Over the next few days we will be featuring the stories of that legendary triumverate of Barbadian batsmen, the three Ws – Martin begins with Sir Frank Worrell.
Martin Chandler - ARTICLES
In the wake of the England captain’s recent retirement from all forms of the game Martin reflects on the news, and draws a few parallels with a previous holder of that esteemed office.
It would seem from this week’s review that the old adage “Form is temporary, class is permanent” applies just as appropriately to writing about the game as playing it.
Being an England supporter has never been easy. There have always been ups and downs, often difficult to foresee, and the Ashes summer of 1997 is a classic example. In this feature Martin remembers the early part of that series.
Kevin Pietersen has recently learnt the same lesson Ciss Parkin learned 88 years ago, that upsetting the England cricketing establishment has never yet ended well for the player concerned.
Copies of some books that are published on the sub-continent can be tricky to track down – did this title about Shahid Afridi reward the effort Martin put in to find it?
After the Oval England will be looking for inspiration for this week’s second Test. Perhaps, as with Devon Malcolm in 1994, they might even be gifted it by the South Africans.
This week Martin reviews a new biography of an all-rounder who was at the heart of England’s all conquering side of the 1950s.
As Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis inexorably advance South Africa’s lead at the Oval Martin looks at how England distracted the media from another majestic South African performance, back in 1994.
Few cricket books can properly be described as bestsellers, but they do come round occasionally, and this week Martin reviews one from last year.