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Third day of Test: dull and ominous

Both the weather conditions and cricket were dull yesterday. Australia look like building an unassailable lead, 221 runs ahead and Steve Smith and Usman Khuwaji still at the crease. Ben Stokes went early in the morning and Harry Brook to an injudicious swat to a shorter ball.  Once Jonny Bairstow [...]

July 1, 2023 // 0 Comments

2nd day of Test: Bazball confounds and delights

The day belonged to England but the view of such sages as Jonathan Agnew and Michael Vaughan was that it could have been better. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope set up a platform of parity only for Australia – bereft of Nat Lyon for possibly the Series – to bowl short and [...]

June 30, 2023 // 0 Comments

First day of the Second Test: grey clouds and grey cricket

The overcast weather produced a more attritional day in which the most notable event was Jonny Bairstow carrying off a protester. Given he can break a leg on the golf course, my concern was he would sustain another unusual injury. He did not – Ollie Pope after dropping a dolly catch was off [...]

June 29, 2023 // 0 Comments

Don Giovanni/Glyndebourne

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s  Don Giovanni purports to be opera buffa (light comic opera) but there is a dark side: the killing of the Commendatore, father of Don Giovanni’s (Amdrey Zhilikovsky) latest quest Donna Anna (Venera Gimlieva), and the predatory nature of Don Giovanni himself. The [...]

June 25, 2023 // 0 Comments

Another day at the home office

Coming to readers of The Rust from the “You Just Couldn’t Make It Up” department: Writing as someone in my eighth decade, I hereby forgive in advance all Rusters of more junior years for either passing straight on to the next piece of wisdom from this mighty organ and/or heaving a sigh of [...]

June 24, 2023 // 0 Comments

Ten pound Poms

I saw the last episode of this drama last Sunday and enjoyed it. To a certain extent it rounded things off to another it left matters open as the director and producer James  Brockenhurst and cast must surely hope for a second series. It deserves it but there may not be enough for the [...]

June 24, 2023 // 0 Comments

Thoughts on the First Test

I hope that after this most enthralling of matches the media – conventional and social – does not turn on Ben Stokes and Baz-ball after the Aussies won, albeit narrowly, the vital First Test. Of course catches were dropped – and the declaration deprived England of vital runs [...]

June 22, 2023 // 0 Comments

The U S Open

The US Open was won by a relatively unknown Wyndham Clark – holding off the challenge of Rory McIlroy, who once again faltered in his final round and the in-form Scottie Scheffler. It was held at the prestigious Los Angeles Country Club but only had 4,000 spectators outside sponsors and club [...]

June 20, 2023 // 0 Comments

The two invariables

Amongst the great selection debates and “Bazball v Pragmatic”, there are two constants: injuries and bad weather. Thus it was yesterday – on the third day of the Edgbaston Test – that both kicked in. Moeen Ali’s spinning finger is raw and blistered and a storm of biblical [...]

June 19, 2023 // 0 Comments

Entertaining v Effective

The debate over entertaining versus winning performances is as old as the hills but has taken new life under the régime of Stokes and McCallum. There were real and genuine fears that Australia would be too good for England, but less so after Zak Crawley – one of England’s perceived [...]

June 17, 2023 // 0 Comments

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