The Cricket Blog

Cricket opinion and discussion, for the fans, by the fans.

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

Deeply saddened to hear the news about @clarkyfanzine. I had the pleasure of playing cricket with him for a few years at @EGCC1. A passionate, knowledgeable and witty man on the sport, The Corridor of Uncertainty was a staple for many touring England fans. A big loss. A great guy

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

Jasprit Bumrah is quite good at bowling.

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

The number of full tosses England have bowled compared to India really highlights the difference in the quality of the bowling between the sides. It's a significant gap.

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

You can talk about the wicket, and I don't think this is a brilliant one, but India have one elite and two exceptional spinners. England just don't have an attack suited to India, or Australia for that matter. Take a knife to a gun fight and it won't end well.

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

You can talk about wickets and all that, but who's been cutting the Indian team's hair?!

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

That's nowhere near good enough. Racism is unacceptable, by anyone, to anyone, full stop. That needs to be the stance. They can't pick and choose. It's just another depressing confirmation that money is all that matters.

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

It's greed and cowardice. They should be ashamed of themselves. They do the right thing only when it suits them. Morality at the ECB is nothing but a PR exercise. All the sport is saying right now is that it's comfortable with racism so long as it's not done by a white person...

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

...during the BLM movement and all that followed, they'd do the right thing. If this was a tour of South Africa, or anywhere else, they'd withdraw and England wouldn't tour for a long time. The only thing @ECB_cricket is interested in is money. Don't upset the BCCI!

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

The Shoaib Bashir situation is a shambles. Let's call it what it is: racism. @ECB_cricket taking the knee, anti-discriminstion stance looks very shallow right now. England should not be playing the first Test in Hyderabad. If they have the same moral code they had...

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

The Hundred starts today! Thank God they rattled through that Ashes series to keep August free for the serious stuff that every player wants to be involved in! The format to entice children that it's really difficult to take children to because of the start times! Lucky us!!

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

Stuart Broad, we salute you. A fine career. If nothing else, the man who changed the face of appealing for an lbw. Except there was rather a lot else, too.

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

I don't know what England's plans are here, but it should be a criminal offence to declare whilst Harry Brook is batting #Ashes #ENGvAUS

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

Jaiswal's Test batting average (223) is approaching Ravi Bopara's Test bowling average (290). Can he do it?! #India #WIvsInd

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

Funny how these series play out. If Root catches Marsh on 12 at Headingley, Marsh gets dropped and Murphy plays this Test, Australia would've had a much better balanced attack. Would it have made a jot of difference? Glorious intangibles. #Ashes

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

Never doubted him... #ENGvAUS #Ashes

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

I'm all in. Just pick Zak Crawley for the next 10 years. Don't even think about it, write his name down on that team sheet and be done with it.

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

If England really do have clear heads and are honest with themselves, Ollie Pope needs to come out with the gloves on this morning. He kept well in Pakistan and there'll be a lot more spin today. Bairstow really struggles keeping to it #Ashes23

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

Say what you like about Jack Leach, but he loves a 1* in a nail biter.

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

We sat down with cricket commentator @norcrosscricket to discuss the language of cricket. Get yourself a cup of tea and enjoy! https://t.co/KqgvI0QhRP

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

New blog: We spoke to former England captain Eoin Morgan about the language of cricket. Read it here: https://t.co/rMoJD9SX9D

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

who will have another opportunity to open their wallets at the bars of England's international cricket venues. You still have to wait until your kids are older to take them to a game of cricket. Nothing has changed and it's alarmingly inaccessible. End of thread (rant).

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

A thread on trying to take my son to watch a live, professional cricket game. @ECB_cricket is desperate to bring cricket to a new audience, with @thehundred famously focussing on attracting "women and children" to the sport...

[The Cricket Blog @TheCricketBlog]

It's a shame that The Hundred is such a con. It's the answer to a problem that didn't exist. The cricket may well be good (and I like cricket in any guise!) but it's built on the same foundations of attracting the same audience...