defeat against England, Pakistan are a dangerous team who [...]
England v Pakistan: Hosts set to unleash Mark Wood and Jofra Archer in all-out pace barrage June 2, 2019 Trent Bridge has in recent years become a cricket ground associated with one thing and one thing only: runs, and lots of them. Over the last four years it has been the highest-scoring venue in England and Wales, with an average one-day international run-rate of 6.98 per over, its true, even-paced pitch and short boundaries [...]
England show all the strings to their bow as they open the World Cup with dominant win over South Africa May 30, 2019 They waited a long time for the tournament to start, but when it finally did England did not disappoint. The hosts may not have produced their trademark – the gigantic total compiled through aggressive, explosive batting – yet, in a way, this was better. As the world’s best one-day international side for some time, we [...]
Chris Tremlett: Solid India represent the biggest threat to home favourites England at the World Cup May 29, 2019 The World Cup begins tomorrow and as I’ve been writing for the last few months England are my favourites. The hosts have all bases covered, are peaking at the right time and know the conditions the best. However, it will be far from plain sailing for Eoin Morgan’s side, with most of the other nine [...]
Cricket World Cup in London: How the ICC is hoping to create a buzz around the capital this summer May 28, 2019 The summer is here, the sun is out and London is ready for the Cricket World Cup. With two venues and 10 games to look forward to, the capital is at the epicentre of the tournament and will be abuzz with action between Thursday’s opening match involving England and South Africa at The Oval and [...]