Malcolm Marshall against Australia, 1991

Watching him bowl was such an ethereal and sublime experience.  Rest in peace, my brother Malcolm.

The Dominance of Dale Steyn

As Dale Steyn returns to test cricket this Friday against India, this is a good reminder of how dominant he has been in his incredible career.

Sunset at the Adelaide Oval, Day 4 of the Second Test

Source: Cameron Spencer, Getty Images.

Smith's Wicket Falls

The captain is bowled for 40 in the second test.

After a tense first day, Australia find themselves 209/4 at stumps.

Steve Smith 141*

Brilliant innings from the Australian captain.

MEMO: The Ashes begin in 55 minutes

This is going to be huge.

Joe Root: 184*

"Win first toss: check. Score first hundred as captain: check. Bat through to the close: check. Joe Root stepped into the breach with England in a familiar spot of bother on the first day of the series and produced an equally familiar response to repel South Africa at Lord's. If Root might have preferred his scriptwriters to provide a more solid base from which to begin his work in charge of the Test side, he could have barely a quibble with how his own day progressed."

-England seize day as Root launches captaincy with 184*

Highlights of day one (Root's innings)


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Edit: Joe Root's wicket has fallen for 190 early in the proceedings of day two.  A valiant effort from the new England captain.

Galle International Stadium

Home of Galle Cricket Club and also hosts Sri Lankan Test and ODI matches.  A beautiful venue for the gentleman's game.

Pakistan Zindabad!

Pakistan, who were heavy underdogs coming into the competition, have performed the impossible by defeating South Africa, Sri Lanka, an undefeated England in the semis and finally demolished India in the final of the Champions Trophy.  The boys have a lot to be proud of and it shows you that in cricket, anything can happen.

Mohammad Amir's two huge wickets that set the tone early in India's innings.

"You had to be there. Thousands upon thousands of cricket fans streaming down the Harleyford Road and in through the gates named after two of Surrey's most favourite sons: one, Jack Hobbs, the Master, from an age few of those chanting their affections could even begin to understand; the other, Alec Stewart, whose association with the ground began with watching his father and continues to this day, as the lads under his wing press for honours and caps exactly as he once did.

"The Oval, the place of Hobbs, yes, and of Andy Sandham; of the Bedser twins, May and Barrington; of Laker and Lock, Edrich, Arnold and Jackman; of the Stewarts, the Butchers, the Bicknells, the Hollioakes, and now the Currans, about to make their mark. But none of these fine men were a whisper on the day of the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy, the day that this little corner of South London became Asian and the vibrant colours of India and Pakistan provided the backdrop to a monumental achievement...."

-Ringside at the miracle of Pakistan by Mark Nicholas 

RIP, Richie

Today marks the two year anniversary of Richie Benaud's death.  For cricket fans, his voice was a deep consolation providing us hours on hours of cricket coverage.  The video below is of his last few minutes on the air.


May God grant him eternal rest.

"Time to say good bye.  Add to that, thank you for having me.  It's been absolutely marvelous for forty-two years.  I've loved every moment of it and it's been a privilege to go into everyone's living room throughout that time.  What's even better, it's been a great deal of fun....but not so for the batsman.  McGrath has picked him up, late in the day, he's got a beauty to Kevin Pietersen."


Fitting how his last call was the fall of a wicket which interrupted his farewell speech.  It was never about him, it was always about the action on the pitch.

The Season of Kohli

"The series against Australia was partly notable for his lack of runs, but he was still in everything.

"Leaving straight balls in Pune, charging over to Steven Smith to point out his DRS "brain fade" in Bengaluru, the press conference afterwards where he almost said a word, the tumble and injury in Ranchi, the mock of the Australians mocking his shoulder injury. The camera was on him when he clapped, ran drinks, or just about anytime anything ever happened in any match he played in, and then, the last press conference where he suggested with as much heat as his eyes could muster that this series had ended his friendships with the Australian players.

"This was the most remarkable season of Test cricket, and we might never see anything like it again. But, mostly, it was Kohli's season. India won four series and 10 Tests, Kohli won everything. Kohli was the batsman even when he wasn't. Kohli was the captain, even when he wasn't. Kohli was always the story."

