November 4th, 2009 by
Sam Collins in
Test cricket
So Ireland are seeking Full Member status within the ICC, which is slightly like Danny Dyer applying to join MI5.
Ireland’s struggles to keep hold of their best players are well-documented. Currently the strongest Associate Member by a distance, they are entitled to temporary ODI status but denied the chance to play Test cricket. Applying to join the 10 Full Members is a long, tricky and intensely political process but it could take them there. What would await them in terms of evenly-matched competition is another matter.
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November 4th, 2009 by
Daniel Brigham in
County cricket
The County Championship points system will be reviewed for next season, the ECB has announced.
About time. Obviously this could just be an excuse for a working group to meet up at Starbucks for a natter and nothing will get changed but it is at least an acknowledgment by the board that there could be a better way of allocating points. As it stands, a team receives 14 points for a win, four points for draw and up to eight bonus points from their first-innings performances. Read the rest of this entry »
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November 4th, 2009 by
Lawrence Booth in
Test cricket
“We’ve got a chap called Tyson,” said Len Hutton shortly after England arrived in Australia to defend the Ashes in 1954-55. “But you won’t have heard of him because he’s hardly ever played.”
Forgive the nostalgia, but Hutton’s piece of professional Yorkshireness came to mind last week as the runners and riders for the now-vacant New Zealand coaching job were discussed. Out went Andy Moles (the only English coach on the international circuit) and in came, well, who exactly? John Dyson? John Wright? Duncan Fletcher?
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November 4th, 2009 by
Benj Moorehead in
International,
One-day cricket
The ICC was hoping the Champions Trophy would come to the rescue of its troubled 50-over format, but they should look instead to the current one-day series being played in India. Australia and India are tied 2-2 in their seven-match series and the cricket has been absorbing.
At its best, one-day cricket offers a middle way between Tests and Twenty20s; there is enough time for ebb and flow and yet this is balanced by the tick-tocking of time pressure. There is a rich variety of pace to the cricket: runs dry up completely, they arrive in a torrent, and in between times they can be sought only from a trickling stream of opportunity.
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