Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 80 i Wisden Cricket Monthly

ARRANGEMENTS OF WHITE ON GREEN This is a Substack blog that you subscribe to, written with characteristic élan by local parishioners Jon Hotten and Jim Wallace covering everything from the ethereal majesty of James Vince and the enduring sexiness of The Scoop to what Jimmy Anderson and The National have in common. It's good stuff – esoteric, magnificently strokey-beard, high-end scribe-work by two of the most readable grafters out there. Take a look and subscribe if you like it, which you will. THE WISDEN WOMEN'S WEEKLY PODCAST Incorrigible showbiz luvvie Yas Rana is joined every week by Lauren Winfield-Hill and most weeks by Katya Witney to discuss all things women's cricket as Wisden’s stable of podcasts expands into world domination territory. And while we're on the subject, the Wisden Cricket…

LAWRENCE BOOTH Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack editor and Daily Mail writer @BoothCricket Ben Stokes is not one for gloating, but he indulged himself after Shoaib Bashir had bowled England to victory on a dramatic fourth evening of the second Test against West Indies at Trent Bridge. “I don't want to say it's an ‘I told you so’ kind of thing,” he said. “But it sort of is.” The laughter in the room suggested his comment had landed safely enough. Bashir wasn't even first-choice spinner at his county and, when he joined Worcestershire on loan, he was belted for 38 in an over. Yet he was one of three players in a new-look team who under previous regimes would have been made to wait their turn. Each proved an instant success. As…

“The ICC needs to step in. Let's be very realistic. Zimbabwe, West Indies and a couple of other countries need help and assistance. We would not be able to generate as much interest as England, Australia and India because of our smaller economy. There has to be some relief there. “I remember when I just started to play, when we toured England you got a share of the spoils. And that was a big help for us. When England toured the West Indies they get a share of the spoils but probably ended up getting nothing, because we don't have as much commercial stuff at home to earn as much as they can. So we have to find a way of striking that balance to ensure that for the longevity…

