Other than Pakistan there will be no team less prepared for the World Twenty20 in April and May than England.

The bizarre paradox that in an era of short-format overkill there are very few Twenty20 internationals means that the Indian Premier League, which finishes less than a week before the World Twenty20 begins on April 30 in the Caribbean, is the key preparation for players going into the tournament.

Read the rest of this entry »

The death of Australia’s Test-match aura was talked about so much during the Ashes that I was waiting for Ricky Ponting to take the field in a black armband. Yet it didn’t die, for I have found it: it wasn’t down the back of the sofa next to Monty Panesar’s form, South Africa and India hadn’t stolen it and John Terry’s mum denied she had anything to do with its disappearance.

Instead, the Aussies have simply handed it over to their one-day team, who have just gone 4-0 up at home to Pakistan. It continues an astonishing sequence since they lost the Ashes: Played 23 ODIs, won 19, lost three. Six of those wins have been by over 40 runs and seven by five wickets or more.

Read the rest of this entry »

Back in the summer I interviewed Graeme Hick. We discussed his career as a whole and his time with England and he was polite, diplomatic and restrained – an interviewer’s nightmare.

Towards the end of our chat I asked him about his perceived weakness against the short-ball. Finally the mask slipped, the speech quickened and there was a glimpse of two decades of frustration. Read the rest of this entry »

Alan Tyers looks at the job advert for South Africa’s new coach

APPLY: gsmith@cricketsouthafrica.co.za

Firstly, the board would like to stress that it will be our decision who picks the coach and applications are only being sent to Graeme because apparently his email would be best for that sort of thing and it is definitely NOT just his decision.

Read the rest of this entry »

This website’s headlines get shorter.

Test matches are played under floodlights. There once was a time when football was played only during the day – before October 14, 1878. Probably about time Test cricket caught up.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the latest edition of Intelligent Life magazine, Ed Smith – who has made the unusual transition from cricketer to Times leader writer – recalls how the ever-growing numbers of back-room staff at county level has paradoxically taught players not to ask: “What is it that you do, exactly?” The story behind Mickey Arthur’s demise as coach of South Africa has failed to answer the question.

Arthur’s farewell press conference this morning in his home town of East London – a suitably unpretentious venue for a likeable man – produced the usual superficial treacle about “different visions” and “normal stock-taking processes”. Such jargon presumably satisfies all parties – sorry, stakeholders – there really is a science to this thing called coaching.

Read the rest of this entry »

We have a running joke at Wisden Cricketer Towers that whenever we put someone on the cover of the magazine, some terrible fate befalls them – generally that they get injured.

The jinx started with issue one in September 2003 when a cover interview with England’s rising star James Anderson coincided with him losing form and then getting injured.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cricket’s schedule barely relents at all these days, so it’s a bit of luck that Afghanistan’s significant victory against Ireland has come at a time when the clutter has, albeit briefly, cleared.

For the Afghanistan story is one worth telling. In short, it is the result of the refugee phenomenon. Millions of Afghans fled their country following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1979 and the civil war that ensued. Estimated figures suggest around three million ended up in Pakistan’s refugee camps, where, amid tens of thousands, they caught the cricketing bug.

Read the rest of this entry »

You can achieve a lot by being annoying. In everyday life, monotonous humming can keep people at arm’s length and thus help you avoid social interaction. In cricket, you can achieve even more. Send a batsman half-demented with your incessant wittering and he might play a rash shot. Conversely, play no shots while at the crease and a bowler might lose his composure and start sending down bad balls.

Tail-end batting is one of the great annoyances and it’s something that England do well at the minute. Opponents work their way through the top order and then find themselves either flayed around for an hour by Broad and Swann or bowling balls into the middle of Graham Onions’ oversized bat. It drives people mental. The tail’s supposed to be the easy bit. It’s like having a clear run on your drive to work and then having to queue to get in the carpark.

Read the rest of this entry »

Played 62, won 3, drawn 6, lost 53 (32 by an innings). Bangladesh’s Test record since their debut in 2000. Damning numbers. And no matter how deep your statistical research, there is almost nothing to suggest that England will be challenged when they play two Tests in Bangladesh starting on March 12.

Looking at the team that battled well against India, there is a prevailing sense of vulnerability. The average age of the team is a shade under 22 – even Mohammad Ashraful is still 25 (the oldest) despite his 51 Tests. Excluding Ashraful, the team have played just 112 Tests between them.

Read the rest of this entry »