When I started this weekly blog I wanted it to be light and fluffy, like freshly beaten egg white, the top of a cappuccino or the economic musings of George Osborne. But today this corner feels as dark as Pluto's armpit and I feel in sombre mood. I'm tal

Former England captain Mike Gatting will be at Crimble to help at the club’s Natwest Cricketforce 2012 day on Saturday March 31. Gatting, captain from 1986 to 1988, became famous captaining England to Ashes success in Australia in 1987. Also present will

- England's 130-run win is their 39th in 69 ODIs against Pakistan (Lost 28 & NR 2) - winning % 58.20. - England's convincing triumph by 130 runs is their third largest over Pakistan in terms of runs in ODIs, next only to the 198-run victory at Trent Brid

Ajmal got his bag of tricks from Saqlain but had he been identified at the right time, it wouldn’t have felt as sweet, because it wouldn’t have felt as Pakistani. PHOTOS: REUTERS/EXPRESS Off-spin bowling has never been as glamorous and stylish an art as

Statistical highlights of the second day's play in the fourth and final Test between India [ Images ] and Australia [ Images ], in Adelaide, on Wednesday. Only Don Bradman

Clashes between England and Pakistan are informed by a very particular kind of history. If you connect the dots, it all goes back, naturally, to colonial times. Through the latter 1800s, as Englishmen posted in India began openly indulging in this most B

Lancashire's achievement in winning the County Cricket Championship outright for the first time since 1934 will be reflected in Heywood next week. The coveted trophy will be on show at the Civic Hall on Thursday, January 26 (7pm), when Heywood Cricket Cl

"My simple thought was, 'If I am ever going to get a good innings, I'd better make it today'" © Getty Images Mike Veletta played arguably the most forgotten cameo in a World Cup final. There are many other lasting memories of that 1987 game, which Austra

You could seize on this figure as evidence of the decline, or imminent death, of Test cricket. But it would be fairer to observe that, back in Pakistan, Karachi and Lahore have not drawn Test crowds since the Seventies, and Faisalabad only did so in the

Forget for a moment all the talk about Ajmal's action, this was a masterpiece of cunning and the spin bowler's art. He blew the tourists apart. It was a depressingly familiar story for England as they failed to cope with a twirly whirly man in the alien

Heywood Cricket Club are gearing up to one of the most important initiatives in their long history. The club, one of the founder members of the Central Lancashire League, have been chosen as one of three showcase clubs in 2012 for a NatWest CricketForce

This talk of fresh starts and new slates is a motif of all pre-Pakistan series pronouncements, one that has sadly rung hollow over the past 58 years as another regrettable episode of this uncommonly controversial rivalry arises to undermine the best inte

Incontinence on the sub-continent goes with the territory for tourists. Past England trips of the Eastern regions have been more notable for Delhi belly, ducks and defeats than any semblance of a cricket team. In 1993, Graham Gooch's backroom staff set

The Marylebone Cricket Club world cricket committee’s (from left) Majid Khan, Barry Richards and Mike Brearley during a media conference, in Cape Town, on Tuesday. (Getty Images) Calcutta: The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) world cricket committee met in

Amir, Asif and Butt received bans and jail sentences after being found guilty of corruption Former England captain Mike Brearley believes that stopping corruption in the game is all but impossible, but that organisers should keep trying. Brearley, speaki

It is, of course, a batsman's game. Or is it? The inflation in batting averages and strike rates in the past decade – for all their assorted talent Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain, Ian Botham, Allan Lamb and Mike Gatting all averaged below

Any self-respecting astrologist predicting either of these things five years ago would have been drummed out of the occupation as a charlatan. The tour is taking place in the UAE because international cricket has not been possible in Pakistan since a mur

Richie Benaud, the celebrated leg spinner also known for his legendary one-liners in the commentary box, once said, “a bleeding ring finger at the end of every training session was not only normal but essential for my development as a wrist spinner.” Bei

John Wright has been the common element in New Zealand's last two memorable wins against their Trans-Tasman rivals. Their win against Australia in 1993 in Auckland was Wright's last, and 18 years later, when he had taken over as New Zealand coach, they c