Blog: long reads on cricket
Original long reads on tactics, history, science, culture and the future of the game.
Why turning the strike over matters as much as hitting boundaries: how singles ease pressure, disrupt bowlers and build the platform for big scoring.
History Sri Lanka 1996: The Openers Who Tore Up the ScriptHow Sri Lanka's aggressive new approach to opening the innings won the 1996 World Cup and changed how one-day cricket is played.
Science What Really Happens During a Rain DelayCovers on, players off, umpires pacing the outfield. Here is what goes on behind a cricket rain delay and how restart decisions are made.
Tactics Left Hand, Right Hand: Why Bowlers Dread the Mixed PairHow a left-hander and right-hander batting together disrupt bowlers lines and lengths, force constant field changes and break a fielding side rhythm.
History Four Fast Men: How West Indies Ruled Cricket for Fifteen YearsFrom Clive Lloyd's pace-bowling blueprint to the Marshall and Garner years, the story of the West Indies attacks that dominated world cricket.
Science Over Rates and the Clock: How Cricket Manages TimeWhy do slow over rates matter? Explore how cricket measures time, the penalties teams face, and the clock rules brought in for the shorter formats.
Tactics Under the Lights: What Really Changes in a Pink-Ball TestA look at day-night Test cricket: how the pink ball behaves, why dusk can be dangerous for batters, and how tactics and scheduling adapt under floodlights.
History Johannesburg 2007: The Tournament That Made T20 RealThe inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa, from a bowl-out and six sixes to India's thrilling final win over Pakistan.
Tactics Two Jobs, One Man: How an All-Rounder Reshapes the XIHow having a genuine all-rounder alters the balance of an eleven, from batting depth and bowling options to captaincy choices and the risks of overreach.
History The Underarm Delivery That Shook the Melbourne Cricket GroundHow a single rolled delivery at the MCG in 1981 led to national outrage, a diplomatic row and a change in the rules of one-day cricket.
Tactics Reacting or Plotting: The Difference Between Field and PlanThe contrast between bowling to a field set for you and bowling to a plan of your own, and why proactive bowlers tend to dismiss good…
History Ten Days in Durban: The Test That Ran Out of Time After AllThe Timeless Test of 1939 in Durban had no limit on days, yet England and South Africa still drew after ten days of play, thanks to…