Innehållsförteckning för Issue 68 från Wisden Cricket Monthly

ANDREW MILLER Wisden Cricket Monthly columnist, UK editor of ESPNcricinfo and former editor of The Cricketer @miller_cricket We can see how this all ends already, can’t we? Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum holed up in the Oval dressing room, SWAT teams bearing down on the windows while Jack Leach and Ollie Pope beat them back with a fusillade of switch-hits. An impassioned plea comes across the PA system to “lay down your weapons, it’s over”, but no. Bazball is as Bazball does, and if it’s going down, it’s going down in flames. It’s truly magnificent, but this fascinating, vibes-driven, solipsistic mind-trip is surely destined to be devoured by its own self-regard in the end – maybe not this summer, maybe not even next, but sometime soon and the implosion promises…

ISSUE 68 At last, it’s almost over. The ‘Phoney War’, as we are by now contractually obliged to call it, is all but done, and the Ashes (the real war?) can start. What have we learned this time? Firstly, there are levels to this thing. You can’t just swagger in as a cocksure youngster and expect to nail it right from the off. Ollie Robinson (“I really feel we could get one over them and give them a good hiding”) and Issy Wong (“I think it’s a pretty good time to play them, you know, just quietly”) are novices, offering unrefined brashness. They have much to learn from master sensei Stuart Broad, who has perfected the art of taking an opinion with a kernel of truth in it, and honing…

 Durham NEXT MATCHES: Notts, T20 (A), June 8; Leics, T20 (A), June 9; Glam, CC (H), June 11-14; Derby, T20 (H), June 16; Lancs, T20 (A), June 18; Birmingham, T20 (H), June 20; Yorks, T20 (H), June 23; Leics, CC (A), June 25-28; Worcs, T20 (A), June 30; Birmingham, T20 (A), July 2; Gloucs, CC (H), July 10-13 Ben Raine was in buoyant mood as he spoke to WCM on the Durham team bus during the journey down to Bristol for their Championship clash with Gloucestershire – a match the men from the north-east won by 125 runs to extend their lead at the top of Division Two to 29 points after six matches. “It’s been class so far,” says the all-rounder. “We’ve been playing some really impressive stuff, some…

Gloucestershire NEXT MATCHES: Somerset, T20 (H), June 9; Leics, CC (H), June 11-14; Kent, T20 (H), June 17; Glam, T20 (A), June 18; Hants, T20 (H), June 20; Sussex, T20 (H), June 22; Somerset, T20 (A), June 23; Yorks, CC (A), June 25-28; Sussex, T20 (A), July 1; Hants, T20 (A), July 2; Durham, CC (A), July 10-13 Regular exercise and real – not digital – social interaction are among the key preventative measures to protect oneself against bad mental health. These are summed up in the name of the group set up by former Gloucestershire keeper Andy Brassington 13 months ago – Walkers and Talkers. The idea is simple – meet at the County Ground in Bristol, walk the perimeter, maybe pop into the museum en route, chatting all…

Northamptonshire NEXT MATCHES: Birmingham, T20 (A), June 9; Lancs, T20 (H), June 16; Notts, T20 (H), June 18; Yorks, T20 (A), June 20; Derby, T20 (H), June 21; Leics, T20 (A), June 23; Kent, CC (H), June 25-28; Lancs, T20 (A), July 2; Middx, CC (A), July 10-13 Northants’ untidy mess of a season was epitomised by the handling of Josh Cobb’s removal as T20 captain in favour of David Willey. Cobb had been captain since 2019 and, as a key part of the club’s two title wins in the last decade, had long been seen as the heartbeat of the white-ball side. He took to social media to express his dismay at the decision, which came just two weeks before Northants’ first T20 fixture. “Having been blindsided by the…

Surrey NEXT MATCHES: Sussex, T20 (A), June 9; Kent, CC (A), June 11-14; Somerset, T20 (A), June 16; Hants, T20 (H), June 18; Glam, T20 (H), June 20; Middx, T20 (H), June 22; Lancs, CC (H), June 25-28; Somerset, T20 (H), June 30; Essex, T20 (H), July 2; Notts, CC (H), July 10-13 Surrey are in ominously good form. Unbeaten in the Championship, 25 points clear at the top with four wins from six, meaning they have lost just once in 20 matches stretching back to the start of the last year – and that was a meaningless game after they’d already sailed away with the title. It is hard to see anyone hauling them in. Their squad dwarfs all others. The coaching team of Gareth Batty and Alec Stewart…

