Andrew Miller
A terrestrial return would cripple English cricket
Having made their bed with Rupert Murdoch and feathered it to the tune of £300 million over four years, the ECB should not be ejected from it
Andrew Miller
Applaud Trescothick's effort, don't condemn the failure
Through his stress-related illness, Trescothick has focussed on his family, Somerset included. It was for them that he agreed to fly to India
Flintoff's freelance decision
Don't hurl brickbats at Flintoff
There once was a time when the decision that Andrew Flintoff has just reached, even coming in the twilight of his career, would have been greeted with outrage and ostracism
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Strauss's finest hour
He took over with England in turmoil, but in eight months has forged a team that has regained the Ashes. For Andrew Strauss there can be no praise high enough... more
People's hero freed for final stand
Andrew Flintoff's body eventually told him to stop, but he has the chance to leave Test cricket with one, final glorious performance against Australia... more
The best fun imaginable
Despite cricket's myriad problems, the ICC managed to stage a near-perfect event - a tournament that was fun but not frivolous... more
England produce the perfect capitulation
England v Netherlands, ICC World Twenty20, Lord's
England got exactly what they deserved against Netherlands, as they dared to treat a global tournament as a side-show... more
Bringing the monster back home
When it comes to bringing its invented games back home in triumph, few countries could possibly boast a worse track record than England... more
England shake up the system
The pursuit of continuity used to be a virtue for the selectors, but the inclusion of Bell and Sidebottom shows that that's not longer quite the case... more
England uplifted by rookie success
England v West Indies, 1st npower Test, Lord's, 3rd day
The Man of the Match was an attacking spinner with genuine allround credentials. The stand-out batsman was a rookie who oozed class and confidence as he overcame a dicey first-day scoreline... more
An unloved anomaly of a series
England v West Indies, 1st npower Test, Lord's
In terms of the baubles up for grabs in English Cricket's Biggest Summer Ever™, the Wisden Trophy languishes a distant third behind its glitzier companions, the Ashes and the ICC World Twenty20... more
England cut the flab
In the space of a week, England have unveiled three separate squads for three different forms of the game, with one over-riding agenda to be pursued - the purging of flab, in whatever form it might appear... more
Flower's new bloom
England v West Indies, 1st Test, Lord's
Andrew Miller assess Andy Flower's first proper England squad as a host of experienced players a left out... more
Flower accepts the poisoned chalice
A dogged refusal to buckle has long been a characteristic of the man who has been appointed the the new England coach... more
We need to talk about Kevin
There's something the matter with KP, and it's not really to do with runs... more
England is perfect but not practical
England has much going for it to host the IPL but the ECB will face stiff opposition from the counties and broadcasters... more
Money or pride?
Which one are England playing for? They need to clear their heads quickly and find out ... more
Strauss comes full circle
The new England captain is a testimony to the ability to reinvent oneself... more
KP and England need each other
If Pietersen spends the rest of the year demonstrating that he was right all along, there may yet be a way for England to emerge from this crisis with their dignity stitched back together... more
The crown lies uneasy
Pietersen's spat with Peter Moores may have offended more sensibilities than is prudent for a captain... more
The party's not yet over
Stanford's intention to review his relationship with the ECB has left the latter nervous, and further reiterated which party is in control... more
A shot in the arm for sporting diplomacy
By agreeing to resume the series, England have given India a chance to move on from the horrors of Mumbai in the manner that best befits the nation... more
One step from a hero's welcome
As the crow flies, England's cricketers - who touched down at Dubai Airport this morning - could be said to be two-thirds of the way towards getting on with their Test series in India... more
A gap too wide
India and England have been poles apart this series: one is clear-headed and ruthlessly aggressive, the other unsure and stuck in Test mode... more
A clash of unlikely equals
The world watches with interest as Dhoni and Pietersen, two greenhorn captains, both perfect fits for their jobs, face off... more
Players' gain, Pakistan's loss
The Champions Trophy may have been detested as a competition, but right now, no one feels quite as detested as the tournament's jilted host... more
A change of priorities
The Stanford contest is beginning to look like a lot of fuss about nothing much in particular... more
No 'home' advantage in Cardiff
The hosts couldn't have picked a less English venue to kick off next year's Ashes... more
An embodiment of county cricket
A tribute to Graeme Hick, who has announced his retirement in his 25th year in county cricket ... more
