The great Indian batsman Vijay Merchant once said: “Retire when people ask you ‘why?’ and not ‘why not?’. As Morne Morkel takes his bow at the top, it’s time to reflect on the XI who should have quit earlier. MICHAEL CLARKE: The former Australian skipper admitted in his autobiography that he should have…
The definition of burnout is “a state of emotional and physical exhaustion caused by a prolonged period of stress and frustration.” If Joe Root was sick to the teeth with the Ashes series going into the final day, it seemed apt he was poisoned enough in body too. England’s Ashes tour of 2017 will be…
1) JOE’S SICKIE THROWS UP A CHALLENGE: Just hours before play resumed, the news filtered through that Joe Root was stuck in a Sydney hospital suffering from dehydration after a bout of gastroenteritis. Root was on the field for all but six overs in the scorching 50 degree Sunday roasting the day before. Like the…
1) SMITH SETS UP HIS UNORTHODOX CHURCH: On the third day, Steve Smith rose again from bed and set up an even more outrageously unorthodox temple at the crease. As James Anderson ran in for the first over, the Aussie skipper shuffled to the off side and showed all three stumps (and then some) behind…
1) STEVE SMITH THROWS HIMSELF INTO ANOTHER WORLD CLASS ACT: The only times Steve Smith has looked human in this series is when he was mega-sledged at Adelaide and in the field where he has shelled three. Today, the skipper stopped the rot with a brilliant one handed plunge at second slip to dismiss Dawid…
1) RAIN PLAYS ITS PART FOR THE FIFTH TIME: Rain has very rarely played such a continuous role in an Australian Ashes series, although it hasn’t been so decisive in the results column. Adelaide’s skies interrupted the wonky English seamers on the first day, while the heavens failed to save the tourists at the normally…
When leg-spinner Scott Borthwick was picked for the Sydney Test Match four years ago, it seemed like a desperate throw of the dice from an England team that had been brutalised by the Australians and decimated internally by retirements and stress-related injuries. Borthwick was lined up to replace Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann who had …
1) DEAD AS A DODO PITCH CALLED OUT BY AN AUSSIE: Before a ball was even bowled on the final day, former Aussie opener Chris Rogers was questioning the validity of the MCG pitch. Normally, a hotbed of cracks, shooters and fraught survival, this fifth act felt like anything but in front of a ground…
1) AFTER THE LORD MAYOR’S SHOW: After dominating the last two days, England were looking to add to their lead of 164. Jimmy Anderson was dismissed first ball, giving Australia an immediate lift as David Warner and Cameron Bancroft could conserve all energy and chip away at the deficit. Thoughts momentarily drifted to four years…
1) A MORNING TO TEST THE PATIENCE: Australia essentially took a leaf out of England’s text book by squeezing the batsmen in the first 40 minutes as only nine runs came from the first seven overs. Josh Hazlewood bowled very well and when Nathan Lyon appeared, Alastair Cook looked vulnerable for a while. There was…
