BUMBLE AT THE TEST
VARIETY IS THE KEY
ENGLAND were given a good lead by Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, but also had variation in their attack, with the left-arm angle of Curran and the off-breaks of Dominic Bess. Chris Woakes gave them something else: he aims at the stumps, whereas Mark Wood banged the ball in. Well played, England!
TWO IS TOO FEW
IT’S a pity there’s not a decider, but the ECB’s hands are tied with the India agreement, which necessitates a five-match Test series. It’s a shame there’s no room for manoeuvre to split the seven summer Tests into three against Pakistan and four against India. Two seems too few — and five too many.
FANTASTIC FOREIGNERS
IT’S 50 years since the arrival of official overseas players in county cricket and there have been some golden eras. Here’s my best XI: Gordon Greenidge, Barry Richards, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Darren Lehmann, Garry Sobers, Farokh Engineer (wkt), Malcolm Marshall, Wasim Akram (right), Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis.
WASIM, 52 NOT OUT!
WASIM AKRAM celebrated his 52nd birthday, and very kindly took a few of us to a hidden gem of an Indian restaurant in Leeds called AM Kitchen. He knew the owner and ordered practically the entire menu! Also invited were Michael Holding, Mike Atherton and Ian Ward. Nasser didn’t make it, which was a shame, especially because Wasim picked up the tab.
NASSER FLUFFS THE SWEEP
SPEAKING of Nas and matters financial, the Sky team had a sweep on Saturday’s Derby. We all bunged in a tenner, which — not for the first time — proved a bit of a stumbling block for Nas, who declined to enter. Again, a shame, because he would have won a cool £70 if he had picked up Masar, the eventual winner. The booty went to Isa Guha.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
HOW’S my plantar fasciitis, I hear you ask? Not improving, I’m afraid. I limped my way past the England nets when Alastair Cook asked me where I was from. ‘What do you mean?’ I said. He replied: ‘You’re from the North. You’re always calling us southern softies. Just get on with it!’ I expect his missus is doing all the hard work back on the farm while he plays cricket.
SAM’S A MAN FOR THE FUTURE
WHAT a confident young man Sam Curran is. On the evidence of his performance on Saturday evening, I reckon he’s going to become an accomplished batsman and a decent fourth seamer. England will be looking for him to understudy Ben Stokes, but if he keeps progressing as he is, he’ll get into this team in his own right.