The poisoned chalice of the one drop batter
The best cricket stories of the week, 14th to 20th June 2025
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The poisoned chalice of the one drop batter
ESPNcricinfo’s Vithushan Ehantharajah has a definitive report on the difficulty of batting at No.3, and England’s struggles with it for decades.
“There has been something of a generational shift among modern players. A societal awakening, a cultural acceptance, that it is okay to not be okay at three.
Speak to players in county cricket and few covet the position. A straw poll of domestic batters unearths broadly consistent views. "If you grew up as an opener, the waiting is tough," says one county veteran. "You're often in early, on green county decks, the bowlers are up and about," says another whose years at three were in service of trying to attract selectors' glances. "It can be a bit of a mug's game."
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Cricket’s benevolent (?) dictator
The Athletic’s Paul Newman looks at the complicated situation in world cricket; Indian dominance is not healthy, but it is still a lifeline for most countries not called England or Australia.
“Those are views echoed by Johnny Grave, the CEO of West Indies Cricket for seven years until 2024 and a man acutely aware of his region’s financial dependence on India.
“My priority was to secure as many tours by India as I could in a congested calendar,” says English-born Grave. “You could say India are responsible for 75 per cent of West Indies’ revenue. Twenty-five per cent comes from the bilateral cricket India play in the Caribbean, and the vast majority of the 50 per cent that comes from the ICC is driven by the Indian TV market supporting and funding World Cups.”
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Who does this help?
Wisden’s Katya Witney describes the lunacy of the ECB’s extensive grassroots trans ban, causing the end of amateur playing time for teenagers, septuagenarians and everyone in between.
“Suzi James, 74, who has played on the women’s team at Gunnersbury CC as a trans woman since 2008. Having played an active role in the club – which holds an important place in the history of the women’s recreational game as the oldest women’s club in the country – James no longer plays for them since the ban.
“My teammates are all gutted,” she told the Wisden Women’s Cricket Weekly podcast. “They said, ‘You’ll always be a Gunn’, but I can’t go along and just watch because I’m not part of that club.”
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The best of the rest
ESPNcricinfo’s Firdose Moonda has the definitive last take on South Africa’s WTC final; “This was Temba Bavuma's WTC and he can own it”
The Athletic’s Paul Newman writes about Stokes and England; “Ben Stokes, leadership and the poisoned chalice that is the England captaincy”
ESPNcricinfo’s Hemant Brar talks to Sneh Rana about her return to the Indian side after years; “She gets knocked down but she gets up again: Sneh Rana's journey”
Daisy Cutter’s Ildikó Connell talks to Kent bowler Wes Agar about overcoming his OCD to play cricket; “Wes Agar on life and playing cricket with OCD”
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The best videos and podcasts
Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton sits down with James Anderson and Sachin Tendulkar discuss the history of the India-England series. [YouTube]
Ravichandran Ashwin talks to Karun Nair about his return to the Indian team, and how that singular dream kept him going despite negativity all around. [YouTube]
The Telegraph Cricket Podcast interviews ECB managing director Rob Key about a defining six months for Bazball, and his thoughts on Freddie Flintoff succeeding Brendon McCullum. [Apple/Spotify]
IWM’s Cyrus Broacha talks to former India selector Jatin Paranjape about India’s current transition. [YouTube]