LETTERS LETTER OF THE MONTH Marshall law It was interesting to read the views of Graeme Fowler and his high regard for the West Indies side of 1984 [‘Back to Blackwash’, WCM79]. They were a really high-class team and I can well understand Fowler's relief at coming out alive with a Test hundred to boot from the brutal series. Their bowling was ferocious, and I witnessed it on the second day of the fifth Test at The Oval. It was brutal and relentless, though I can never forgive the way Malcolm Marshall fired in bouncer after bouncer at tailender Pat Pocock. Surely a yorker would have sufficed after one bouncer and this was unacceptable intimidatory bowling. He should have been warned. My late father, not a great cricket fan, did…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Hants, CC (A), Aug 22-25; Worcs, CC (H), Aug 29-Sep 1; Notts, CC (H), Sep 9-12; Warks, CC (A), Sep 17-20; Surrey, CC (H), Sep 26-29 More upheaval as Stephenson departs Barely a month goes by without more turmoil at Essex. This time it's John Stephenson, the club's former opener who took over as CEO in 2021, choosing to take up a new role with Western Australia because Essex are unable to pay a salary commensurate with the role of a chief executive. Financial woes beset many non-Test match venue clubs. But Essex's necessary decision to commission the Newton Report to investigate historical allegations of racism at the club has hit them especially hard. “This has been a difficult decision to make as Essex has…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Essex, CC (H), Aug 22-25; Lancs, CC (A), Aug 29-Sep 1; Kent, CC (A), Sep 9-12; Worcs, CC (H), Sep 17-20; Somerset, CC (A), Sep 26-29 Hampshire fail to ignite As three-time champions Hampshire have a proud T20 record, but they didn't click this summer, finishing seventh in the South Group after mustering only four wins. Following back-to-back victories against Kent and Gloucestershire early in the competition, they went on a five-match winless streak which left them facing an uphill battle to qualify for the last eight, with defeat at The Oval in their penultimate game ending their hopes. They weren't helped by an injury to Ali Orr, who was only able to play one match, and found runs hard to come by. Elsewhere, young…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Durham, CC (A), Aug 22-25; Surrey, CC (H), Aug 29-Sep 1; Essex, CC (A), Sep 9-12; Kent, CC (A), Sep 17-20; Warks, CC (H), Sep 26-29 Freddie's ready Heading into this year's T20 campaign, Notts had qualified for the quarter-finals in 12 of the last 14 seasons. However, their form deserted them this time around as they finished rock bottom of the North Group, mustering only three victories after opening the competition with five defeats on the bounce. Runs were vanishingly hard to come by. Winners in 2020 and 2013, the mercurial Outlaws were well off the pace this term, with Jack Haynes the only batter to pass fifty on more than one occasion and renowned bankers Alex Hales and Joe Clarke failing to get…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Yorks, CC (A), Aug 22-25; Derby, CC (H), Aug 29-Sep 1; Lancs, T20 (H), Sep 4; Glam, CC (H), Sep 9-12; Gloucs, CC (A), Sep 17-20; Middx, CC (H), Sep 26-29 Hughes hits the ground running Paul Farbrace wanted to blend a little more whiteball experience with his baby-faced Sussex side this summer. He called his great mate Trevor Bayliss and asked, as Daniel Hughes puts it, whether he knew of “any old boys, experienced cricketers, who would fancy some time on the county cricket scene?” “It's something I've wanted to do my whole career, but nothing had presented itself,” Hughes, the veteran Australian opener, tells WCM after an outstanding group stage in the Blast in which he topped the run-scoring charts. “To get that…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Sussex, CC (H), Aug 22-25; Middx, CC (H), Aug 29-Sep 1; Leics, CC (A), Sep 9-12; Glam, CC (A), Sep 17-20; Northants, CC (H), Sep 26-29 Tyro Tykes show the way as Gibson departs Just as it seemed that Yorkshire had finally moved the conversation onto on-pitch matters, Ottis Gibson announced that he's stepping down as head coach at the end of the season. After nine Championship games the club sits in third place, just four points behind Middlesex in second and within touching distance of Sussex, whom they face at Scarborough when the Championship resumes on August 22. And while they missed out on a quarter-final berth in the Blast with a final-day defeat, they have started the One-Day Cup with two wins in…

What was it like keeping to Gus, both of you on debut? It was amazing. To do that on debut – 12 wickets – was remarkable really. We've played together for a few years now, and it's great to see how he's gone about his business and grown as a cricketer and a person. We debuted at a similar time even though he was on the staff a few years before, because he was unfortunate with injuries. He's had a lot of things in his life that he's had to overcome. It's a strength of his character that whatever life's thrown at him, he's dealt with it superbly. To go out there and produce, not only for one game but to back it up over three games, shows that he…

NICHOLAS BROOKES Author of An Island's Eleven, the MCC/Cricket Society and Wisden book of the year for 2023 @brookeswrites Sri Lanka's cricket history is rich and storied, yet not so much for fast bowlers. Only a handful of local quicks have made an impression, while visiting greats have often struggled on the island. Stuart Broad managed six Test wickets at 47; Pat Cummins has bagged two at 60; Shaun Pollock was once reduced to bowling off-spin. This is historically the land where seamers go to die. The humidity is high; dry, crumbly pitches offer negligible pace, seam or bounce. In his novel Chinaman, the Booker Prize-winning author Shehan Karunatilaka asked: “What's more useful to society? A middle-order batsman or a bank manager? A specialist gully fieldsman or a civil engineer?…

NATHAN JOHNS Freelance cricket writer, formerly Irish Times cricket correspondent When recent news broke of Zimbabwe receiving a touring fee upon landing on England's shores next year, frustrated responses from administrators in Dublin and the Caribbean could be forgiven. Zimbabwe will play a one-off Test in England in 2025. When Ireland did similar at Lord's last year, no such fee was offered. Nor was it to the West Indies who tripled that number of Tests during their tour this summer. Jealousy aside, England's newfound generosity is a case of ECB chief executive Richard Gould acting on his public utterances. For much of his 18 months in charge of English cricket, he has spoken out against the disparity in revenue earned by ICC Full Member nations. The realisation that England, one…

