Oval ain’t Headingley, all square, a fresh game, isn’t it?
England haven’t panicked and called up all their previous has-beens and failures,which is probably a good thing. Personally I was wondering if the selectors would plump for the no-nonsense solidity of Sir Arthur Wellesley or the more mecurial talents of Brunel I K, but still being [...]
At the time it hurt. If you support England you don’t like to see any English batting collapse, and not two in percussive innings, interspersed with bowling pretty well as bad. With a week or more to think about it – it still hurts!
It wasn’t quite as bad as the fifth day collapse Tuesday 6th [...]
I’ll talk about three areas here, all inter-related.
Watching the Western Stand, it struck me that the Hogarthian vision of The Times’ Thunderer is scarcely more than jolly japes in prep school dorms. Midnight feasts, ragging of other houses and schools, hiding Screwbottom Jnr’s spectacles, building a periscope from pop bottles to peer up Matron’s drawers [...]
Our Freddie, the heart of our eleven
Hallowed be thy knees.
Give us your all from test to test
While inbetween giving them each a rest.
Cortisone injection those Australians
From openers to tail-enders
But do not do yourself a mischief
As you would do unto others.
We forgive you your pedalos
As you would forgive us ours.
All square at your final test
Lead us [...]
