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How the Headingley curators worked their magic, ZIM face the impossible, & slip-catching is becoming a rare skill.
Hey everyone,
England scraped that first Test thanks to India’s mistakes, so of course the English press thinks their team is the best thing since sliced bread. Though, there are a couple of interesting pieces on Tongue’s talent for lapping up tailenders, and why slip catching is a specialist skill in the T20 era.
Elsewhere, the WTC champs’ second string are thrashing Zimbabwe, & MS Dhoni has somehow patented the phrase ‘Captain Cool’. Does that mean I could get sued if I implied that Shubman Gill doesn’t look hot when he’s leading India? (Which is obviously not true, the guy looks like a brown Brad Pitt).
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SA-ZIM today isn’t as important as ENG-IND tomorrow
🏏 Match Updates: ZIM face the impossible, slip-catching is becoming a rare skill, & the Kookaburra is wreaking havoc in the County Championship.
South Africa vs Zimbabwe:
Zimbabwe need 505 runs in two days, with 9 wickets remaining.England vs India:
England name an unchanged side, & India wait on Bumrah.
👉 ESPNcricinfo’s Vithushan Ehantharajah on Ben Stokes’ bowling.
👅 BBC’s Steven Finn on Josh Tongue’s talent for tailenders.
👉 The Times’ Steve James thinks 2025 England is better than 2011 England.
👉 ESPNcricinfo’s Greg Chappell on the disappearing art of slip catching.County Championship:
Dom Sibley scored 305, as Surrey posted a club record 820 runs. Twitter blames the new Kookaburra ball after GS Drissell had figures of 1-247 in the game.
Headingley’s curators like the word moist
📚 Must Read Essays: How the Headingley curators worked their magic, & the decade of work behind Mitch Owen’s overnight success.
“The science behind Headingley’s ‘perfectly prepared’ pitch”
👉 Indian Express’ Sandeep Dwivedi looks at the special techniques used by the Headingley curators to keep the pitch moist for all five days.“Mitch Owen's meteoric rise - A journey from obscurity to glory”
👉 Cricbuzz’s Smit Patel talks to the Aussie opener who made a global name for himself in last year’s BBL after ten years in the game.
🗞️ Quick News: Will IND actually go to BAN, PAK’s newest coach, & Dhoni trademarks ‘Captain Cool’.
The BCCI has not yet confirmed India Men’s tour to Bangladesh.
Azhar Mahmood is Pakistan’s latest acting Test coach.
MS Dhoni has trademarked the phrase ‘Captain Cool.’ What a world we live in.
Wood thinks India have more in the cupboard
📺 A/V: Wood on ENG-IND, Shamsi on SA’s WTC win, & Broad/Buttler answer fan questions.
“Mark Wood joins Nas & Athers to talk Bumrah, Archer & more!”
📽️ Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton & Nasser Hussain talk to England’s injured bowler about matching up to the visiting Indian side. [YouTube]“We've finally broken the curse!”
📽️ Pak Passion’s Saj Sadiq talks South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi about finally winning an ICC tournament, and playing under Temba Bavuma. [YouTube]“Tendulkar or Kallis?”
📽️ For The Love Of Cricket’s Stuart Broad & Jos Buttler answer fan questions, including the terror of facing Yuvraj when he’s hitting six 6s! [YouTube]
That’s it for today!
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