Why cricket isn't an Olympic sport
The Olympics should be the pinnacle of an athlete's career, and if it is not, then the sport has no place on the schedule... more
Clean bold
The notion of Pietersen leading England in the Ashes is unquestionably unsettling to Australians... more
Preparing to learn from the master
Their antipathy is undisguised, but Pietersen has more to learn from Smith than any other leader... more
Pietersen is the right man for the job
England appoint their new captain
KP has the talent and intelligence to lead England and is sure to rise to the honour with pride... more
A captain cut short of greatness
Michael Vaughan deserved a better end, in a captaincy career that never recovered from interruption... more
England's comfortable stagnation
England v South Africa, 3rd npower Test, Edgbaston
Vaughan and his team-mates in the top six have no rivals, and no incentive to improve their performances... more
Central plank to rank outsider
Matthew Hoggard's demise as an international cricketer has been swift and has barely provoked comment... more
A second-class competition
Eighteen teams for a "Premier" competition is at least ten too many, and 20 is utter lunacy. One Twenty20 competition per summer is quite sufficient... more
The unheralded warrior
It is ironic that the man who has truly earned the right to be regarded as the champion of South Africa's fast bowling has barely merited a mention on this trip so far ... more
A clash of flawed equals
England versus South Africa is the one of the most consistently enthralling contests that Test cricket has to offer... more
Bring Tests into the mass market
It is time to introduce floodlights into the five-day game and prevent it from becoming anachronistic like the ODI... more
A bloodless coup
There is more than just a hint of cowboy about the way in which the ECB has leapt into bed with Allen Stanford, the first and highest bidder... more
A sham called continuity
England v New Zealand, 3rd Test, Trent Bridge
England are unchanged for a fifth straight Test but this appearance of stability is false... more
English cricket needs a new home
Despite revamps, capacities at England's cricket grounds remain below par. The ECB needs to consider adopting London's Olympic Stadium... more
Reborn Vaughan is England's key asset
By restating his credentials with a century of such simmering intent, England's captain has nipped in the bud the debate about his place in the side... more
Bittersweet McCullum transfers his talents
England v New Zealand, 1st Test, Lord's, 1st day
Rare is the cricketer who could be described as playing within himself for a run-a-ball 97, and yet, there's no denying the watchfulness that McCullum displayed for large tracts of his innings... more
Deference disguises Kiwi resolve
England v New Zealand, 1st Test, Lord's
England would dearly love for this series to mark the beginning of a turnaround for them. As for New Zealand, they love nothing better than to be written off ... more
Factionalism out of control
Malcolm Speed's ousting as the ICC's CEO is an open admission of the hypocrisy, factionalism and naked politicking that has paralysed the game's governing body... more
KP and the missing fire
Pietersen's now gone ten innings and counting without so much as a half-century. Something fundamental seems to have altered within his mindset... more
What a waste
Have we seen Harmison play for England for the last time?... more
Opening a Pandora's Box
With the Indian Premier League, the BCCI has found the means to shape cricket in its own image. Will its almost certain success lead to a revolution in cricket, where club holds sway over country? ... more
Bucknor's blackballing bodes badly
What will the dumping of umpire Steve Bucknor mean for attracting umpires in the future? ... more
No hiding from the hype
Sri Lanka v England, 1st Test, Kandy
Murali only has a few last steps to go to No. 709... more
Strauss challenged to find the fight within
What does Andrew Strauss's omission from the England Test squad mean... more
Flaccid finish tarnishes England win
Sri Lanka v England, 5th ODI, Colombo
In the end the allure of history was no match for the futility of dead-rubber syndrome... more
Fifty more reasons to embrace change
The 50-over game falls comprehensively between two stools, and is becoming fast irrelevant... more
The decision, not the official
The Peter Hartley incident from the sixth ODI has shown that umpires need to set aside their egos and accept the increasing role of technology in decisions... more
A disappointment but few regrets
Michael Vaughan had to suffer his first home series loss as captain but admitted that his side lost to a better team... more
England exploit their edge in experience
Barely four years after its inception in the summer of 2003, Twenty20 cricket has its very own World Championship. And once again, it is England that has hogged most of the experience on offer... more
Candy upstages cricket
England v India, 2nd Test, Trent Bridge, 4th day
India's fifth victory in 75 years of Test cricket in England has been overshadowed because of England's jelly-bean prank... more
A Vaughan masterclass in vain