MARK RAMPRAKASH Former England batter and current Middlesex batting coach @MarkRamprakash Matthew Mott's sacking as England's white-ball coach raises interesting questions about responsibility and accountability. After two underwhelming World Cups, why has the coach gone and yet the captain remains? I would expect tactical decisions – such as electing to field first in 37-degree heat in Mumbai, or opening the bowling with Will Jacks on gut feel, or not bowling Moeen Ali on a turning wicket – to sit squarely with the captain. In terms of team selection, I'm sure that would have been a shared responsibility. Jos Buttler hasn't excelled with the bat in these tournaments, but he remains a world-class player and Rob Key evidently doesn't want to lose him. If the captaincy was taken away from Buttler,…

“Well, you wouldn't see footballers warming up by playing cricket.” So goes the refrain whenever some poor sod rolls their ankle 20 minutes before the toss while indulging in a kickabout gone wrong. Think Rory Burns, ruled out of a Test series against South Africa in 2020 by an ill-advised slide tackle, leading to a blanket ban on kicking leather by the England management. It's a cliché that accidentally sums up cricket's conflicted relationship with the beautiful game: it wants to be above the whole thing, and yet it defines itself by what football does, even when arguing it should have nothing to do with football. The Hundred, of course, sets itself apart, and increasingly comes across as a spectacle that wants to trick you into liking cricket by showing…

