Round-Up 19/06/2018 or Dawson does his thing

A draw then, for West Indies and Sri Lanka, and just the one wicket for Akila Dananjaya in West Indies’ second innings. Seam dominated the Test match, with Bishoo taking no wickets, and Dananjaya just one in each innings. Dananjaya looked good at the beginning of his spell and got the wicked of Dowrich with…

Round-Up: 18/06/2018 or How Bishoo got belted.

Not much of a day for spinners today. Devendra Bishoo got a bit of tap in the Second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka, bowling 11 wicketless overs for 58. As usual, I was struck by the lack of variation. Bishoo really has nothing other than his leg-break, I didn’t see a single googly…

Adil Rashid’s sisyphean task

In Ancient Greek mythology, Sisyphus was said to have been punished by the gods for his craftiness to roll a rock up a hill forever, only when he reached the top to see it roll back down again. Adil Rashid did more than roll the ball on his first two days of Test cricket, but…

Ajmal is a genius

The 90s and the first half of the 00s were dominated, spin wise, by two geniuses. One was a genius of the mind, all smoke and mirrors. The other was a genius of the body, with a super flexing shoulder and wrist that fizzed and turned the ball more than any other before him. If…

Ashton Agar is a symbol of panicked thinking

Ashton Agar might be a decent spinner. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s a decent spinner. If he hadn’t played today, he would still have made it into the Australian team in the fullness of time, but once he was put in as a 19 year old in the first Ashes Test, he was set…

Australia want the one they can’t have

Australia want the one they can’t have Nearly six years after Shane Warne retired from Test cricket, Australia are still desperately searching for his replacement. Just look at Fawad Ahmed, a Pakistani asylum seeker to Australia who, soon after gaining asylum had a BBL contract with the Melbourne Renegades. Why? Because he’s a leg-spinner. Never…

The new spin kings of the Caribbean

It’s six years since England last toured the West Indies for a Test series and since then the ongoing development in West Indies regional cricket has continued to be towards the spinners. Thirty years ago every regional team had two or three decent pacers, now each plays at least two spinners. Times have changed. In…

Borthwick’s chance to bring a new balance to England

2014 will be a year of transition for England. As many as three players may make their Test debuts at Sydney in the Fifth Ashes Test, and it’s likely Scott Borthwick will be one of them. Borthwick looks on the surface to be the multi-dimensional cricketer perfect to replace a man as pivotal as Swann,…

Embrace the ambidextrous

Embrace the ambidextrous Just imagine this. A crafty young mystery spinner bounces towards the crease. Think Akila Dananjaya. He’s the Sri Lankan who claims to be able to bowl all the balls, and who knows, maybe he can. His ESPNCricinfo profile proclaims that he is “able to deliver a legbreak, googly, carrom ball, doosra and…

Everything’s coming up Bishoo

Devendra Bishoo is another leg-spinner who makes me (wrongly of course) feel like I could be a Test bowler. Bryce McGain and Pravin Tambe made me feel like I had time left, that not being in age group sides, or even playing a great standard of club cricket was no barrier to eventually playing Test…