England v India, 2nd Test, Trent Bridge, 4th day
Not even the most sumptuous innings of the year could rescue England's lost cause... more
England happy to talk while they toil
England v India, 2nd Test, Trent Bridge
England cricketers looked more interested in winning the war of words than the match itself against India at Trent Bridge... more
Heralding a new era
England v India, 1st Test, Lord's, 3rd day
How James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom and Chris Tremlett seem like heralding a new beginning... more
Normal service resumed
Andrew Strauss came so close to the perfect homecoming today... more
Edwards issues West Indian rebuttal
England v West Indies, 3rd Test, Old Trafford, 1st day
Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff may have kissed and made up, but the denials and rebuttals continued to pour forth on the first day at Old Trafford... more
Worse to follow
Percy Sonn will be missed, not least by his detractors
Sonn's death has left a power vacuum, the filling of which will raise further uncomfortable issues within a none-too-cosy set-up ... more
ECB ushers in homegrown coach
Peter Moores succeeds Duncan Fletcher as England head coach
Forget the speculation surrounding the identity of Duncan Fletcher's successor - the issue has been cut and dried with the bare minimum of fuss. Peter Moores has been unveiled as the new England coach almost before the ink has had to time to dry on Fletch... more
The end of the road
Andrew Miller looks back on the reign of Duncan Fletcher as England coach... more
The Narail Express
Mashrafe Mortaza is the focal point of Bangladesh's fast-bowling aspirations
The man who will be leading the Bangladesh line in today's showdown with Australia in Antigua is Mashrafe Mortaza, a fast bowler who bobbed to the surface even as the rest of his country seemed to be sinking around him... more
'A short-sighted decision'
Feedback to Andrew Miller's column about the ICC's decision to order YouTube to remove all its World Cup clips... more
Once more cricket shoots itself in the foot
YouTube decision another blow for the game
Andrew Miller is unhappy with the ICC's decision to order YouTube to remove all its World Cup clips... more
Flintoff's sobering experience
All too often, the press and public in England are guilty of what is known as "tall-poppy syndrome". They build a star up, particularly if he is a sportsman, and then hack him down with a vengeance the moment he oversteps the mark... more
'This Windies team can go places'
Tournament's success can be key to cricket revival in region
Sir Viv Richards believes a West Indian victory in the forthcoming World Cup will trigger "one of the biggest parties ever". Andrew Miller finds out more... more
Fingers optional as Oram pursues dream
Allrounder desperate to appear in World Cup
Many people like to claim they'd give an arm and a leg to play in a World Cup. Oram means it literally... more
It's a coach's life
Andrew Miller traces the recently fluctuating fortunes of John Buchanan and Duncan Fletcher... more
Giving one-dayers the cold shoulder
England's decline as a one-day team
Andrew Miller charts England's slump as a one-day team since the 1992 World Cup... more
England generate yet more bull
England v New Zealand, CB Series, Adelaide
Anyone who claims that cricket journalism is an easy lark has obviously never had to sit and watch England make perpetual fools of themselves in the one-day arena. It really is the most soul-destroying of occupations... more
No alternative to Vaughan as captain
Commonwealth Bank Series 2006-07
Michael Vaughan has many talents as a leader, but foremost among these is his ability to look any man in the eye - be it a team-mate, opponent, or irritating media man with a tendency to ask the same questions over and over again... more
Trescothick tires of the treadmill
A career in cricket is the ultimate life in a goldfish bowl. For six or seven hours a day, your soul is bared to all and sundry, scrutinised and analysed to an extent that is matched by no other sport... more
Pure bloody-minded determination
Ian Botham's walk against cancer
Andrew Miller follows Ian Botham on the final leg of his 11th charity walk for battle against child cancer... more
The underdog advantage
England's cricketers have landed themselves a win-win situation, by dint of their sheer awfulness in the one-day game. Nobody expects a miracle in the Champions Trophy, but a few telling blows, however fleetingly delivered, will do very nicely indeed... more
Another noxious whiff of scandal
The press conference at the Danubius Hotel near Lord's contained one of those JFK moments, as Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, took the assembled press corps slowly and deliberately through the exchange of emails between himself, Hair and Doug Cowi... more
Bring the dark arts into the light
Why ball-tampering should be legalised
Andrew Miller argues that ball-tampering should be legalised... more
What a horrible mess
The forfeiture of The Oval Test
Of all the Pakistan series to have taken place in England since the start of the 1980s, this had been by a country mile the most harmonious. All that has changed with Darrell Hair's one decision... more