“Fleming's laidback style should chime nicely with Jos Buttler, and he is a deep thinker about the game who will arrive with fresh ideas JO HARMAN PHIL WALKER Wisden Cricket Monthly editor-in-chief Give it to Sanga. Why not? Vibes, fumes, extraordinary hair. The smoothest tongue in the game. An English resident. Welcome whiff of bearing (whatever happened to posh coaches?). Nerveless and professionally suave – a study of genial semidetachment, for which only the true greats can lay claim – and yet secretly, one can imagine, rather energised by the appeal of sliding into one of the really big jobs. Crucially, moreover, and overwhelmingly: Jos’ mate. Rajasthan pals, apparently they work well together; and look, by dumping fall-guy Mott instead of Buttler, they're clearly going all-in on their mercurial melancholy…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Glam, CC (H), Aug 22-25; Sussex, CC (A), Aug 29-Sep 1; Northants, CC (A), Sep 9-12; Middx, CC (H), Sep 17-20; Leics, CC (A), Sep 26-29 Cork laments Derbyshire's doldrums Dominic Cork has described it as “ridiculous” and “just not acceptable” that he remains the most recent Derbyshire player to represent England's men's side at Test level. Cork made his first-class debut for Derbyshire in 1990 and represented the county for 14 seasons, captaining the side between 1998 and 2003 before leaving for Lancashire. After retiring from playing in 2011 he returned to Derby as a specialist T20 bowling coach, helping the Falcons reach the Blast quarter-finals in 2017, and then took over as T20 head coach, guiding them to their first ever Finals Day…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Derby, CC (A), Aug 22-25; Leics, CC (H), Aug 29-Sep 1; Sussex, CC (A), Sep 9-12; Yorks, CC (H), Sep 17-20; Gloucs, CC (H), Sep 26-29 Crane makes Cardiff his home It's six-and-a-half years since Mason Crane was handed his Test debut at Sydney, the 20-year-old leg-spinner thrown in at the deep end without any armbands as England's chastening Ashes tour concluded with an innings defeat. Crane sent down 48 overs for 193 runs at the SCG, picking up a solitary wicket, and hasn't been seen since in international cricket. In fact, red-ball opportunities of any kind have been scarce in the intervening years. In the five seasons which followed that tour, Crane made just 21 first-class appearances, collecting 48 wickets. His average in that…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Worcs, CC (A), Aug 22-25; Warks, CC (A), Aug 29-Sep 1; Hants, CC (H), Sep 9-12; Notts, CC (H), Sep 17-20; Durham, CC (A), Sep 26-29 Spitfires fall short of expectations An 86-run victory over Surrey to round off the Blast group stage at least gave Kent fans bragging rights, but the win over their rivals only emphasised how much they'd underperformed in the competition, finishing bottom of the South Group for the second time in three seasons. A century stand between Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye formed the backbone of that win at Canterbury, with Matt Parkinson and homegrown seamer Jaskaran Singh then taking three wickets apiece, but a talented squad fell well short of expectations in what should be their favoured format. A…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Northants, CC (H), Aug 22-25; Yorks, CC (A), Aug 29-Sep 1; Gloucs, CC (H), Sep 9-12; Derby, CC (A), Sep 17-20; Sussex, CC (A), Sep 26-29 Bamber grins and Bears it These remain tough times for Middlesex. Financial straits exacerbated by the loss of a major sponsor on the eve of the season, a struggling white-ball team that finished second from bottom of the Blast's South Group, and now the news that homegrown seamer Ethan Bamber – the club's highest red-ball wicket-taker last term – is off to Warwickshire at the end of the season, with talented whiteball all-rounder Martin Andersson hotfooting it to Derbyshire. Bamber, 25, has taken 191 firstclass wickets and claimed a nine-for at Edgbaston last season, which may have convinced the…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Warks, CC (A), Aug 22-25; Durham, CC (H), Aug 29-Sep 1; Northants, T20 (A), Sep 5; Surrey, CC (H), Sep 9-12; Lancs, CC (A), Sep 17-20; Hants, CC (H), Sep 26-29 Umeed seizes second chance “When you've had that near-death experience, you get a new lease of life,” explains Somerset's Andy Umeed, reflecting on his “cricketing death”. “I think of this second stint of professional cricket as a bit of a bonus,” he tells WCM. “It's almost like I shouldn't be here.” Umeed was signed by Somerset back in July 2022. He had been out of the game since his Warwickshire contract had expired in 2018, after which the Scottish right-hander travelled to Australia. The aim was to rediscover his form and earn a deal…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Somerset, CC (H), Aug 22-25; Kent, CC (H), Aug 29-Sep 1; Gloucs, T20 (H), Sep 6; Worcs, CC (A), Sep 9-12; Essex, CC (H), Sep 17-20; Notts, CC (A), Sep 26-29 Rhodes seeks a new path Club stalwart and erstwhile skipper Will Rhodes has chosen to seek a fresh challenge after seven successful years at Edgbaston. After turning down a contract extension, he will join Durham for next season on a long-term contract. Rhodes, who led the club to Championship glory in 2021, remains a fine red-ball cricketer. He carries into the final month of the season a record of 10 centuries and 21 fifties from 86 matches for Warwickshire, whom he joined from Yorkshire. He's also claimed 117 wickets in all formats for the…

Asitha Fernando Age: 27 | Test record: 14 matches, 45 wickets at 26.60, 1 five-for, BBI 6-51 | ODI record: 7 matches, 5 wickets at 53.80, economy 5.97, BB 2-23 | T20I record: 3 matches, 2 wickets at 56.50, economy 11.30, BB 1-34 Capable of touching 90mph, the muscular right-armer has become the spearhead of Sri Lanka's Test attack when his fitness has permitted. Fernando's strike-rate of 47.22 is the best of any Sri Lankan bowler in Test history (minimum 2,000 balls) and he has bucked the trend by so far focusing his energy on red-ball cricket. Matheesha Pathirana Age: 21 | Test record: No appearances | ODI record: 12 matches, 17 wickets at 36.23, economy 7.27, BB 4-32 | T20I record: 9 matches, 14 wickets at 17.07, economy 8.05,…

The Wisden Club Cricket Hall of Fame For a cricket-loving boy whose “burning ambition in life” had been to play for England, a World Cup final at Cape Town's iconic Newlands ground in March 2023 was a dream come true. “It's representing your country – yes, it's over-50s but it still means a helluva lot. There's a huge amount of commitment: we're all paying for ourselves, all taking three weeks off work.” Opening the batting, Giles Ecclestone crunched a 103-ball 120 in a 65-run win over a South Africa team with three former Proteas, the goldmedal highlight of a stellar career. The journey to downing the ‘Saffers’ had begun at Saffron Walden in northwest Essex, where his solicitor father had moved in 1978 when Giles was 10. He has been…

