CS Flashback: The idea of regular rebel tours is born
Nottingham, July 17, 1982.
They played 55-over matches in England those days.
At Trent Bridge, Pakistan started well. Mohsin Khan and Mudassar Nazar put on 102 for the first wicket, and then Zaheer Abbas struck the ball sweetly to compile a...
Moeen Ali’s Bothamesque streak!
It's the final session of the ultimate Test at Old Trafford, Duanne Olivier is on strike while Moeen Ali has the red leather in his hand. England are just a solitary wicket away from another scintillating win and Mooen...
Toby Roland-Jones vs Hashim Amla, a battle that intrigued many
It was a complete mismatch. A 29-year old debutant pitted against one of the best batsmen in modern day cricket. There was little doubt in the viewer’s minds as to who would emerge on top. After all, this batsman...
Faf du Plessis makes a mess of South Africa’s No. 4 woes
South Africa's total scores have more been in the 100s and 200s and have touched the 300-mark and more only thrice so far in the four-Test series against England. There have been only three instances when the visitors scored...
The fourth day scorecard a mirror of the series
83 to Hashim Amla. 61 to Faf du Plessis. The rest of the batting crumbling away like a thin layer of wafer.
That has been the structure, if not the story, of the South African batting in this series. Take...
Quinton de Kock is a force to reckon in lower middle-order
Prior to the start of the Test series, wicketkeepers from both the sides were expected to stand out riding on some magnificent form in the recent times. Jonny Bairstow scored 330 runs in 8 innings while Quinton de Kock...
The English lower order batting the main differentiator between the sides
Three times during the evening session, Moeen Ali swung his bat in a fascinating picture of flamboyance. Even as Keshav Maharaj kept wondering about the meaning of it all, thrice the ball soared high and handsome and sailed into...
Great character shown by the South African bowlers
How difficult is it for a team to go into the final Test of a series without the service of their premier bowler? Well, it's akin to going on a battle without the strongest weapon. South Africa went into...
Jonny Bairstow and the tragic 99…
A century in any formats comes in as a bolster in confidence for a batsman and it ensures that his position in the team is safe. Imagine, a batsman hasn’t reached the triple digits in Tests for almost 14...
James Anderson saves Test cricket on August 5
I am watching India play Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Television and wonder why my Saturdays are turning out to be so awful. I blame it on BCCI for their obsession with playing Sri Lanka at...
Warning signs for Hashim Amla
There is always romanticism in cricket.
How else can one describe James Anderson running in from an end just recently named after him and trapping Dean Elgar leg before with his very third ball?
He did not only quite stop at...
Keaton Jennings’ missed opportunity
Opening batting against the moving red leather is by far the most difficult task in Test cricket. England’s incapability to find a reliable opening pair, especially someone who could accompany Alastair Cook at the top, has been extended for...
Absorbing cricket but the gaps remain visible
260 for 6 after Day One.
A scoreline which indicates an absorbing tussle between the bat and the ball. Especially in contemporary cricket, when run rates in Test matches tend to be rather on the high side.
And it was so....
Eng v SA : A Fascinating History Part 7, Honours shared before the Second...
After the gamut of one sided contests that plagued the England-South Africa encounters over a decade and a half, there was a new phase that kicked off in early 1928.
England in South Africa 1927-28 Tests 5 England 2 South...
South Africa desperate for Hashim Amla’s consistency on the top
The lead artist of Test cricket’s ‘blockathon,’ the go to man in the South African squad and more importantly the calmest and the most elegant cricketer on the field, Hashim Amla, has been the strength of the Proteas’ top-order...
Eng v SA : A Fascinating History Part 6, English dominance on both sides...
The history of early South African cricket is curious. And it reads curious as we pursue it through a number of decades.
There was only rudimentary progress in the first decade and a half, when motley crews of decent to...
Blinders: The Toby Roland-Jones Selection Conundrum
Blinders: The Toby Roland-Jones Selection Conundrum
Concept: Arunabha
Artwork: Maha
Dean Elgar, South Africa’s firefighter
When Graeme Smith bid adieu to the game, South Africa wouldn't have hoped to find anyone matching his aura and presence at the crease. Yet, they found someone, who not only resembles Graeme Smith with his presence but also...
Hat-trick, dream debut in the 100th Oval Test – now food for thought for...
One could not have asked for a more dramatic manner of conclusion for the 100th Test at The Oval.
The ball from Moeen Ali came in with the arm, beat the lunging bat of the giraffe like Morne Morkel. The...
The South African batting order seemed questionable
Quentin de Kock. One of the most exciting batsmen to be walking out at No 4 in the modern game.
The requirement — 445 more runs. The pillar to hold the innings together in such circumstances, Hashim Amla, has just...
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