Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 78 i Wisden Cricket Monthly

JUST CHAMPION The Championship has been great this term. The Kookaburra ball experiment gave it an added layer of early-season intrigue, England's Test players have played a lot, Ben Stokes is back taking wickets, Zak Crawley is making either binary scores or run-a-ball double hundreds, Essex remain a wonder of small-town, big-time ambition, and Surrey, perhaps the most complete county red-ball outfit I've ever seen, won four on the spin before losing by an innings and 278 runs - their biggest defeat in Championship history - against a Hampshire side they'd humiliated a few weeks before. With just two points separating Surrey and Essex at the top, the best two teams from the last half-decade look to be going hard again. Both clubs are impressive, driving memberships and breaking attendance…

@BoothCricket Shooting from the hip with one hand while keeping powder dry with the other, the Professional Cricketers' Association recently strove for a near-impossible balance - and almost succeeded. At stake was a subject as old as the hills, yet couched in the modern vernacular. Playing too much cricket, went the argument, can be bad for your mental health. And when you factor in the late drive home after a floodlit T20, it may even prove fatal. The phrase “not fit for purpose” has lost some impact since its first high-profile use in 2006, when home secretary John Reid criticised the Home Office. But when it forms part of a public statement fronted by Joe Root, you know the PCA mean business. Statistics derived from pre-season conversations with players from…

NEXT MATCHES: Leics, T20 (A), June 7; Birmingham, T20 (A), June 8; Leics, T20 (H), June 12; Notts, T20 (A), June 15; Lancs, T20 (H), June 16: Yorks, T20 (H), June 21; Essex, CC (A), June 23-26; Worcs, CC (H), June 30-July 3; Worcs, T20 (H), July 5; Northants, T20 (A), July 7 Bedingham makes it four in a row “I honestly think he's as good as I've seen,” says Scott Borthwick, Durham's skipper. “He's an extraordinary player.” Borthwick is a veteran of more than 450 professional games. He has played alongside some of cricket's modern greats, among them Kumar Sangakkara and current teammate Ben Stokes. But it is David Bedingham whom Borthwick, speaking immediately after Durham's shellacking of Somerset, is referring to. In making a 103-ball century in his…

NEXT MATCHES: Hants, T20 (H), June 7; Sussex,T20 (H), June 9: Surrey, T20 (A), June 14; kent, T20 (A), June 16; Glam, T20 (A), June 20: Somerset, T20 (H), June 21: Yorks, CC (A), June 23-26; Glam, CC (H), June 30-July 3; kent, T20 (H), July 5; Somerset, T20 (A), July 7 Aussie duo get Gloucester moving Securing the services of the two leading batters in lastwinter's Sheffield Shield is the sort of move one expects from a title-chasing, asset-rich, Test-hosting team. But Gloucestershire, a county caught in the swirling winds of financial strife who finished bottom of the pile last year? Surely not? In announcing that Beau Webster would be joining fellow Australian Cameron Bancroft at Bristol, that is precisely what they have managed. Coup times two. Mark Alleyne:…

NEXT MATCHES: Birmingham, T20 (H), June 7; Notts, T20 (A), June 9; Leics, T20 (A), June 14; Durham, T20 (A), June 16; Yorks, T20 (A), June 20: Kent, CC (A), June 23-26; Notts, CC (H), June 30-July 3; Northants, T20 (A), July 5; Worcs, T20 (H), July 7 Lancs find rhythm after sluggish start A difficult first block of Championship cricket finished on a high for Lancashire with a first win of the season coming against Durham before rain ruined any chance of a result against Warwickshire. Lancs sit ninth at the halfway stage of the season, a disappointing return for a county who would have been hoping to mount a title challenge. “I think we're disappointed on the whole,” said Mark Chilton, the club's director of cricket performance. “I…