Founded in 1983, Cheltenham Cricket Society (CCS) boasts almost 200 members, with around 100-120 in attendance at most events. Like most societies, the majority of events take place between October and April. For the CCS that means a monthly meeting on the evening of the first Wednesday of the month at the Victory Club in Cheltenham, but on occasion there are special events held during the summer. Trips and quizzes are also regular features of the annual programme. As part of last year's 40th anniversary celebrations, David Gower was the guest speaker and the society is always able to attract a wide range of former players, coaches, authors, journalists and other cricketing personalities. There is a standard format for the monthly meetings – the guest speaker will give a talk…

ANDREW MILLER Wisden Cricket Monthly columnist, UK editor of ESPNcricinfo and former editor of The Cricketer @miller_cricket “I t is the tournament that divides opinion, it's very much cricket's Brexit…” Fair play to Sky Sports. Can you imagine Laura Kuenssberg ever voicing such a robust statement of the obvious on the BBC? Instead, thanks to Mike Atherton's relentlessly independent line of questioning during the Edgbaston Test, the ECB's own state broadcaster actually went and said the quiet bit out loud. And to be fair to Richard Gould, he may have winced at the phrasing, but he did his best not to retreat from its implications – not least because, as Atherton also pointed out, in his former role at Surrey he had once been one of the most ardent anti-Hundred…

KATYA WITNEY Wisden staff writer @KatyaWitney When Alice Capsey walked out to bat against New Zealand at Canterbury in mid-July, she was emerging from a slump stretching back more than a year. In her previous 18 T20I knocks, dating back to February 2023, 11 had ended before she reached double figures. Having only just turned 20, and with two years of international cricket under her belt, it's been a steep learning curve. After her initial success for England, Capsey's returns in the shortest format fell away and she struggled to find her role in the ODI side, batting in five different positions across her 13 appearances. How she was getting out was also starting to cause concern. In England's first match of the summer against Pakistan, in an attempt to…

Bristol has long been a green city at its heart, and this has been a long time coming,” said Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer after taking Bristol Central from Labour at the recent General Election, with her party coming a strong second in the city's other four constituencies. The historic result supported the view of Will Brown, the former Gloucestershire CCC chief executive who left his post in June after 11 years in the role, that the club's environmental focus “reflects the views and values of the community we serve”. In 2021, Gloucestershire became the first cricket club in the UK to sign up to the UN's Sports for Climate Action Framework, committing to reach net zero emissions by 2040, and sustainability has underpinned their decisionmaking over the last decade.…

NEXT MATCHES: Notts, CC (H), Aug 22-25; Somerset, CC (A), Aug 29-Sep 1; Surrey, T20 (A), Sep 3; Lancs, CC (H), Sep 9-12; Surrey, CC (A), Sep 17-20; Kent, CC (H), Sep 26-29 Durham's dynamism pays off They did it the hard way, but Durham have reached the Blast quarter-finals for the first time since 2018 after an eight-wicket victory over Derbyshire secured their place in the last eight. Having won only two of their first six matches, a three-game winning streak put them back in contention before three defeats in four left them needing a victory on the final night of the group stage to stand any chance of qualification. Needing 81 from the last 10 overs to overcome the Falcons, skipper Alex Lees (72*) and Colin Ackermann (54*)…

NEXT MATCHES: Leics, CC (H), Aug 22-25; Northants, CC (H), Aug 29-Sep 1; Birmingham, T20 (A), Sep 6; Middx, CC (A), Sep 9-12; Sussex, CC (H), Sep 17-20; Glam, CC (A), Sep 26-29 No Payne, no gain After a few tricky summers, both the form and feelgood factor have returned. Those words are true of both Gloucestershire and the man whose 25 wickets helped secure their place in the Blast quarter-finals. “It was a rough couple of years,” admits David Payne, the 33-year-old left-arm seamer. “All we wanted to do really was to get back to playing the cricket we know we can and start enjoying it again.” It appears that is now happening. Certainly, when Ben Charlesworth silenced Taunton in July – completing a T20 double over Somerset after…