-The Season of Kohli, and all his men by Jarrod Kimber 

Round Two Goes to the Indians

"By the start of the fifth ball, tens of thousands of people were in Wade's head, a billion with them in spirit. It was hard enough when he just had this pitch and this Ashwin, now he had all this too.

The ball came down and all Wade could do was lunge and hope. It took the edge, hit the pad and flew up high enough for Saha to run and dive to short leg to take the catch.

Ashwin raced to fine leg like a football striker who had won the World Cup. Half the team followed him. Saha got up and was embraced by the men around the bat. Kohli didn't go to either of them. He sprinted out to deep cover, stood in front of the crowd, and howled along with his bellowing blue army.

It had been a whole match of words, but you couldn't hear what was Kohli saying. You couldn't hear what anyone was saying. The only sound was the Indian victory roar."

-The Epic Twists of an Epic Test by Jarrod Kimber

Test Cricket Strikes Again!

Last night, I settled in comfortably to watch day two of the first test between India and Australia.  For fans of cricket, this tour has been highly anticipated and so far it has been amazing.

Australia were all out on 260 in their first innings and India were 94/3 in 32.1 overs towards the middle of day two.  Then, it happened.  India were all out on 105 in just 40.1 overs.

In eight overs, the tide of this match completely changed.  The pressure, the incredible turn on the subcontinent wicket and excellent bowling completely dominated in the middle part of the Indian lineup.

Incredible.

Thank you, Captain

"If just a few words were used to describe Alastair Cook in his role as England's captain, "honesty", "integrity" and "resolve" might lead the way. In this age of unflagging self-promotion, he has remained private and discreet, whispering not a word of his own journey or, more particularly, of the hurdles that have made it more difficult and emotionally draining than anyone on the outside could possibly imagine.

On a personal level, he keeps clear of social media, but the general noise is unavoidable and he has frequently been aghast at the vitriol pumped his way. During the early part of the summer of 2014, when his team was losing matches it should not have, the freewheeling and generally irresponsible criticism all but finished him off. Somehow he found the strength to carry on, displaying perhaps the most impressive of his abilities - where he rolls up his sleeves and gets on with the job."

-Mark Nicholas on Alastair Cook's legacy as England Captain

Cook might not have been the most successful skipper, however with him, you always felt like the club had a strong stoic leader who would perform his duties even in the face of great adversity.   

The Home of Cricket

A beautiful short video on my favorite cricket ground, Lord's.  There are many wonderful honors in the world of sport but I cannot think of anything more supreme than playing test cricket at Lord's for England.

Can you think of all the men who are part of the mystic of this ground?  Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe, Brian Lara, Sachin, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Strauss...

Death of a Gentleman

For all fans of sports, in particularly cricket, I would recommend a wonderful provocative film named "Death of a Gentleman" which was released in 2015.  It follows two passionate reporters, Sam Collins and Jarrod Kimber, as they try to find out the validity of the canard which proclaims the death of test cricket is imminent and if so, who is trying to kill it?  As their quest throughout the film intensifies, what they discover is something far more dark and disheartening for fans of this wonderful game.  A story of corruption into the highest levels of the institutions which govern the game.

For all who are fans of test cricket and absolutely deplore the horrific T20 craze that has engulfed the cricket world, this is a must view.  I have attached the trailer below.

I will eventually get to a post where I will personally give my opinions on the T20 culture and the future of our beloved test cricket.

Mitchell Johnson 7/40, 2013 Ashes

I still remember this like it was yesterday.  Two quick notes.

• Johnson's ball to Cook was an absolute peach.  Swinging in and then deviates out off the seam.  Might be the best ball I have ever seen in my life. 
• The atmosphere inside the Adelaide Oval was absolutely brilliant when Broad's leg stump was demolished by Johnson's delivery.  Might have been the loneliest walk in his career.

This should make for an interesting fifth day!

This test has been a pretty clean one so far.  Yes, there have been some dropped catches on the New Zealand side however I have not seen any egregious mistakes.  However, about ten minutes ago, Bangladesh's nightwatchman, Mehendi Hasan Miraz, was inexplicably run out to end the day!


Oh dear.

Wonderful Innings

Wonderful innings from Shakib Al Hasan at the second day of the Bangladesh v. New Zealand test match at Wellington.  First double century of his career.

217(276), b Wagner

Take a bow, sir.

Well done, Younis Khan

With his century against Australia today, he is the only person who has achieved a century in all eleven test nations.


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