NEXT MATCHES: Worcs, T20 (H), June 7; Derby, T20 (A), June 14; Worcs, T20 (A), June 16; Birmingham, T20 (A), June 20; Leics, T20 (H), June 21; Glam, CC (A), June 23-26; Sussex, CC (H), June 30-July 3; Lancs, T20 (11), July 5; Durham T20 (H) July 7. Gay lays down a marker It's been a frustrating season so far for promotion hopefuls Northants, who were still waiting for their first Championship win when the focus switched to the Blast. Six draws and a heavy defeat to Gloucestershire left them 18 points off the promotion places after seven matches, but there have been encouraging performances from their batting unit, not least Ricardo Vasconcelos, who has bounced back from a torrid 2023 to post two hundreds, including a match-saving 129* against…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Sussex, T20 (H), June 7; Gloucs, T20 (H), June 14; Sussex, T20 (A), June 15; Middx, T20 (A), June 20; Glam, T20 (H), June 21; Worcs, CC (A), June 23-26; Essex, CC (H), June 30-July 3; Middx, T20 (H), July 5; Kent, T20 (H), July 7 Record defeat stalls Surrey's serene progress It was all looking so easy for Surrey. Chasing a third consecutive title, the defending champions recorded four comfortable wins on the bounce after adding a nine-wicket victory against Warw ickshire and a 281-run win againstWorcestershire to innings demolitions of Kent and Hampshire. It was the return to the Dukes ball from round three that saw Surrey hit their stride after drawing their opening two fixtures. Whilst it had been the spin of…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Notts, T20 (A), June 6; Northants, T20 (A), June 7; Leics, T20 (A), June 9; Notts, T20 (H), June 14; Northants, T20 (H), June 16; Birmingham, T20 (H), June 21; Surrey, CC (H), June 23-26; Durham, CC (A), June 30-July 3; Durham, T20 (A), July 5 Lancs, T20 (A), July 7 Pears mourn the loss of Josh Baker The day began like any other. Henry Cullen. Worcestershire's young wicketkeeper, drove to collect his teammate ahead of the final morning of a 2nd XI clash with Somerset. Except Josh Baker answered neither the door nor Cullen's calls. Baker's dad could not get hold of him either and told Cullen to head to the ground - his son would follow him there. Except, tragically, Baker did not.…

TIM WIGMORE Journalist for The Telegraph and author of books including Crlckonomics @timwig HOW THE TOURNAMENT WORKS • 55 matches will be played across 29 days in nine venues (Antigua. Barbados, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent, Trinidad, Florida, New York and Texas), beginning with co-hosts USA taking on Canada on June 1 at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas • The 20 teams have been divided into four groups of five, with the top two in each group then progressing to the Super Eights • The remaining eight teams will be split into two groups of four, with the top two in each group qualifying for the semi-finals • The final will take place at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on June 29 “A stadium-wide flutter of expectancy as the…

At the heart of Uganda's flag is the country's national bird, the Crested Crane, Surrounded by red, black, and yellow stripes, the bird can be seen standing tall, hovering on one leg, almost as if in motion. It signifies that Uganda is a country moving forward, and their national men's cricket team, nicknamed the Cricket Cranes, is a case in point. The team reached their dream destination after overcoming established powerhouses in their region to qualify for the T20 World Cup, the firstWorld Cup appearance in the cricket team's history. “Most of our national teams carry the cranes name in one form or another,” Uganda's captain Brian Masaba tells WCM. “For us, it's a reminder of what we play for and who we play for.” He says that extends beyond…

MARK BUTCHER Former England batter who made 71 Test appearances @markbutcher72 It was a brave call from the England management to signal the end of Jimmy Anderson's career. It was a decision they would have been mulling over and one they were going to have to make at some stage - I don't think Jimmy was going to retire off his own back. It's a very difficult thing to walk away from - the whole theatre of playing international cricket, that buzz you get on day one of a Test match, it's something you can't replicate. Very few players get the chance to call time on their own career, most have it ended for them through lack of form or injury. And so if you're still in great shape and…

The Wisden Club Cricket Hall of Fame It wasn't too often the strapping Folkestone CC stalwart Jim Howgego was compared to his fellow opener Sunil Gavaskar, yet both men were the first to pass 10,000 runs in their respective echelons: the Kent Cricket League (est. 1971) and Test cricket (est. 1877). Where the diminutive Sunny G was a nimble dancer, springing back to cut and pull and forward to clip through the leg-side, Howgego was a big front-dogger who whacked it through the off-side. “I hardly hit a run off my legs,” he says. “But I was aggressive. If I got in trouble, I'd go down the wicket.” This proto-Bazballian running toward the danger was seen first-hand by future England seamer Ed Giddins in 1997 when he turned out for…