NEXT MATCHES: Surrey, CC (A), Aug 22-25; Hants, CC (H), Aug 29-Sep 1; Sussex, T20 (A), Sep 4; Durham, CC (A), Sep 9-12; Somerset, CC (H), Sep 17-20; Worcs, CC (A), Sep 26-29 IPL hero lyer continues proud tradition Lancashire have a strong connection with Indian cricket, welcoming Farokh Engineer to the club in 1968 as the county game opened its doors to overseas stars, and signing Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman at the start of the 21st century. Sundar Washington had a short spell with the club two years ago and Shreyas Iyer was due to have a stint at Old Trafford in 2021, only to withdraw after injuring his shoulder. This summer has seen the arrival of his namesake, Venkatesh Iyer, who blitzed a 24-ball half-century to steer…

NEXT MATCHES: Lancs, CC (H), Aug 22-25; Notts, CC (A), Aug 29-Sep 1; Durham, T20 (H), Sep 3; Somerset, CC (A), Sep 9-12; Durham, CC (H), Sep 17-20; Essex, CC (A), Sep 26-29 Sibley settles into a new groove Dominic Sibley's third act is proving to be very watchable. Last season, returning to his boyhood club after a six-year stint at Edgbaston, was one of readjustment; he quietly made 746 runs in Surrey's successful Championship defence and was rewarded with the club's vice-captaincy. Then to this season, and a new expansiveness. Over the winter he spoke to management about broadening his repertoire of shots, and this summer has borne fruit. With a simplified set-up to reduce his convoluted pre-delivery movements, he has re-engaged with the off-side to complement his onside…

NEXT MATCHES: Kent, CC (H), Aug 22-25; Essex, CC (A), Aug 29-Sep 1; Worcs, CC (H), Sep 9-12; Hants, CC (A), Sep 17-20; Lancs, CC (H), Sep 26-29 Leach pulls himself away “I try not to peddle out the old sportsman cliches,” begins Joe Leach, all too aware that he is about to do exactly that. “I didn't really believe the people who said they knew when they were ready, but that has dawned on me over the course of the season.” Worcestershire's long-serving seamer and former captain announced in July that he will be retiring at the end of the season. The knee injury that has kept him sidelined since May was “not terminal” to Leach's career, but he admits it “proved to be a bit of a catalyst…

1984 (one Test) England 0-0 Sri Lanka Three Sri Lankans – Sidath Wettimuny, Duleep Mendis and Amal Silva – notch centuries on their first visit to Lord's as the visitors have the better of a stalemate. 1988 (one Test) England 1-0 Sri Lanka Worcestershire seamer Phil Newport, one of four England debutants, takes seven at Lord's as Graham Gooch's side win by seven wickets. 1991 (one Test) England 1-0 Sri Lanka Alec Stewart scores his first Test ton and Gooch makes a daddy hundred in England's second innings as the hosts ease to a 137-run victory. 1998 (one Test) England 0-1 Sri Lanka Murali and Jayasuriya steal the show at The Oval to script a stirring 10-wicket win and ensure Sri Lanka will no longer be invited to play solitary…

PHIL WALKER WCM editor-in-chief @Phil_Wisden When Danni Wyatt was a teenager, hustling through school, she worked a couple of jobs. First was at a Chinese buffet joint in downtown Stoke. After that she did a few weeks at Bilash, the Wyatts’ favourite Bangladeshi restaurant. Even now, when she's back in town, the family go back to Bilash. A few years ago, after her first taste of a multi-format Ashes – when, seemingly from nowhere, she played one of the great out-of-the-box innings of the century – she turned up at the place to discover her shirt displayed in a frame on the restaurant wall. “I was like, ‘Erm, Dad, what's my Ashes shirt and medal doing on the wall?!’ It's stayed there for a few years now. No one's stolen…