Worcestershire NEXT MATCHES: Yorks, T20 (A), June 9; Sussex, CC (A), June 11-14; Birmingham, T20 (H), June 16; Leics, T20 (A), June 18; Lancs, T20 (H), June 20; Notts, T20 (H), June 22; Birmingham, T20 (A), June 23; Derby, CC (H), June 25-28; Durham, T20 (H), June 30; Derby, T20 (A), July 2; Yorks, CC (H), July 10-13 When Worcestershire’s promising young quick Josh Tongue was added to England’s first Test squad of the summer, he became just the second player from the club – Moeen Ali being the other – to make a Test squad for a home fixture since Kabir Ali 20 years ago. The numbers this season are unspectacular. At the time of his call-up the 25-year-old had taken 11 Championship wickets from three games at an…

Probably 2- or 3-1 England, pretty much in the usual way. Anderson and Broad, grey skies, green nibble. Some 5.5 an over stuff, but I think the classicists will do more than the revolutionaries. Smith won’t be Bradman, Marnus might be, and for all the Bazball talk, it will be Root and the two warhorses who get it done. Cummins will be admirable. Both sides will enjoy their golf and talk about it a strange amount. There is something final about all of this. The dying embers of something. I am going to do my best to savour it. So actually, Australia will win. 0-3. Sam Perry, The Grade Cricketer podcast host 2-2 with a big one right in the middle that England point-blank refuse to draw, go all out…

''Anti-climactic” is how Heather Knight remembers her muted Ashes debut in January 2011. A fortnight after Andrew Strauss had skippered England’s men to an era-defining victory at the SCG, a 20-year-old Knight walked out to open the batting just a few miles down the road at the Bankstown Oval in a one-off Test match which would decide the Women’s Ashes. Four days earlier Charlotte Edwards’ side had completed a 4-1 trouncing of their hosts in the T20 series, an impressive achievement against the format’s world champions, but, two years before the advent of the multi-format points system, the result would have no bearing on the outcome of the Ashes. “It was just so low key,” says Knight of that match at Bankstown, which was played out in front of no…

Dean Headley only met his grandfather George once. He recalls a “very humble, quiet man” visiting the family home in Stourbridge when Dean was around 11 and inviting a couple of his mates around to catch a glimpse of the great George Alphonso Headley, who by then was in his early 80s. When George died a couple of year later, he remembers the news being broken to him at school. “I was at boarding school at the time and I remember coming into a Maths lesson in the morning and my teacher just said, ‘I’m sorry to hear about your granddad’, and that was the first I’d heard about it. My dad had been waiting to tell me when he saw me at the weekend. It was a bit weird…

SCOTT OLIVER Freelance sportswriter and stalwart club cricketer @reverse_ sweeper First, the nomenclature. ‘Greater Bristol’ encompasses the now defunct county of Avon, stretching from Weston-super-Mare and Bath in its south-westerly and southeasterly corners, up the side of the Severn estuary into Northavon but not quite as far as Stroud, deepest Gloucestershire, where intrepid reporters would occasionally rendezvous with the bucket-hatted former wicketkeeping ringmaster at ‘Brizzle’ before then being driven, blindfolded, chez Jack. A cricketing hotbed in a rugby town – or, at least, a sizeable city which, unusually, isn’t football-centric – the pinnacle of the club structure there for the last 24 years has been the West of England Premier League, which has its Premier Division fed by two second-tier divisions split along regional lines (Bristol and Somerset; Gloucestershire and…

KSB LEAVES THE STAGE With the announcement of Katherine Sciver-Brunt’s international retirement, the last remaining tie to the amateur era of women’s cricket has passed. The complete fast bowler, she bestrode the game for most of this century, overcoming two potentially career-ending injuries to win three Ashes, two 50- over World Cups and a World T20 title. In all she took 335 international wickets, more than any Englishwoman in history. Beyond the gongs and numbers, she personified the spirit of the era. As an amateur she brought a hard-nosed professional edge to the women’s game; while as the recipient of one of the first full-time contracts in 2014, she never lost sight of the essential joy of playing for playing’s sake. Incapable of a dull moment, she’s also one of…

