Enforcement of the Follow-On: Perennially a cause celebre that provokes great discussion, enforcing the follow-on has become something of a declining tactic in recent years. Ultimately, there is only one major parameter on how a decision should be made and that is primarily the freshness of a team’s bowling attack, although outside influences such as... Continue Reading →
Because the Night
Photos courtesy of Steve Godwin There’s something special about watching sport under floodlights. Perhaps it’s the paradox of the vast, openness of the endless sky in contrast to the inky blackness which seems to draw everything in and provide a sense of intimacy. Perhaps it is the time of day; all the serious matters have... Continue Reading →
Season’s Reflections: TV or not TV
Twenty-six steps separate the threshold of one’s bedroom and the optimum seat on the sofa in front of the television in one’s lounge. From such a seated position one can now watch every day’s play of every county cricket match during the season courtesy of the excellent and evolving live streaming service that first appeared as part... Continue Reading →
Mary Celeste
Is American Football a popular sport in this country? On the surface, the answer to this question would most definitely prove a resounding yes. The NFL has enjoyed a following on this side of the Atlantic since the early 1980’s whilst regular season matches now take place in front of vast, sell out crowds in... Continue Reading →
What Have You Done to Me?!
Prior to the 2022 County Championship one imagines that most supporters’ interest largely revolved around their chosen county along with cursory glances at what was happening in matches involving counties in and around theirs in the league table and that of historic rivals. Matches, and possibly a whole division, could potentially take place without one... Continue Reading →
Evening Escapades: Portsmouth Midweek League
Early August seems to be an odd time to begin lamenting the end of the cricket season. With most of one of the year’s hottest months still to unfold there would seem to be plenty of time to enjoy a match or three. However, the first sign of the season heading toward its conclusion arrives... Continue Reading →
Misappropriation
Early January and domestic cricket is but a distant flicker on the metaphorical horizon. Other sports are very much travelling at full chat though and the term ‘grassroots’ is being liberally bandied around to the point of approaching cliché. Somewhere in the past the phrase has very much been hijacked though. Perhaps the most egregious... Continue Reading →
Outground Overtures
County cricket faces many challenges in the current post COVID world. Some are of a financial nature, others of a more existential equivalent. One issue that is sure to engender much lament and disquiet is the gradual erosion of outground cricket from the calendar. Every season the number of days / matches seems to reduce... Continue Reading →
Summer Days Promise Book Review
Great cricket writing should possess two dominant qualities: 1) to tell a story of what has taken place in front of one’s eyes in order to 2) provoke the reader’s mind’s eye to picture the scenes painted by the words so that one imagines that they are indeed actually sat at the contest, passage of... Continue Reading →
Ascendancy Reprised
As a general rule, very few features or characteristics transcend all sports. Due to the complexities, the nuances and the idiosyncrasies that run through each pastime, it is difficult, almost impossible, for certain elements to be present across the whole sporting oeuvre. Some will be present in more than one sport, some in many sports,... Continue Reading →