I try to stonewall, bowl leg spin, field in close and sledge relentlessly, but in reality I'm usually out injured. Now retired and trying to coach. Just as rubbish with a pen as with a bat.
As the Mind the Windows team previews each of the teams competing for cricketing glory in the World T20, Devon Mace starts off the series by looking at the Associates — Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Netherlands, Oman, and Scotland.
Scott Styris takes guard for the new over, while Shaun Tait retires from the bowling crease to be replaced by a young Mitchell Johnson. Filling in for the rested Glenn McGrath, Johnson is slightly less quick, somewhat less hostile, and significantly less coordinated than his 2013-14 incarnation. But today, the first ball is just about … More Peter Fulton: ‘I loved every minute’
The end started with a text. In one regard, it was a “we’re short, can you play on Saturday?” affair, and yet it was also infinitely more regal. The crowd – albeit a crowd of just over a dozen – were begging for an encore. Their hero fulfilled their wishes, and strode back to the … More SPIN: A New Zealand story
Name a batsman who looks good, but just never makes those tough runs. You’ve named half a dozen already. Mark Waugh springs to mind for Australians, Ian Bell’s the most recent exemplar for Britons, while Vinod Kambli emerges from the subcontinent. A lot of times of late, the name floated has been Ross Taylor. This … More Ross Taylor: Not just touch
1: You came into the South Australian side in the 2000-01 summer, aged just 17, having come through all the age-group levels. Coming through all those development sides, how had they prepared you for the step up to professional cricket, and what was the junior infrastructure like in South Australia at the time? Cameron Borgas: … More 20 Questions: Cameron Borgas
Recently, I was fortunate enough to sit down with Wellington’s new coach, Bruce Edgar at the Wellington Firebirds’ training set-up at Westpac Stadium. Most of what we discussed will be coming shortly, in a feature piece discussing his career – from his playing days as a stoic opening bat, to coaching, being New Zealand selector, … More Bruce Edgar: Wellington coach
Read part 1 here *** “I enjoyed the environment, I really did. In the late ‘90s, there’d been a real change in the culture of the Blackcaps. They no longer thought they were shit-hot, and were useless, they actually started realising they had a lot of work to do. “They’d really brought guys like Cairns … More Mark Richardson: ‘determination is the biggest thing’ (part 2)
When, in late 2004, Mark Richardson announced that he was hanging up his boots, it invoked an immediate expression: surprise. He was 33 years of age, and only a few months earlier was the Hero of Lord’s. Surely, the masses believed, he was retiring too early? Chairman of Selectors, Richard Hadlee, intimated as much – … More Mark Richardson: ‘determination is the biggest thing’ (part 1)
Eric Heiden, in the shadow of the USA’s boycott of the Moscow Olympics in 1980, was quoted as saying, “sports and politics don’t mix.” It’s a truism that was used long before Heiden, and has been deployed infinite times since, and is one that – undoubtedly – will last long beyond the lifetime of anyone … More Sure as the dust that floats high in June
“At close of play, Mike Smith, the MCC captain, congratulated me on my batting and asked if I had thought of coming to England to make a career out of cricket. My father thought that there was no harm in Mr. Smith putting my name forward when he returned to London – probably nothing would … More Thomas Odoyo: making a difference
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