1. Shubman Gill Gujarat Titans Shubman was in sumptuous form at the IPL, hitting a 51-ball 94* against Lucknow Super Giants to spark an incredible run which included three centuries in four innings, the third of those – a majestic 129 from 60 deliveries – making short work of Mumbai Indians to qualify for the final. The Titans came unstuck at the last, Ravindra Jadeja’s late cameo for Chennai Super Kings denying the newcomers a second title in as many seasons, but the tournament was a personal triumph for the 23-year-old, who amassed 890 runs. Only Virat Kohli has ever scored more in an IPL season. 2. Rishi Patel Leicestershire From Gujarat to Grace Road. Buoyed by his maiden first-class ton in April against Yorkshire, Patel made an unbeaten 134…

1 Jason Roy has become the first England player to end his national contract in order to play franchise cricket, signing up for Major League Cricket in the USA later this summer. However, the 32-year-old opener will still be available for national selection. “To be very clear, my priority is England cricket, especially with a World Cup soon upon us,” said Roy in a statement. “It is for me, and for any player, the greatest honour to receive a cap to play for their country. I wanted to clarify that I am not and never will walk away from England.” 2 South Africa have qualified for the men’s World Cup later this year, with Bangladesh’s 2-0 series win over Ireland confirming the Proteas’ place at the showpiece event in…

MEL FARRELL Australian writer and broadcaster @melindafarrell “For us who believe in the strength and the power of West Indies cricket, the legacy of West Indies cricket… what we want to do is keep it going. People can sympathise as much as they like. We’ve got to get off our backsides and do things Sir Vivian Richards” They are names that command respect throughout the cricketing world: Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Curtly Ambrose, Sir Richie Richardson and Sir Andy Roberts. So it’s no surprise that the Four Knights hold even greater stature in the Caribbean and their shared home of Antigua. Each of them part of West Indian sides that mesmerised fans and terrorised opponents, those glory days have dimmed and the shadow of such legends stretches over a side…

An alternative prize will be provided if the winner is aged under 18, or if requested *Only available to UK residents LETTER OF THE MONTH Building for the future “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” So said Abraham Lincoln (apparently) and his words came back to me when I listened to the eye-opening Tailenders podcast interview with Manoj Badale [the Rajasthan Royals owner]. His words filled me with the same sense of existential dread about the future of the red-ball game as expressed in the Wisden podcast. It can feel that those with money and influence are shaping the future of the sport (as with Mr Lincoln’s words) and doing so to increase their profits. Badale’s notion that there could be a window in the…

Essex NEXT MATCHES: Glam, T20 (A), June 9; Somerset, CC (H), June 11-14; Glam, T20 (H), June 16; Middx, T20 (A), June 18; Somerset, T20 (H), June 19; Kent, T20 (H), June 22; Hants, T20 (A), June 23; Warks, CC (H), June 25-28; Middx, T20 (H), June 30; Surrey, T20 (A), July 2; Lancs, CC (A), July 10-13 It’s been a peculiar season for Essex so far. After six Championship games they’d recorded just a single win – against Middlesex in week one – having accrued fewer bonus points than the sides around them due in large part to a misfiring middle order. Yet they had the best of their rain-affected draw against Surrey and rattled Notts with a daring declaration on the final day. They remain dangerous, but the…

Hampshire NEXT MATCHES: Kent, T20 (A), June 9; Lancs, CC (A), June 11-14; Sussex, T20 (A), June 16; Surrey, T20 (A), June 18; Gloucs, T20 (A), June 20; Essex, T20 (H), June 23; Middx, CC (H), June 25-28; Glam, T20 (H), June 30; Gloucs, T20 (H), July 2; Somerset, CC (A), July 10-13 Hampshire know from experience how hard it can be to keep pace with the Surrey juggernaut. They managed it for most of last season before falling away at the last and with the reigning champions looking arguably even stronger this year, James Vince knows his side can’t afford any more slip ups. After six matches they sit third in Division One, 25 points behind Surrey, having been comfortably beaten by their rivals and losing by an innings…

