Liverpool Echo - Liquorice Allsports

Can the 2009 England-Australia Ashes battle live up to sky-high expectations?

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:31:15 +0000

It would be quite easy to blame Sky TV for the ridiculous level of excitement surrounding the resumption of one of the oldest and most celebrated rivalries in world sport this morning in Cardiff.

With Murdoch's mob covering their first ever home Ashes series and their long-established penchant for over-hyping the back out of pretty much everything they broadcast well-evidenced, the uninitiated could be forgiven for assuming Sky's slick sales pitches have weaved their usual magic on a public still a month away from having the Premier League circus back in town to slake its sporting thirst.

As it is, Sky's cricket coverage, particularly the punditry, is peerless and light years beyond its often execrable football equivalent but that has no bearing on why cricket lovers will be gripped for the next six weeks.

What have we learned from beating the Windies?

Mon, 18 May 2009 21:18:50 +0000

SO WE tucked away the West Indies 2-0.
No real surprise there. They're not a great side and they were playing in completely alien conditions that really played into England's hands.
But let's be honest, this silly two test series played ridiculously early in the season was never more than a warm-up for this summer's main event.
So to get anything out of regaining the Wisden Trophy, we need to have learned a few lessons that will help us also regain the Ashes.

Ashes blowing in the Windies?

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:34:24 +0000

A TEST series desreves to be contested in its own right.
But let's be honest, players, fans and hacks alike had one eye on the Ashes before the team even flew to the Caribbean.
Unfortunately, as Enlgand were losing to a very average side, the Aussies were unexpectedly giving the South Africans a good thumping in their own back yard.

An Adil time for Rashid?

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:36:05 +0000

ENGLAND fans approached the West Indies tour with thoughts of an easy victory in mind.
And it seems like the players did too.
The humiliating collapse in the first test and short-sighted captaincy decisions in Antigua leave Andrew Strauss facing a must-win game in Trinidad.
So maybe it is time to shake things up a bit - and that could leave a gap for the exciting young Adil Rashid.

Is British sportsmanship dead?

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:49:56 +0000

ENGLAND'S disgraceful decision to run out a Kiwi batsmen afer he was knocked to the ground cast cricket in an uncomfortable light.
Of course, it is not the first time players of that supposedly gentlemanly game have plumbed the depths.
Probably the most famous episode was when Greg Chappell ordered his brother Trevor to roll the ball along the ground to prevent New Zealand scoring the six they needed from the last delivery of a one day international.

England paper over the cracks with comeback win

Tue, 27 May 2008 10:11:27 +0000

ENGLAND top brass were today hailing their victory against New Zealand as one of the all-time great wins.
They need to get real and stop patting themselves on the back.
Yes, it was a remarkable comeback from a situation of seemingly certain doom. But play like that against South Africa and England won't get a second chance.
The batting performance in the first innings was like a horrible flashback to the dark days of the late 80s.

England performance all my fault

Tue, 20 May 2008 10:34:48 +0000

I TODAY take full responsibility for England's lacklustre showing in the first test.
Something must have caused the complacency and lack of urgency that saw such an insipid peformance at Lords.
So I can only presume Michael Vaughan and Peter Moores are regular readers of Liquorice and became over-confident after my rash predictions of a 3-0 win.

Black summer looms for Kiwis

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:24:13 +0000

YOU can tell it's summer when the umpire calls play in the first test of the cricket season.
New Zealand are the first visitors of the year and they arrive with an inexperienced and understrength team weakened by retirements and the IPL.
Anything less than an emphatic England win would be a real disappointment for Peter Moores and Michael Vaughan.
But that does not mean it is not a big series for players on both sides. Here's my lowdown of the people to keep an eye on during the three test series.

Twenty20 - filth or the future?

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:11:19 +0000

IT'S a little known fact cricket was once a popular sport in the States.
Baseball - that bastardised version of rounders - only took over during the Civil War when churned-up fields made it a much more practical option than its more sophisticated cousin.
Now Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford thinks he can bring it back.

Is Andrew Flintoff on the way back?

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:02:30 +0000

THE sight of Freddie Flintoff bellowing to the skies in triumph pretty much sums up the summer of 2005 for me.
Cricket fans in England had waited many a long year to see the Aussies toppled from their perch. But the manner in which it happened made it all the sweeter.
And Sir Frederick seemed to be at the heart of virtually every dramatic moment.