ROUNDUP: Two bites at the apple
The best cricket stories of the week, 12th to 18th July 2025
1
Two bites at the apple
✍️ The Athletic’s Nick Miller talks to former and current players to understand the difficulty of being an all-rounder in Tests.
“Ultimately, the goal is moments.
Just as fans will sit through weeks, months, years of nothingness, in the hope that one day we will feel something glorious, so the all-rounder will cope with the relentless nature of it all — the fatigue and the pressure – to feel the same.”
2
Bumrah’s unorthodox journey
✍️ The Telegraph’s Will Macpherson travelled to Ahmedabad and talked to coaches, friends and even auto drivers to recount how Bumrah became Bumrah.
“When Jasprit first came to the nets, he had this odd action,” he says. “The boys were confused. They were asking me, is he throwing it or is this a correct action? They thought he was throwing it. I observed his action closely for three days. It was absolutely fine, there was nothing ‘chuck’ about it.
“It’s an odd action, so the boys were confused. But I was also surprised at how much speed he could generate at 16. His run-up was 10 or 12 yards, but he generated so much speed, so the boys were afraid to face him, because it was bouncing so much. And already, he could bowl a very good yorker.”
3
When Warne struggled (though not for long)
✍️ Wisden’s Scott Oliver recalls the 1991 Lancashire League season, and the 21-year old Shane Warne’s introduction to the ‘pro’ leagues.
“Warne’s indifferent start to the season moved Barker to take morale-boosting action: “I decided to take him out to a local nightspot, Martholme Grange. Strippers and chicken in a basket. He was a bit down. You could see it in his face. He was only 21 years old, trying to be a professional in a team with a lot of guys who were older than him, which isn’t easy, whoever you are. It was the first time we’d seen him relaxed. We all had a few drinks and said: our season starts now.”
4
The best of the rest
“Chand rejuvenates his cricket career with the L.A. Knight Riders”
✍️ Los Angeles Times’ Ira Gorawara talks to Unmukt Chand about resurrecting his career in America.“400 wickets, 100 Tests, and an inswinger that is a landmark of cricket”
✍️ Sriram Veera on Mitch Starc’s journey to 400 wickets.“Cricket's willow, stretched by time and demand”
✍️ Cricbuzz’s Kaushik Rangarajan details how cricket’s demands for bats is outstripping the ability to grow enough Willow trees.“Davina Perrin, the 18-year-old channeling Viv Richards”
✍️ Wisden’s Katya Witney profiles Davina Perrin, the West Indies Women prodigy who’s done with high school and ready to dive into professional cricket.
5
The best videos and podcasts
“Brian Lara: Test Run Record, Favourite Bowlers To Face & Rivalries”
📽️ Overlap Cricket’s Michael Vaughan & Alastair Cook & David Lloyd & Phil Tufnell talk to Brian Lara about facing England, and holding the run records. [YouTube]“RCB's Analyst On How They Won The IPL”
📽️ For the Love of Cricket’s Stuart Broad & Jos Buttler talk to RCB analyst Freddie Wilde about how analytics are changing cricket, and how they helped RCB win the IPL. [YouTube]“Four Teams, One Forgotten Legacy”
🎤 Never on the Backfoot’s Neha Shetty talks to Ankit (@outof22yards on X) about the forgotten legacy of the 1978 Women’s World Cup hosted by India. [Apple/Spotify]“Heavy Metal Number Fives”
📽️ Good Areas’ Jarrod Kimber & Behram Qazi discuss the evolution of the No. 5 position, and the modern ‘heavy metal’ incumbents. [YouTube]