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.
Strike rate means nothing without the format beside it
A strike rate of 75 is exceptional in one format and unplayable in another. What the number measures, what it ignores, and the only way to read it.
Why there is no money in WicketYaari, and never will be
No entry fees, no prizes, no wallet, no accounts required. The law that made it necessary, and the reasons we would have chosen it anyway.
Sourav Ganguly by the numbers, and the one that gets left out
113 Tests, 7,212 runs and an average of 42.17, next to a captaincy record that those batting figures completely fail to explain. Both are true.
Eden Gardens 2001 — what the scorecard actually says
India followed on 274 runs behind and won the Test by 171. The scorecard explains how they did it, and it is stranger than the highlights suggest.
The history of cricket in ten moments that actually changed it
Not a list of famous matches. Ten points where the sport itself became something different, from the first Test to the T20 money that rewrote the calendar.
How lbw actually works in cricket, decision by decision
Leg before wicket is four questions asked in a fixed order, and most arguments about it are really arguments about which question the umpire stopped at.
Every way a batter can be out, including the ones nobody sees
Ten methods exist in the Laws. Four account for almost everything, three are rare, and three have been given so seldom they are trivia.
The Decision Review System explained, step by step
What happens between a player tapping out a T and a decision appearing on the screen, including why umpire's call exists and who really owns a review.
Test, ODI and T20: what actually differs beyond the overs
The three formats are not the same game at different lengths. The ball, the fields, the value of a wicket and the point of an innings all change.
How the Ashes got its name, and why the urn is tiny
A satirical obituary in a London newspaper in 1882 invented the most durable rivalry in sport, and the trophy everyone pictures has never been the trophy.
Bodyline, and the only Law ever changed by a diplomatic cable
England's 1932 plan to contain Don Bradman was legal, effective and so contentious that two governments got involved and the Laws were rewritten.
Bowling economy rate explained, and why part overs mislead
Runs per over sounds like the simplest statistic in cricket. The arithmetic trips people up, and the number means three different things in three formats.