✍️ Jarrod Kimber on Ben Stokes playing to the crowd.
“There is no doubt Stokes is a warrior. But also he’s a showman. When he’s dismissed, it is simply the best ball anyone has ever faced. Has any cricketer ever stared down at the surface with more suspicion after missing a straight delivery that bounced normally?
There is nothing he does softly. Even when he decides to dead-bat the ball, there is a sense of aggression. We are supposed to feel something every moment we watch him.
The shoulder is clearly hurt, but England need a wicket and so he bowls on, reattaching his arm for each delivery to ensure he can get one more Indian batter out. It’s masochistic, but also like a weird cabaret. The pain is clearly real, he’ll miss the following Test, but it’s also a performance.
Ben Stokes knows people are watching him, he understands his legacy is toughness, and he plays to it.”
🚨 Tarutr Malhotra has an explainer on BoC’s new dashboard covering every stat on all 180 players at the Women’s T20 World Cup. You can access the dashboard here.
🔒 Mohsin Kamal on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s past as he gets ready for his international future.
“To understand Sooryavanshi, it helps to understand Bihar.
For years, the state existed on the margins of Indian cricket. Talent was never in short supply, but pathways were. Young cricketers often had to leave home in search of opportunities, while coaches and academies continued working with little recognition. “There was cricket in Bihar, but there was nothing to achieve in cricket,” says Brajesh Jha, Sooryavanshi’s first coach.
His father, Sanjiv Sooryavanshi, knew that reality. A club-level cricketer from the village of Motipur, Sanjiv had once dreamed of taking his game further. Circumstances prevented it as local facilities were so limited. So when his son showed an interest in cricket at an early age, he decided to invest everything he had in that dream.”
-
“Cricket lost the soul football saved”
✍️ Akshay Ramesh on cricket’s dilution of World Cups compared to football’s prestigious 4-year event. -
“A 100m sprint coach to help her bowl faster”
🔒 Sonia Twigg with ENG’s Issy Wong on pushing her pace. -
“They said I was a killer…..”
🔒 Gideon Haigh on Harold Larwood’s debut centenary. -
“Cricket’s New Windows of Opportunity”
✍️ Pitched Up Googly tries to sort out cricket’s confused calendar
-
“Captain denies rifts”
📽️ Mike Atherton talks to Ben Stokes about the curfew controversy. [YouTube] -
“Money vs Prestige”
📽️ Business of Sport talks to Monty Panesar about the business of being a modern cricket player. [YouTube] -
“Secrets Behind Star Sports & Cricket Broadcasting”
🔒 Cricket by JB talks to ex-head of production at Star Sports Gary Burchett about the intricacies of a cricket broadcast. [YouTube] -
“Cricket’s Gatekeeping”
🎤 PCCI Pod talk to Ahmer Naqvi about Jay Shah, the football World Cup, and how cricket gate keeps it’s own sport. [Apple/Spotify]