3-2 sounds unconvincing; but the scoreline deceives. Apart from the day one at Lord’s, England have been at worst solid, and at their peak brilliant. A 405 run defeat was, incongruously, but a blip on the radar: they out-gutsed the Aussies at Cardiff, and then watched self-capitulations at both Edgbaston and Trent Bridge. At the … More Let’s Talk About Adam
November 16, 2012 Nick Compton sits in the English dressing room, deep in the bowels of Sardar Patel Stadium. Strapping on his pads, preparing his gloves. He is about to realise his dream, though undoubtedly it does not quite match up with the way he envisioned it as a child. With Alastair Cook by his … More The Rise and Fall of Nick Compton: Becoming an Underdog (Part 1)
Recently, I wrote a piece entitled ‘The Cowan’, about the opening batsmen since 2010 most capable of facing up to ball after ball. It was simply an account of their ability to face balls, not score runs, and measured Kaushal Silva and Alastair Cook as the numbers one-and-two. Given England’s inability to find a replacement … More The English Cowan
THE ASHES ARE BACK! Australia go into this series overwhelming favourites after winning the last series convincingly by a 5-0 margin. However the English are demonstrating significant signs of improvement after a 1-1 test series and 3-2 ODI series against New Zealand. Mix in the home ground advantage of the English against the confidence and form of … More The Boldest of the Bold – 2015 Ashes Predictions
Paul Smith. It’s a name most have heard of, but generally only in the occasional ESPNCricinfo piece detailing cricketers banned for recreational drug use. The story is always the same, along the lines of: ‘Paul Smith was a Warwickshire fast-bowling all-rounder who never made full use of his talents. He played between 1982 and 1996, … More Paul Smith; ‘sport can change things for the better’
England begin their one-day series against New Zealand on Tuesday in the first of a five-match series. It will be England’s second ODI match and first ODI series since the Cricket World Cup and England have selected an exciting 14 man one-day squad comprising of younger players with an eye to the future. It is … More #ENGvNZ ODI series: an Englishman’s view
While the KP drama of will he or won’t he be picked rolled on, many judged that while a player of his abilities should slide straight into a side that just drew a Test series against a tame Windies, and had been knocked out embarrassingly early in the World Cup. The argument against was simply, … More Steven Davies: a genuine candidate
HEAVY HITTING BLOWS, MATE AGAINST MATE, FIGHTING FOR THEIR PRIDE. Well, no. It’s not a Channel 9 State of Origin promo. I’m Dev, my mate’s Dan, and we both write for Mind the Windows! Surely it was only sensible to combine ideas and resources? Actually no, the idea had to come from Dan’s girlfriend. But that’s … More Dev vs Dan: The #ENGvNZ wicket-keepers
Sports coaches have possibly the most fragile jobs in the world. In all sports, but particularly football and cricket, coaches are the first to have their head on the chopping block after a defeat. Even in the quiet fields of County Cricket, the job of a coach is tenuous at best. Most survive one cycle, … More Building the County Champions: The Mick Newell interview
‘Hot NZ arrive to catch England cold’, reads the ESPNCricinfo headline. Following New Zealand’s recent run of form – World Cup runners up, series wins against the West Indies, Sri Lanka, India, a drawn Test series against Pakistan – the team appears to be shaping nicely to push themselves further up the Test rankings. And … More It’s still Lord’s in May
Mind The Windows 