So England begin the Ben Stokes/ Brendan McCullum era with a swashbuckling win over New Zealand at Trent Bridge. A chase down of 299 was made to look easy, as England applied a one-day like approach to the task in hand. With two wins in two, England are looking a different side. Stokes is transferring his own values; mindsets; principles into this group of players. Playing with freedom is at the heart of the Stokesian way. To be liberated from the restrictions of fear of failure. To trust your game. And go for your […]

It’s the post-match interviews after a dramatic finish to the World T20 Final. And West Indies captain Darren Sammy is in bullish mood. He’s taking aim at a number of targets. One of whom is former player turned commentator Mark Nicholas, whose derogatory comments about the West Indies having ‘no brains’, have apparently acted as a trigger for their cup winning performance. There’s is nothing more satisfying for a team or an individual than to prove a point. It’s like someone has invaded your secret world with their casual outsider judgement and criticism. And if you have any kind of […]

It’s the final game of the Ashes series, and its an opportunity for England to cement their dominance over this Australian team. One of the surprising things that we have learnt about England’s series preparation, is that there has been an new-found openness about them, which was not always the case in past, more insular self-protective England teams. An openness that has allowed current players to reconnect with England greats of the past and tap into their insights and know-how. For example, Stuart Broad admits that he has never really spoken with Ian Botham previously. Given that Botham is at […]

It’s the best thing that an opposition can hope for. They make their plans around it. It’s strategy number one. And sometimes, they don’t even have to try that hard to execute it. That’s exactly the scenario in this Ashes series. England would have targeted Australian captain Michael Clarke. If the captain and leader is dismissed cheaply, then it exerts extra pressure on the other batters. And sends out a strong message. What England didn’t know was be how easy it would be to take Clarke’s wicket. Once the best batsman in the world, Clarke has completely lost form and […]

It’s been a remarkable turn-around. Only months ago England were playing a losing brand of cricket that was out-dated, tired and formulaic. A stats-based approach had inhibited talented players, rendering them incapable of responding, in the moment, to changes in game dynamics. Not any more. Freed of limiting inhibition, playing to their strengths, England are now in tune with the modern one-day game. England’s turn around, demonstrates how simple it is to transform the way a team plays. Charged with being positive and aggressive, the right players are played in their right positions. Fearlesness supports boldness and daring. One players […]

It’s hours before the opening action of the World Cup Final. The famous Melbourne Cricket Ground is deserted. Apart from the groundstaff. And Australia captain Michael Clarke. The rest of his team-mates are still relaxing back at the hotel. Not Clarke. This match is too important. It’s the World Cup Final. And it’s also Clarke’s last one-day international. He is on the ground hours early for one reason only. To connect to the sense of occasion. Before the place gets too busy. The night before big Wimbledon finals, Martina Navratilova would gain access to the stands of the Centre Court. […]

It’s Sky Sports cricket analysis show The Verdict. The team are de-constructing the World Cup semi-final. Bob Willis is firmly of the view that this isn’t another South Africa World Cup choke that has cost them this tight match. But that victory belongs to New Zealand boldness and daring. On the surface this is a reasonable analysis. But South Africa made a number of unfortunate contributions to this painful defeat. To be sure nothing on the scale of Allan Donald in 1999 or Shaun Pollock in 2003. But nevertheless it appeared that the shadow of history was upon their shoulder, […]

It’s England coach Peter Moores after the defeat to Bangladesh. ‘We thought 275 was chaseable. We will have to have a look at the data’. It’s a regrettable comment from the England coach. For it gives the impression of a man unable to make a critical judgement on events without data support. For he shouldn’t need data to tell him why England lost this match. He should know why in an instant. But when a losing mentality holds sway, insight can be in short supply. As winning can be a habit, so can losing. And this England cricket team appeared […]