Fletcher forced to ditch the multitaskers
Andrew Miller on the decision to drop Geraint Jones - a challenge to Duncan Fletcher's hitherto rigid orthodoxy?... more
England get their excuses ready
Michael Vaughan ruled out of the Ashes
If England's Ashes triumph in 2005 was a masterpiece of forward planning allied to extreme good fortune, then the return series in Australia is developing into the complete mirror-image... more
The Caribbean's massive undertaking
The World Cup in the West Indies
In the Caribbean, the magnitude of the task that awaits the region next March is slowly beginning to dawn. Too slowly for comfort, in the opinion of many observers. In seven months' time, the curtain will be raised on the ninth cricket World Cup, and at p... more
England are bridging the generation gap
The build-up to the 2006 international season
On Tuesday in South London, Kevin Pietersen was in his element - getting down with the kids on a housing estate in Peckham... more
A crisis of credibility
It matters that the ICC's tournaments matter, because if their credibility is fatally undermined, then the free-for-all that could follow will be to the detriment of the entire game... more
When glory got away
Australia in Bangladesh 2005-06
Andrew Miller on Bangladesh's struggles... more
From young dasher to mature leader
Andrew Miller looks back on Stephen Fleming's career as he reaches 100 Tests... more
'If our opponents are scared, that has to be a good sign'
Shaun Udal looks ahead to the season
Given that he's spent the best part of two decades on the county circuit, and endured almost 11 years between international assignments, it's no surprise that Shaun Udal's feet are firmly anchored to terra firma... more
Greed could kill Test cricket
Afridi's retirement is a hazard light ICC should not ignore
A rebellion is growing against the incessant demands of international cricket ... more
Who cares if the ship is sinking?
Another day, another defeat, another wave of deafening indifference. England and one-day cricket don't even pretend to mix at the moment... more
Scrapping in the Ring of Fire
No team can lay claim to greatness until they've turned in a good performance on the subcontinent, and yet, England have done just that, powered by a squad of reserves... more
Blackwell the man for the occasion
Why Ian Blackwell is the man to step into Ashley Giles's shoes... more
Aussie moralising smacks of double-standards
The behaviour of the Australian team
So how is it that the same team who grinned and bore it throughout the English summer are now being castigated Down Under for their lack of sportsmanlike behaviour?... more
Memories of a Rawalpindi riot
Memories of a Rawalpindi riot... more
A memorable bridge-building act
Andrew Miller's Pakistan tour diary - December 19 to December 21
Andrew Miller's diary from Pakistan for the week ending December 25... more
Back where we started
Andrew Miller's Pakistan tour diary - December 12 to December 18
Andrew Miller's diary from Pakistan for the week ending December 18... more
Kabbadi, football and ... biscuits
Andrew Miller's Pakistan tour diary - November 28 to December 4
Andrew Miller's diary from Pakistan for the week ending December 4... more
Holding out for a hero
Andrew Miller looks at Ian Botham and assess the impact he had on English cricket, both as a player and in the 12 years following his retirement... more
Peacockery, posturing and patriotism
Andrew Miller's Pakistan tour diary - November 21 to November 27
The crowd is invariably the best indicator of an occasion. And how they reacted to an explosion in the stands ...... more
Rana and Gatt and all that
Andrew Miller's Pakistan tour diary - November 14 to November 20
Andrew Miller's Pakistan diary for the week ending November 20... more
A nice cup of tea and a sit-down
Andrew Miller's Pakistan tour diary - November 7 to November 13
Andrew Miller's Pakistan diary for the week ending November 13... more
England's answer to the 'mystery-spinner'
First and foremost, however, Giles is here as a bowler, and potentially, a series-winning one as well... more
Cricket in Asia is supreme...sometimes
Andrew Miller's Pakistan tour diary - December 4 to December 11
Andrew Miller's diary from Pakistan for the week ending December 11... more
The perfect settings for a cricket match
Andrew Miller's Pakistan tour diary - October 31 to November 6
Andrew Miller's Pakistan diary for the week ending November 6... more
A very English night out
Andrew Miller's Pakistan tour diary - October 27 to October 30
Andrew Miller's Pakistan diary for the week ending October 30... more
Freddie goes to Pakistan
The perfect challenge for England's Ashes heroes
Six weeks on from the biggest party of their lives, England's newly anointed heroes are preparing to leave the celebrity circuit well behind, and get back to the day job... more
A damp squib rises from the Ashes
Andrew Miller is disappointed, but not surprised, by the lack of intensity in the Super Series... more
Faux-American ignominy
Farewell then, the NatWest Challenge. You will not be missed... more
Why 50-over cricket must go
Andrew Miller calls for the abolition of 50-over cricket... more
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