Books CRICKET IN 50 BOOKS 4. THE CRICKETERS OF MY TIME BY JOHN NYREN (IN COLLOBORATION WITH CHARLES COWDEN CLARKE) (COLUMN 1832; BOOK 1833) Our tour of village cricket has so far taken in a short story, a novel and a film screenplay. It ends this month with a serialised memoir which became the sacred reference point for “simple and homely yeomen” from the “unfrequented villages of England” gracing their “noble green”. But if John Nyren's The Cricketers of My Time (CoMT) established the myth that the Hampshire village of Hambledon was the cradle of cricket, it would not be stretching things very far to suggest that Hambledon became the first cricket franchise and that its “great matches” became the first cricket circus. CoMT has long been accorded classic status. The…

MARK RAMPRAKASH Former England batter and current Middlesex batting coach @MarkRamprakash The ECB have made their intentions crystal clear. They want to secure private investment in The Hundred and are ready to sell their 49 per cent stake in the eight teams in order to do so. Last month, they received “non-binding” support from the 18 counties and MCC - who would retain a 51 per cent stake in the teams - to forge ahead with their plans. It has been reported that the ECB hope to raise upwards of £500m. There are still so many unanswered questions regarding where the investment will come from and where the money will be spent. Labour MP John Spellar has called for government intervention to ensure “full public accountability”, arguing the proposal “looks…

ISSUE 78 Considering their status as global cricket's powerhouse, the BCCI don't half phone it in sometimes. You'd think, when recruiting for the role of head coach of the India men's team, the application process might be a bit more refined than a two-page pdf job description and a Google Form to fill out if you're interested, but no. Though that does at least offer some insight into the kind of qualities needed to helm one of the world's highest-profile sports teams. Of particular note was that the operating environment would bring with it the “pressures associated with handling marquee athletes”, which feels like an artful way of saying “Stay out of Virat's way”. If you're reading this, you've missed the cut-off for submissions, but we do know something about…

LETTERS We reserve the right to edit letters for length and clarity LETTER OF THE MONTH ★ The Wizard's final spell? Amid all the talk and tributes paid to the great Jimmy Anderson, who recently announced his retirement from Test cricket, there was much talk as to who could take his place. The names tumbled like a waterfall: Tongue, Potts, Carse, Porter, Cook, Stone, Pennington. This was in addition to the other 'certs', players such as Wood, Archer and Robinson. However, most of the media ignored the long-suffering Chris Woakes, the player of the 2024 Ashes, lest we forget, with 19 wickets at 18 apiece. In many ways it was ever thus; the media almost totally ignoring his skills, with Woakes often included in the England team only as an…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Glam, T20 (H), June 7; Middx, T20 (A), June 13; Sussex, T20 (H), June 14; Hants, T20 (H), June 20; Kent, T20 (A), June 21; Durham, CC (H), June 23-26; Surrey, CC (A), June 30-July 3; Somerset, T20 (H), July 5; Glam, T20 (A), July 7 All Cook needs is a chance Essex's title charge is in full swing after back-to-back wins against Warwickshire and Kent meant that at the end of the first block of Championship cricket, they and leaders Surrey each had four wins, two draws and a loss. Sam Cook continued to press his case to be the heir to Anderson, although suffered what is hoped to be only a minor hamstring injury in Essex's innings win over Kent. The 26-year-old's first-class…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Gloucs, T20 (A), June 7; Somerset, T20 (A), June 9; Glam, T20 (A), June 13; Middx, T20 (H), June 14; Essex, T20 (A), June 20; Sussex, T20 (H), June 21; Warks, CC (A), June 23-26; Kent, CC (H), June 30-July 3; Middx, T20 (A), July 6; Sussex, T20 (A), July 10 Hants join the race An excellent month for Hampshire saw them record back-to-back victories over Nottinghamshire and Surrey and change the tone of their season after a winless opening five matches. Unsurprisingly, the upturn in form coincided with the return of Keith Barker, who had missed the start of the season with injury. The veteran bowling all-rounder made a vital 74 in the low-scoring win against Notts, before playing a backseat role in Hampshire's…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Durham, T20 (H), June 7; Worcs, T20 (A), June 9; Durham, T20 (A), June 12; Lancs, T20 (H), June 14; Yorks, T20 (H), June 16: Northants, T20 (A), June 21; Sussex, CC (A), June 23-26; Middx, CC (H), June 30-July 3: Notts, T20 (A), July 5; Derby, T20 (H), July 6 Currie brings spice to Foxes attack At the halfway point of the Championship campaign, Leicestershire's season has been neither one thing nor the other. They remain in contention for promotion, nestled in third, nine points behind second-placed Middlesex, but are yet to win a match. They haven't lost one either. The Foxes' seven consecutive draws are in part a consequence of the weather, but a timid bowling attack hasn't helped their cause. Of their…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Worcs, T20 (H), June 6; Derby, T20 (A), June7; Lancs, T20 (H), June 9; Worcs, T20 (A), June 14; Durham, T20 (H), June 15; Derby, T20 (H), June 21; Somerset, CC (H), June 23-26; Lancs, CC (A), June 30-July 3; Leics, T20 (H), July 5; Birmingham, T20 (H), July 7 Pennington breaks through Dillon Pennington is this year's bolter. A product of Worcestershire, he was one of three players to move from New Road to Trent Bridge over the winter alongside fellow quick Josh Tongue and batter Jack Haynes. After taking 24 wickets at 23.83 for his new county, the 6ft 4in seamer is the newest toy on the shelf that has England fans giddy, with Rob Key namechecking the 25-year-old as a possible Test…