Harry Brook is surrounded by a cohort of men, most of whom are old enough to be his dad. Over there is his agent, the former Worcester opener Phil Weston, long past the point at which he might want to conceal his jubilation. A few reps from his bat sponsors, Gray-Nicolls, are lugging bags across the lobby, each bulging with fresh merch and next year’s models. There’s Andrew the photographer, and a chap in a Welcome To Yorkshire polo shirt with a bunch of kit and a sharpie, and WCM. Brook has been back in England less than three days. He’s spent much of his winter experimenting with the rhythm and meter of Test match batting. He took two Player of the Series awards in Pakistan, won a World Cup…

Do you know someone deserving of a place in the Wisden Club Cricket Hall of Fame? Email editorial@wisden.com “Morison taught me how to play the game. Above all, he taught me to concentrate. I had the greatest admiration for him” There have been more flamboyant players in Scottish cricket than Morison Zuill, more gifted and elegant strokemakers, yet few have possessed the same durability as the late Stenhousemuir stalwart, be that over the course of one of his typically adhesive innings or indeed his entire career, which brought him more runs in senior Scottish club cricket than anyone else – 27,558 for his beloved ‘Stenny’ (including 18 hundreds, all but two of them redinkers), almost all of which were hewn during a 31-year stint as the club’s first-team captain, a…

“England’s attack concerns me. If Anderson and Robinson play every Test they have every chance, but it’s a huge ask in a condensed series” MEL FARRELL Australian writer and broadcaster Under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England have been adamant they don’t do draws so I’m going to take them at their word, as long as the weather cooperates. I suspect the results may swing dramatically from match to match and I wouldn’t bank on many lasting the full five days. The management and fitness of fast bowlers in a jammed schedule may prove decisive and England have more concerns in that regard. The all-round skills of a red-hot Cameron Green, not to mention the flexibility and balance he offers Australia, could be key. And I expect Ollie Robinson to…

Derbyshire NEXT MATCHES: Notts, T20 (H), June 9; Yorks, CC (H), June 11-14; Durham, T20 (A), June 16; Yorks, T20 (H), June 18; Northants, T20 (A), June 21; Lancs, T20 (A), June 23; Worcs, CC (A), June 25-28; Leics, T20 (H), June 30; Worcs, T20 (H), July 2; Sussex, CC (A), July 10-13 After the promise of last summer Derbyshire have made a sluggish start to the 2023 campaign, failing to win any of their first five Championship fixtures and opening the T20 Blast with three defeats. With Mickey Arthur at the helm the club’s supporters would have been hopeful of a tilt at promotion but three draws and two defeats to begin the red-ball season left them one off the bottom in the second tier. The bowling attack has…

737 Glamorgan’s second-innings total in their draw with Sussex at Hove, the club’s second-highest total in first-class cricket and the highest second-innings score ever made in the UK Glamorgan NEXT MATCHES: Essex, T20 (H), June 9; Durham, CC (A), June 11-14; Essex, T20 (A), June 16; Gloucs, T20 (H), June 18; Surrey, T20 (A), June 20; Somerset, T20 (H), June 21; Sussex, T20 (H), June 23; Sussex, CC (H), June 25-28; Hants, T20 (A), June 30; Middx, T20 (H), July 2; Leics, CC (H), July 10-13 Glamorgan maintained their unbeaten Championship record as they moved into the T20 Blast, sitting in fourth, 10 points behind second-placed Sussex. However, given the form of their high-class Australian duo, they would have perhaps expected to be in a stronger position at this stage…

Somerset NEXT MATCHES: Gloucs, T20 (A), June 9; Essex, CC (A), June 11-14; Surrey, T20 (H), June 16; Essex, T20 (A), June 19; Glam, T20 (A), June 21; Gloucs, T20 (H), June 23; Notts, CC (H), June 25-28; Surrey, T20 (A), June 30; Kent, T20 (H), July 2; Hants, CC (H), July 10-13 Four wins from four to begin the T20 Blast vindicated Somerset’s decision to reappoint Lewis Gregory to the captaincy in place of club skipper and senior batter Tom Abell, who still retains the role in red-ball cricket. The move makes sense. Gregory is an experienced white-ball leader who led the club to Finals Day in 2021 and steered Trent Rockets to success in last year’s Hundred. “We’ve got a really good squad, and although some of them…

