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Category Archives: England
Slaughter!
In May of last year, India were ranked the best cricket team in the world at the longest form of the game, Test cricket. England were a close second. What a difference nine months make! Shortly after triumphing in the … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cricket, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Test Cricket
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Evander (Not Holyfield) Meets and Greets Baseball Players and Cricket Fans
The scene today was Fairfield, New Jersey, the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Route 46 East. I arrived with my pre-1974 Yankee Stadium seat to add some autographs and to promote Right Off the Bat. The Crowne Plaza was hosting a … Continue reading
Posted in Baseball, Cricket, England, Right Off the Bat Book, Right Off the Bat Website, Yankees
Tagged Al Kaline, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Turley, Casey Stengel, Darryl Strawberry, Evander Holyfield, Game of the Week, Hector Lopez, Jim Bouton, Jim Leyrtiz, John Wettland, Ken Griffey Sr., Literature, Los Angeles Dodgers, Luis Arroyo, National Baseball Hall of Fame, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ralph Terry, Reggie Jackson, Rocky Colavito, Tony Kubek, Whitey Ford, Yankee Stadium
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The Mighty South Africans
For the last couple of years, a joke has been muttered by those begrudging the England team’s success that the only reason it wins is because of all the South Africans in the side. Captain Andrew Strauss, batsmen Kevin Pietersen … Continue reading
The Fight to Be Number One
It is a truth universally acknowledged (or at least it is in the world of international cricket) that teams visiting the Indian subcontinent are as unable to cope with the mysteries of spin generated by pitch and weather conditions in … Continue reading
The Old Ones
At the end of 2011, much of the talk in cricket was over what Australia, South Africa, and India should do about their aging titans. Should Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey (Australia) gracefully leave the stage? Were Jacques Kallis’s days … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cricket, England, India, South Africa, Test Cricket
Tagged Jacques Kallis, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Rahul Dravid, Ricky, Sachin Tendulkar, V. V. S. Laxman
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The Declaration
The Test match (the international version of the five-day game of cricket) offers a fascinating, strategic option for captains: the declaration. As Ron Kaplan notes of India’s current game against Australia : “Isn’t there the chance that India could have … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cricket, England, India, Sri Lanka, Test Cricket, West Indies
Tagged David Gower, Graeme Smith, Michael Clarke, Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh
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Hemispheric Pressure
While our baseball friends in the U.S. huddle around their stoves and await the first sprigs of spring training to appear in February, cricket lovers are enjoying a sun-drenched, beer-fueled banquet of competition in the southern hemisphere. After an inconclusive … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Cricket, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Test Cricket
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Watching “Empire of Cricket”
The 2009 BBC production Empire of Cricket is highly (and I, Evander, mean highly) recommended to all baseball fans in the throes of this fallow, no-baseball, hot-stove league/Winter Meetings period. The series is comprised of one-hour episodes devoted to the … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Baseball, Cricket, England, India, Pakistan
Tagged Bodyline, Douglas R. Jardine, Farokh Engineer, Jack Hobbs, Kapil Dev, Pajama Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, T20, W. G. Grace, Willie Mays
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My Funny Valentine
Bobby Valentine (courtesy of Yahoo sports) can’t wait for the 2012 season. Check out these pearls before reporters from the Winter Meetings: “The new Red Sox manager loves nothing more than folks hanging on his every word, and he basked … Continue reading
Posted in Australia, Baseball, Cricket, England, Right Off the Bat Website, Yankees
Tagged Bobby Valentine, Boston Red Sox, Joe Girardi, Literature, New York Yankees
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Basil D’Oliveira (1931–2011)
The South African–born England cricketer Basil D’Oliveira has died, having battled Parkinson’s disease for several years. Aside from his capable batsmanship and usefulness as a bowler, D’Oliveira will always be known as the man who encapsulated the racism within cricket … Continue reading
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