India vs. England. Again! This really is the last time, honest.
The pitchforks are out for England as the cricketing gods continue to shine on India. Is it time to jet home yet?
Lisa: Bart! What are you doing in my room?
Bart: Lisa, certain differences – rivalries, if you will – have arisen between us. At first I thought that we could talk it out, like grown-ups. But instead, I just ripped the head off Mr. Honeybunny!
Lisa: [confused] Bart, that was your cherished childhood toy.
Bart Simpson: AH! Mr. Honeybunny!
It seems like years ago that England opened up the international summer against Sri Lanka in Cardiff. It rained then and it rained here but in both cases we got a dramatic finish with plenty to talk about. The only thing that could be more exciting would be two pointless T20 games against a West Indies C team. Damn.
The 4th ODI was a quiet, uneventful affair. What could we possibly write 493 words about?
A strange game that swung this way and that. England looked to be cruising when they skittled the Indian top order but some excellent late order hitting and decent spin bowling led to a tight finish, with England sneaking home in the end thanks to Ravi Bopara and Tim Bresnan.
Due to the rain in Chester-le-Street that forced the first One Day International to be abandoned, this series does not feel like it is properly underway yet. Let’s hope it gets going in Southampton instead.
We’ve not even got round to our review of the Test series yet (we spent all our time making fat jokes about Samit Patel) but it’s already time for the next England vs. India showdown. Who will win? Do we care? How much can you drink in three hours? Let’s find out.
After an absence of over two years, Samit Patel has returned to the England fold this summer. In the interim many hours of debate during rain delays centred around how big a difference he would make to the side. We’ve managed to resist the obvious joke long enough to belatedly join the discussion.
Back in July we set out some milestones that English players had either reached or had in their sights. Well we are pleased to report a few more… Starting with the batting, Kevin Pietersen has now overtaken his captain in terms of Test match runs, having scored 6,361 compared with Andrew Strauss’s tally of 6.340. […]