Cricket writing, from our own data
Cricket records, rules explained and notes on the daily puzzles. Written from our own dataset, never rewritten from a news site.
The forward defensive, and why every coach teaches it first
It is the least glamorous shot in cricket, and every attacking shot on the front foot turns out to be a version of it with the hands released through the ball.
The free hit rule, and why it costs far more than one run
A no-ball in white-ball cricket hands the batter a delivery on which only a run out can dismiss them, and in the last two overs it is worth several times the penalty run.
The run out at the bowler's end, and why it was renamed
It has been legal since 1947 and moved out of the unfair play section in 2022. The objection has never been to the Law, only to the manners around it.
The second new ball, and why captains do not always take it
A new ball becomes available at 80 overs and taking it straight away is frequently the wrong decision. What the captain is weighing is reverse swing against hardness.
Over rates, and the penalties that finally changed them
Sides bowled slowly for forty years because fines were cheaper than the advantage. It stopped when the penalty became points and fielders rather than money.
The pink ball, and what day-night Tests actually changed
A red ball is invisible under lights and a white one falls apart. The pink ball is the compromise, and it swings longer and makes twilight the hardest hour in cricket.
What an opening batter is actually for, format by format
The only position in cricket defined by what it faces rather than where it bats, and the job reverses completely between a Test match and a T20.
The sweep, the reverse sweep and the switch hit explained
Four shots that start from the same position and end up in four different places, all invented to send the ball where the fielders are not.
What a wicket is actually worth in each format
Ten wickets and a fixed number of balls produce completely different economies. In a Test a wicket is the only currency; in a T20 the tenth one is nearly worthless.
The World Test Championship points system, explained
Sides play very different numbers of Tests in a cycle, so the table ranks by percentage of points available rather than by points won. That one choice explains the rest.
The yorker, and why the best delivery is the hardest to land
The target is a strip of ground about a foot deep at the base of the stumps. A foot either side and it is the easiest ball in cricket to hit.
Virat Kohli by the numbers, and the chase that defined him
An ODI average above fifty built almost entirely in run chases, plus a Test captaincy that made India believe they could win away from home.