GROUP A CANADA Captain: Saad Bin Zafar Coach: Pubudu Dassanayake T20I ranking: 23 Best T20 World Cup: First appearance Key player: Aaron Johnson - the 33-year-old Jamaica-born opener blitzed 121* from 59 balls against Panama at the Americas qualifying tournament last October, breaking his own record for the highest T20I score by a Canadian. Best backstory: Jeremy Gordon - having made his first-class debut for Guyana back in 2007, the 37-year-old fast bowler emigrated to Toronto and has become the spearhead of the Canadian attack. His spell of 3-6 in the qualifier final against Bermuda secured Canada's first-ever appearance at a T20 World Cup. WCM prediction: 5th in group IRELAND Captain: Paul Stirling Coach: Heinrich Malan T20I ranking: 11 Best T20 World Cup: Super 8s in 2009 Key player: Josh Little - a fiery…

POWER HITTING CAMERON PONSONBY Freelance sportswriter @cameronponsonby Julian Wood is a man ahead of his time. A power-hitting specialist before power-hitting was a thing. He even, with a fair amount of credibility, lays claim to having invented the phrase itself. He's worked with the best in the game and cites Liam Livingstone, Carlos Brathwaite and Jonny Bairstow as the best six-hitters to have been on the receiving end of his dogstick. And now it's my turn. “I reckon,“ I say as I nervously pad up, “that I might be about to be the worst player you've ever worked with.” “Probably,“ comes the reply. Wood's kitbag is the cricketing equivalent of Q's lab in James Bond. Heavy bats and light bats. Heavy balls and light balls. Bungee cords, medicine balls, a…

Everton Weekes, 1948 7 Tests, 878 runs at 87.80, 5 hundreds Club Cricket Conference v West Indians Hawker's Sports Ground, Kingston-upon-Thames April 28, 1950 PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN Thrust into the West Indies team after only 10 first-class appearances, Weekes failed to make a score of note in the first three Tests of England's 1948 tour of the Caribbean and was set to be dropped for the fourth in Kingston before an eleventh-hour injury to George Headley saw him reinstated. Arriving late to the ground, he was booed by the home crowd after replacing local favourite John Holt, who had been fielding in his place, and later dropped on nought by Godfrey Evans. But by day three the West Indies had a new batting hero, the 23-year-old making a dazzling century to…

