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Latest blog posts from Different Shades of Green

Crisis Mentality
I haven't been posting much since the English international season ended in August. It's partly been a product of the desire to do other things after more than two years of crazed writing, partly because there didn't seem to be that much happening, and partly as a result of the type of... Read more...
Published 2 days ago

Autumn Questions
Travelling back from London on the train late yesterday afternoon, with the sky darkening and the wind getting up after a truly sublime weekend's weather, it was hard to avoid the feeling that autumn was setting in. Of course, another sign that time's moving on is the fact that the English... Read more...
Published a week ago

Life in the Old Dog
I'm going away for the weekend tomorrow to London and Hertfordshire - beer will be drunk and rugby will be watched - so I made sure I got along to the County Ground in Taunton for the first day of the match against Lancashire yesterday.br /br /Two things stood out - one a mature piece of defiance... Read more...
Published 2 weeks ago

Hard Frost
Whatever people think about it, English county cricket continues to throw up good stories.br /br /For me, comfortably the best of this season has to be that of Tony Frost.br /br /Tony Frost, of Warwickshire, was a journeyman wicket-keeper who quit the game at the end of 2006 and went to work on... Read more...
Published 3 weeks ago

Going Quietly
It was a pity - certainly for all those people who'd chosen to travel in search of the end of an era - to find Graeme Hick invalided out of his final game in first-class cricket with a recurrence of the elbow problem which has punctuated his last season. br /br /Some photos on Cricinfo this... Read more...
Published 3 weeks ago

In the Swing
A nice post by Mark over at a href="http://reverseswingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/09/contractual-obligation.html"The Reverse Swing Manifesto/a.br /br /I agree with Mark's views on Vaughan. I should think that the decision to renew his England contract probably went through on the nod as those... Read more...
Published 4 weeks ago

Crash Hot
With the international season over and much of the country under water, now seems like a good time to take stock of where England stand.br /br /As most of us have observed over the last few weeks, things are obviously looking a lot better than they were, but you only have to go back to the... Read more...
Published a month ago

A Worcester Institution
a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HSOYCkr9mUM/SL2IEKdIlgI/AAAAAAAAAIY/C2fy-qAgR3U/s1600-h/WorcsNor007.jpg"img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HSOYCkr9mUM/SL2IEKdIlgI/AAAAAAAAAIY/C2fy-qAgR3U/s400/WorcsNor007.jpg" border="0"... Read more...
Published a month ago

Going Right
When I got back from a weekend away yesterday at 2.35, I turned on the TV in the expectation of a whole afternoon and evening's cricket. Herschelle Gibbs had just been dismissed but there didn't seem to be any reason at that stage to believe that things would turn out as they did.br /br /It was... Read more...
Published a month ago

Those Who Can, Do. Those Who Can't, Write About It
I thought a href="http://content-www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/365007.html"this/a was interesting.br /br /I agree with some of what Ryan says - Brearley and Atherton are both fine writers - but I think he might have been better off keeping his powder dry.br /br /While it's easy... Read more...
Published 2 months ago

Striking Fear
For me, the highlight of the D'Oliveira Trophy series was Graeme Smith's epic at Edgbaston, while I also really enjoyed the contributions of Prince, de Villiers and Amla. South Africa were worthy winners and will surely provide us with some rich entertainment when they take on Australia over six... Read more...
Published 2 months ago

Jimmy Jimmy
Whatever happens at The Oval - and with some decent breaks in the weekend weather they ought to win - the post mortems on England's home Test season will soon be under way.br /br /There'll be a few ticks in the minus column but one definite plus has to be the form and consistency shown by James... Read more...
Published 2 months ago