In association with N°o. 6 Athball at The Oval ROB SMYTH Author and freelance sportswriter At Edgbaston last month, when England reached a target of 82 in 7.2 overs, nary an eyelid was batted. Ben Stokes’ team have normalised the kind of attacking cricket, particularly with the bat, that was once reserved for the PlayStation. The Edgbaston game against West Indies was the 13th win under Stokes in which England scored at 4.5 runs per over across the entire match. Twas hardly ever thus. Before Stokes's captaincy, England had only ever done it seven times, four of them under Michael Vaughan. The list also includes perhaps the most shockingly brilliant England performance of our lifetime. Thirty years ago this month, Devon Malcolm flattened South Africa with an awesome display of…

Last Saturday was more likely than not my last ever game of timed league cricket. From 2025, the level of the Surrey Championship I play at is expected to switch to a full season of limited-overs cricket. Over the years, I've generally been more of a limited-overs fan. At its worst, timed cricket at recreational level, especially the lower rungs of it, incentivises negative cricket. Our current playing conditions almost encourage you to slow down the over-rate if you're behind in a game. And compared to 50-overaside affairs, games are more vulnerable to being dominated by a handful of individuals. At the higher levels of the Surrey Championship, it is still permissible for a bowler to bowl straight through the innings – great for one guy, not so much for…

Send in your answers via email (editorial@wisden.com) or via post (Time Warp, Wisden Cricket Monthly, Fourth Floor, Bedser Stand, Kia Oval, Kennington, London, SE11 5SS). Entries must be received by September 9, 2024. WIN! 1. 5 years ago… On August 4, 2019, Steve Smith made his second century of the match at Edgbaston, becoming the first player in 17 years to make twin hundreds in an Ashes Test. Who previously achieved the feat at Brisbane in 2002? 2. 10 years ago… On August 18, 2014, Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 105 runs in the second Test at Colombo. Who took 14 wickets in the match, taking his haul for the series to 23 – a record for a two-Test series? 3. 15 years ago… On August 15, 2009, Sussex defeated…

Books CRICKET IN 50 BOOKS 6. THE COMPLETE LEG-BREAK BOWLER BY CS MARRIOTT (1968) Many comradeships are formed by cricket, from wicketkeepers sharing tips and kit, to openers comparing ducks and bruises, to bowlers of truly express pace whose unofficial trade union used to proscribe the deployment of bouncers against each other. But perhaps the game's most masonic handshake is made with a cocked wrist. The great Australian leg-spinners of the early 20th century were certainly united against the tendency of instructional literature to prioritise batsmanship. Warwick Armstrong complained there was “more glory and glamour in making runs than taking wickets”; Arthur Mailey may have been the originator of the joke that the “last bowler to be knighted was Sir Francis Drake”; Clarrie Grimmett dedicated two of his coaching manuals to…

No. 5: England Women meet Bradman There must be thousands of press photographs of Bradman – batting, playing golf, relaxing. And I am sure there are many more of him signing a bat. In this photo, he is doing exactly that, centre-stage, but the more interesting thing is the context, as well as the people around him. The photograph was taken in early 1949 in a Sydney restaurant at a lunch to honour the English women's cricket team and the recently knighted Don. Next to Bradman is Molly Hide, captain of the England team which toured Australia and New Zealand in 1948/49. Standing and smiling is Eileen Whelan. She is hatless because she had given her headgear, signed by the team, to Lindsay Hassett. In return she got a bat…

Close of Play AMJAD KHAN “I knew Jahid Ahmed because we had played together. When things started kicking off at Essex, I could feel his pain from early on. So I contacted him I was born in Copenhagen. Cricket isn't really big there, but I come from Pakistani stock, so as far back as I can remember, I've always seen cricket. One way or another cricket sneaks into your life at a very young age. I played for FC Copenhagen who are obviously known for football, but they also had a cricket team. I started to feel that I was different from the others when I was 13. Because when I was bowling no one wanted to keep wicket, they had to stand on the boundary as they were getting hurt.…