Warwickshire NEXT MATCHES: Northants, T20 (H), June 9; Notts, CC (A), June 11-14; Worcs, T20 (A), June 16; Durham, T20 (A), June 20; Yorks, T20 (A), June 22; Worcs, T20 (H), June 23; Essex, CC (A), June 25-28; Notts, T20 (A), June 30; Durham, T20 (H), July 2; Kent, CC (A), July 10-13 Gavin Larsen, the former New Zealand national selector, speaks to Jo Harman about his new role as performance director at Warwickshire and the club’s impressive start to the season which put them second in Division One after the first phase of the Championship I’m still settling in but it’s all been very positive so far. My wife and I were looking at the potential for a career change of sorts but the possibility of an overseas role…

Blaze on fire Speaking to WCM on the eve of the season, Kirstie Gordon, the new skipper of Blaze, described this summer as a “fresh beginning” for her rebranded side. Formerly known as Lightning, last season they had finished rock bottom of their group in the 20-over Charlotte Edwards Cup and managed just two wins from seven matches in the 50- over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy (RHFT). Having succeeded Kathryn Bryce as captain, Gordon was careful to manage expectations. “We want to win trophies, that’s our number one aim,” said the leftarm spinner, “but we finished in the bottom half of both competitions in the last few years so we’re trying to get ourselves in the top half, get to a semi-final, and from there anything can happen.” Those expectations…

Will any opener score any runs? England, 2023: where openers come to die. “Go with low expectations,” says Usman Khawaja, who averages 19 from six Tests in England. “Toughest place in the world to bat.” Davey Warner, 10 knocks for 95 runs in 2019, may be inclined to agree. Ditto Zak Crawley, with his single fifty from 13 innings as an opener in England. Ben Duckett, the fourth of this year’s likely starters, has yet to experience the horror. In 10 summers since Andrew Strauss retired, English openers not named Cook have managed seven Test centuries between them. Of all the post-Strauss pretenders, only Rory Burns averages in the thirties (30.32) across his whole career. Perhaps Crawley was not being entirely self-protective, not to say bored witless by the same…

The Dukes of Edgbaston Reverse swing was fundamental to England’s 2005 win, but it was the ball which did nothing at all that changed the course of the series. Glenn McGrath had no answer to the most innocuous of deliveries on the first morning of the Edgbaston Test, collapsing in a crumpled heap and rupturing ligaments in his right ankle after standing on a stray cricket ball in the warm-up. Having been unplayable at Lord’s, the curse was suddenly broken. McGrath was sidelined for two Tests and averaged 36 for the remainder of the series. JH England’s 12th man Here in England, in the backyard of Bubbles, Eddie the Eagle and Liz Truss, it’s perfectly natural to leaven our own inadequacies by elevating the plucky no-hoper. While it’s much harder…

MATT ROLLER ESPNcricinfo associate editor @mroller98 It was a hot, humid Saturday night at the Wankhede Stadium. The ground is set back from Marine Drive, the promenade which curves around Mumbai’s Back Bay, just far enough that there is a total absence of breeze when 33,000 are packed in. To the backdrop of air horns, Sam Curran stepped outside his leg stump and sliced a knee-high full toss from Jofra Archer away through point for four. Punjab Kings were racking up a huge total against Mumbai Indians and Curran, deputising as captain, had reached a 26-ball half-century. He wiped sweat from the visor of his gold helmet, waved his bat towards the dugout and pumped his fist. For Mumbai’s owners, the Ambani family, it was a frustrating sight. Mukesh Ambani…

THE WCM COACHING TEAM Mark Ramprakash: “I’ve had a good winter in the nets and done OK at the start of the season but when the ball moves, either in the air or off the pitch, I’ve struggled to make runs and often got out early. Do your coaches have any tips on how I can play the moving ball better and suggestions for drills I can work on outside of matches?” Well Sam, I can tell you that you’re not alone! In recent years you’ve got people who are smacking it around in indoor schools for five months and then they seem to want to play the same way outside. People want to emulate what they see on the TV and it’s a very difficult thing to do when…