Send in your answers via email (editorial@wisden.com) or via post (Time Warp, Wisden Cricket Monthly, Fourth Floor, Bedser Stand, Kia Oval, Kennington, London, SE11 5SS). Entries must be received by July 1, 2024 5 years ago… On June 18, 2019, which player broke the record for the most sixes in an ODI innings, clearing the ropes on 17 occasions at Old Trafford? 2. 10 years ago… On June 24, 2014, who was dismissed from the penultimate ball of the Headingley Test to give Sri Lanka a dramatic series win over England? 3. 15 years ago… On June 19, 2009, who became the first player to carry their bat in a men's T20I after making 63* from 50 balls in the World T20 semi-final between West Indies and Sri Lanka at…

No. 3: The Great Western Hotel Southampton A few years ago I bought a page from the hotel register of the Great Western Hotel Southampton. Why would I do that? Well, it was from Friday August 8,1902, and it was signed by 10 of the Australian tourists and their manager. This was the second day of the Australians' match against Hampshire, which the visitors won in two days by an innings. I do not know if they were staying at the hotel, or dining there to celebrate. The page has the autographs of some of the most celebrated Australian cricketers of all time, including Syd Gregory, Monty Noble, Clem Hill, Jack Saunders, Warwick Armstrong ('The Big Ship'), Ernie Jones (who is supposed to have bowled a ball which went through…

ANDREW MILLER Wisden Cricket Monthly columnist, UK editor of ESPNcricinfo and former editor of The Cricketer @miiler_cricket “I did get offered the role of political adviser to Liz Truss…” I'd like to claim that nothing surprises me about Monty Panesar anymore, but he's caught me on the hop with this revelation. “No, no… it's a joke!” he quickly adds, recognising my astonishment. “We both lasted nine days…” The good news is that he sees the funny side of last month's bizarre political dalliance. The bad news is that he still doesn't seem to grasp quite how serious his misadventure could have been. Can anyone save Monty from himself? Would he even notice if no one tried? Fortunately - in another gratifying sign that cricket's close-knit community does know when to…

@mroller98 For more than a decade, 263 was the Indian Premier League's magic number. The highest total in the league's history, it was set in 2013 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, when Chris Gayle - who hit 175 of them on his own - was at his peak. It was a freak event, an outlier that appeared impossible to surpass But after the 2024 edition, in which records were obliterated like an explosion at a vinyl factory, that score is no longer even on the podium: it now sits fifth in the list of highest IPL scores, in which eight of the top nine were set this season. Across the season, teams scored at an average of 9.56 runs per over - up from 8.99, the previous benchmark, in 2023. Kolkata…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Notts, T20 (H), June 7; Yorks, T20 (A), June 9; Northants, T20 (H), June 14; Birmingham, T20 (H), June 16; Notts, T20 (A), June 21; Middx, CC (A), June 23-26; Yorks, CC (H), June 30-July 3; Leics,T20 (A), July 6; Yorks, T20 (H), July 7 Lamb earns his chops Bottom of the pile at the halfway point in the Championship season, Derbyshire's winless run stretched to 24 matches after May brought an innings defeat to Sussex and draws with Northants and Gloucestershire. The first of those draws was a backs-to-the-wall effort which went down to the final ball of the match with Derbyshire nine wickets down; Anuj Dal, who made 31* from 139 balls, fending off the Northants attack after Zak Chappell's enterprising 72. But…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Middx, T20 (A), June 6; Essex, T20 (A), June 7; Hants, T20 (H), June 13; Somerset, T20 (A), June 16; Gloucs, T20 (H), June 20; Surrey, T20 (A), June 21; Northants, CC (H), June 23-26; Gloucs, CC (A), June 30-July 3; Sussex, T20 (A), July 5; Essex, T20 (H), July 7 Ingram's red-ball renaissance Having waited 364 days for a Championship win, Glamorgan eventually broke their duck against the Division Two leaders Sussex, recovering from 41-4 in their first innings to stroll to a nine-wicket victory at Cardiff. They were indebted to a club record fifth-wicket stand of 315 between Kiran Carlson, who signed a contract extension a few days later, and Colin Ingram, the 38-year-old South African enjoying an Indian summer against the red…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Somerset, T20 (H), June 7: Middx, T20 (H), June 9; Somerset, T20 (A), June 14: Gloucs, T20 (H), June 16; Sussex, T20 (A), June 20; Essex, T20 (H), June 21; Lancs, CC (H), June 23-26; Hants, CC (A), June 30-July 3; Gloucs, T20 (A), July 5; Surrey, T20 (A), July 7 Crawley shows his class Kent finished the first block of Championship cricket bottom of Division One after one win, three draws and three losses from their opening seven fixtures. With the bat, Kent have performed decently, with new captain Daniel Bell-Drummond making two centuries and four fifties, but their bowlers have struggled. Aussie fast bowler Wes Agar, with 12 wickets at 34.25, boasts the lowest bowling average at the club, with only Matt Parkinson…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Glam, T20 (H), June 6; Kent, T20 (A), June 9; Somerset, T20 (H), June 11; Essex, T20 (H), June 13; Hants, T20 (A), June 14; Surrey, T20 (H), June 20; Derby, CC (H), June 23-26; Leics, CC (A), June 30-July 3; Surrey, T20 (A), July 5; Hants, T20 (H), July 6 Higgins leads batting revival Middlesex will be heartened by their red-ball returns so far this summer, five draws and two hard-fought victories leaving them in second place at the midpoint of the Championship campaign. The nerve-shredding win at Cardiff in mid-May was the sort of match that can define a season, Jack Davies (22*) and Tom Helm (25*) steering the Seaxes to their target of 213 with two wickets and only a handful of…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: kent, T20 (A), June 7; Hants, T20 (H), June 9; Middx, T20 (A), June 11; Kent, T20 (H), June 14; Glam, T20 (H), June 16; Gloucs, T20 (A), June 21; Notts, CC (A), June 23-26; Warks, CC (H), June 30-July 3; Essex, T20 (A), July 5; Gloucs, T20 (H), July 7 Somerset singing to Banton's tune Tom Banton is Somerset's dressing room DJ and, according to insiders, is currently obsessed with the music of cricket-loving Barbadian Rihanna. For much of April and May, her smash-hit Umbrella was a fitting accompaniment to the rain-affected calendar. But as Banton and James Rew shared a 205-run stand in Somerset's victory over Kent at Taunton in mid-May the song's chorus felt more apt. “When the sun shines, we shine…

