Nigel Henderson

Ricky Ponting has revealed that he was in the frame for the England cricket head coaching job which eventually went to Brendon McCullum.

Ricky Ponting has revealed that he was offered the job of England’s Test coach last year — ahead of Brendon McCullum. England lost the opening Test of the Ashes on Tuesday at Edgbaston, only their third defeat in 14 Tests since McCullum took charge in May last year.

One of the saddest things about the announcement of Ted Dexter’s death before the second morning at Headingley is that he did not live to enjoy these last two days of utter English dominance. A player who so imposed himself on the opposition that his confidence occasionally bordered on arrogance, he would no doubt have […]

Lower-order stands are one of the joys of cricket, particularly of the longer formats, in the way they subvert our understanding of the game; by outperforming their supposed superiors with the bat, tailenders break a taboo, provide an illicit thrill, like small boys giggling at a distant aunt’s funeral. As they develop, they create their […]

While Joe Root was quite obviously the headline act on the third day at Lord’s, perhaps the most noteworthy downpage stories were those authored by Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, although Root, who recorded a 22nd century of his own, contributed in a crucial way to their renaissance as Test cricketers as well. Between them […]

On as superstitious a date as Friday the 13th England rather incongruously exorcised some bowling demons with a display that brought them back into the second Test, even if familiar failings in the top order must have made their followers feel they were watching a scary movie on repeat. However, Rory Burns and Joe Root […]

Alarming as it might sound to most of us, the morning’s news reports that an Instagram poster claiming to be from the future had come to warn us of an impending alien invasion would have been music to the ears of Chris Silverwood, who might have been inclined to ask any little green men who […]

Many of the so-called traditionalists (pretty much anyone over 40) who raised objections to the Hundred’s implementation of a five-ball “over” – now entering the lexicon as a “set” or “block” when bunch of fives would surely be better when you consider the knockout blow to county cricket – we’re told in no uncertain terms […]

, Like a holiday pot-boiler you pick up in the resort and read through almost to the end only to discover the person who left it behind has inexplicably ripped out the final 30 pages, the hardy souls who optimistically made it down to Trent Bridge – and the millions following on various platforms elsewhere […]

The “crucial first hour” became a frustrating first hour and then a compelling second as England and India battled with each other and the weather for supremacy on the morning of the third day at Trent Bridge. But in the afternoon, as the changeable conditions temporarily eased and the watery apocalypse threatened for the whole […]

On the first day of Test cricket after the start of the Hundred not so much separated the tectonic plates under cricket’s consensus as ripped them a whole new label in geology, the five-day purist may have been alarmed by England’s top seven. They had reason to be as only the openers had faced a […]

India 217 & 170 (Rishabh 41; Southee 4-48, Boult 3-39, Jamieson 2-30) NZ 249 & 140-2 (Williamson 52*, Taylor 47*; Ashwin 2-17) It was entirely fitting that the two highest runscorers for New Zealand in Test cricket should be at the crease when their side officially became the finest Test team in the world. Kane […]

India 217 & 64-2 (Southee 2-17) New Zealand 249 (Conway 54, Williamson 49, Southee 30; Shami 4-76, Ishant 3-48) Bedevilled by bad weather and conditions suited to a number of quality seam bowlers who, when they are not taking wickets are at least keeping a tight lid on the scoring rate, the inaugural World Test […]

England 303 & 122-9 (Wood 29; Wagner 3-18, Henry 3-36) New Zealand 388 (Young 82, Conway 80, Taylor 80, Broad 4-48) Don’t let anyone tell you this New Zealand team does not deserve its place in the World Test Championship final. They are playing exceptional cricket at the moment. Through patience, technique, attention to detail […]

England 258-7 (Burns 81, Lawrence 67*; Boult 2-56, Henry 2-66, Patel 2-34) New Zealand may have sent pretty much their B team on to the Edgbaston outfield for the second Test but it mattered little as England had only brought their B game – and in the periods immediately after lunch and tea any examiners […]

Another day, another ethical dilemma. Salman Butt, the former Pakistan batsman who was sent to prison and banned from cricket for 10 years for his part in the spot-fixing scandal of 2010, is reported to be seeking a new career as a match referee. At face value, it does appear to be one of those […]

Pakistan cricket fans looks set to be denied television coverage of their white-ball series in England later in the summer after the country’s cabinet refused to do a deal with the Indian broadcaster that has the rights to the series. According to the Hindustan Times and other outlets the ongoing political tensions between the two […]

The last thing Ollie Robinson needed as he mulls over being disbarred from the England cricket team indefinitely for writing abusive and racist tweets as a teenager is the support of Boris Johnson. The British Prime Minister’s dubious views on race and various other isms may not appear on Twitter but they have adorned the […]

New Zealand 378 and 62-2 England 275 (Burns 132, Robinson 42, Root 42; Southee 6-43) New Zealand’s tightly-honed cricket intelligence met English largesse on the fourth morning of the first Test at Lord’s and proved the superior method as Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson, swing bowlers at very different stages of their careers, gave the […]

New Zealand 246-3 (Conway 136*, Nicholls 46*; Robinson 2-50) There had been much talk about England’s inexperienced line-up in the build-up to the first Test but it was the newest of New Zealand’s recruits who stole the show on the first day at Lord’s. Devon Conway, preferred to Will Young and Tom Blundell to share […]