Blog: long reads on cricket
Original long reads on tactics, history, science, culture and the future of the game.
How bowlers hide a drop in pace, the grips that make the slower ball work, and the batters who learn to spot it before it arrives.
Tactics The Circle That Changed Everything: How Fielding Restrictions Reshaped CricketA look at how the thirty-yard circle and powerplay rules transformed batting, bowling and captaincy in limited-overs cricket.
Tactics Captaincy Under Pressure: How to Read a CollapseWhat good captains do when wickets fall in a cluster: how they change the field, the bowler and the tempo, whichever side of it they are…
Tactics The Quiet Craft of the Left-Arm Orthodox SpinnerWhy left-arm orthodox spin is so hard to score against, and how patient bowlers use angle, flight and accuracy to control an innings.
Tactics Defending the Small Total: Plans, Fields and NerveHow teams set about defending a below-par score: attacking fields, bowler choices and the patience needed to make the chase uncomfortable.
Tactics Two Spinners in T20: When It Wins Matches and What It CostsWhen picking a pair of spinners helps a T20 side, how the two work together, and the balance a team gives up to play them.
Tactics Why Slip Fielding Is Cricket’s Hardest JobReflexes, footwork, soft hands and mental stamina: what makes the slip cordon the most demanding position on the whole field.
Tactics Playing Spin: Sweep, Defend or Step Out?The split-second decisions batters make against turning balls, from reading length to choosing between the sweep, the forward defence and the charge.
Tactics The Lost Art of the Night-WatchmanWhy the evening sentinel of Test cricket has faded from view, the logic behind the role, and whether it deserves a comeback.
Tactics Reading Length in a Split Second: The Hidden Skill of BattingHow batters use early visual cues, trigger movements and trained anticipation to judge length in the time it takes the ball to arrive.
Tactics Up to the Stumps: How a Keeper’s Position Rewrites the ContestWhy a wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps changes a bowler's plan and forces a batter to rethink footwork, balance and the safety of the crease.
Tactics The Six-Hitting Revolution: How Power Rewrote the Batting ManualHow modern bats, wider stances, a stronger base and a new shot toolkit turned six-hitting from a risky gamble into a repeatable, coachable skill.