THE COUNTY FILES NEXT MATCHES: Lancs, T20 (A), June 7; Durham, T20 (H), June 8; Yorks, T20 (H), June 14; Derby, T20 (A), June 16; Northants, T20 (H), June 20; Worcs, T20 (A), June 21; Hants, CC (H), June 23-26; Somerset, CC (A), June 30-July 3; Yorks, T20 (A), July 5; Notts, T20 (A), July 5 Yates emerges as all-round package Aged 22, Rob Yates was on top of the world. He'd scored five centuries in Warwickshire's title-winning season of 2021 and was called up by England Lions that winter. However, a collapse in form the following season has sent him on a journey of rediscovery. Have passed 50 just four times across the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Yates is back in the runs. He averages 53 this season and…

It's a little over five years since WCM sat down with Jofra Archer for an exclusive interview at the County Ground in Hove. Three weeks after we met, the Barbados-born fast bowlerwould become eligible to represent England, fast-tracked after the ECB had conveniently cut their seven-year qualification period to three. It was the worst kept secret in English cricket that Archer, then 23, would be parachuted into Eoin Morgan's World Cup squad, but our interview was only agreed to on the condition that he wouldn't be asked about the forthcoming tournament or the Ashes. He was polite but diffident, only really coming to life when playing with Chris Jordan's French bulldog on the outfield or talking about the family and life he'd left behind in the Caribbean. Two months out…

MINING FOR GOLD In association with Nº 4 Is James Anderson England's greatest? ROB SMYTH Author and freelance sportswriter A bowling average is a rare example of something you want to ratchet down rather than up. James Anderson spent most of his career straining to improve an average which, going into the summer of 2010, sat at 35 after 46 Tests. It eventually dropped below 30 during his greatest performance, the Homeric 10-for against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2013, and sits at 26.52 going into his final Test. The more literal stats perverts will dismiss Anderson's case to be England's best bowler simply because his average is very good rather than great. It puts him in the same ballpark as some very fine quick bowlers: Andy Roberts, John Snow,…