Category Archives: Apl 2009

There were more obvious heroes to choose from Surrey’s team of the 1950s but Jonathan Rice loved the unsung Peter Loader Photograph: Hulton Archive/ Getty Images There is no logical reason why my favourite cricketer should be Peter Loader, the … Continue reading →

Rachael Heyhoe-Flint brought profile and recognition to the women’s game. She instigated the first Women’s World Cup in 1973 – two years before the inaugural men’s event – and led England to victory. She was an unbeaten Test captain, a … Continue reading →

Agenda: The ECB has not turned its big idea into big bucks and that is the source of its problems, argues Richard Gillis Photograph: Findlay Kember/ AFP/ Getty Images Matti Makkonen is a shy former mobile telecom engineer from Finland, … Continue reading →

The heavy ball: For every Shane Warne there are hundreds of talented players who slip away from the game, says Kevin Mitchell Photograph: Hamish Blair/ Getty Images Mark was a gifted cricketer, a schoolboy prodigy who bowled good offbreaks and … Continue reading →

Allen Stanford’s contribution to West Indian cricket amounts to more than a few dodgy deals – he helped reinvigorate the game in the islands, writes Tony Cozier Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty Images A chorus of “I told you so” reverberated across … Continue reading →

Fifty-one all out. England are masters of creating chaos from calm. They’ve been doing it since Tests began. By Andrew Miller Photograph: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images 1 The Oval, v Australia, 1882 The original instance of English hubris and still arguably … Continue reading →

From the editor: Pakistan must play cricket, wherever and whenever they can, rather than be shunned over security concerns England were scheduled to tour Pakistan early next year, a trip that even at this stage may be in serious doubt … Continue reading →

Worcestershire are back in Division One but without Graeme Hick. Paul Bolton talks to director of cricket Steve Rhodes about the next era Photograph: Stu Forster/ Getty Images There have been some significant changes on and off the pitch at … Continue reading →

Last summer Mark Ramprakash scored his hundredth first-class hundred but it wasn’t a totally serene journey. Simon Hattenstone hears his take on a momentous season Photograph: Getty Images Think Mark Ramprakash. The first thing that comes to mind is a … Continue reading →