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Articles Written by Peter Roebuck

Peter Roebuck cricket journalist

Peter wrote about cricket like no other. Most say that his newspaper articles were the pinnacle of his writing, as he would just wing them off in his peerless prose, dissecting his subjects with his unique style.

Below is a collection of his articles written for the Melbourne newspaper The Age; the Sydney Morning Herald; and ESPN Cricinfo. Following this link you can find all the articles Peter Roebuck wrote for espncricinfo.com.

Josh Hazlewood

Forward-thinking Attitude Typified by the Teenager from Tamworth

24 December 2009. Two splendid pieces of bowling by two fine prospects were the highlight of a hard-fought 50-over match between old rivals played on a helpful surface. Between them Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson took a stack of wickets and thereby gave heart to those worried that the pace bowling stocks are running low. […]

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Mark Taylor

Courageous Captain Sets Record Straight

17th October 1998. Mark Taylor has joined Sir Donald Bradman as the highest scorer in a Test in the 115-year history of Australian cricket. They sit beside each other in the lists, a mountainous score bringing together two men with little in common save an innate determination to keep going. No-one, not Warwick Armstrong or […]

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Shane Warne

The Most Beautiful Moment the Game has Known

July 2005. A book could be written about Shane Warne’s first ball in Ashes cricket. Famously, it was the ball of the century, delivered with a rip of the fingers and snap of the wrist that sent the ball burning through the air and made it curl to leg before bouncing and turning prodigiously past […]

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Kieron Pollard bowling

Visitors Sparked to Life, While Hosts get a Pass Mark

14 January 2010. Australian cricket has had another rewarding season. Certainly, the campaign has surpassed modest expectations. Everyone began with the sort of glum expression detected in lemon-tasters. Even marketeers with shiny faces were hard-pressed to muster any enthusiasm. Little was expected from visiting teams placed sixth and seventh in the rankings. Poor wretches, they […]

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Peter Siddle

Versatility Now Australia’s Major Weapon

Australia has continued its slow dismantling of a fitful visiting team. Pakistan put up a fight on the third day, forming notable alliances for the fifth and 10th wickets and only between times suffering the sort of hot-headedness that has been its undoing. Accordingly the Australians were forced to work harder than expected to reinforce […]

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Phillip Hughes in the nets

When Phillip Hughes Announced Himself as a Special Talent

Phillip Hughes emerged as a rare talent when he scored centuries against South Africa in both innings of his second Test in 2009. Durban: Phillip Hughes is a tough, pesky 20-year-old lefty from the sticks who bats and lives by his own lights. Australia’s new opening batsman scores an awful lot of runs in any […]

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Steve Waugh

The Many Faces of Steve Waugh

2002. In his most candid interview ever, ‘Ice Man’ Steve Waugh talks to Peter Roebuck about everything from backyard cricket and his parents to car-jacking. Steve, I first saw you play in Sydney for CHS… in ’83, I reckon. What type of person were you? Actually, you’d met me before that. You coached me during […]

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Chris Gayle

West Indies can Draw Inspiration from Test

9 December 2009. The West Indies can take considerable pride from their performance in Adelaide. Ordinarily, moral victories are little use to man or beast. A draw is a draw is a draw. Moreover, Australia has retained the Frank Worrell Trophy and flies to Perth one-up in the series. All things considered, though, it was […]

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Sachin Tendulkar

In Perth a Star is Born

3 February 1992. Sometimes it is a privilege simply to be there. Perth yesterday was one such occasion. To see Sachin Tendulkar batting was, for two hours, to be transported from our humdrum world and taken to a distant land, a land of magic, an impossible land in which a boy of 18 summers can […]

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Chris Gayle

Get a Grip – Lefties’ Success is a Right-handed Compliment

11 November 2006. Everyone has been batting the wrong way around. Right-handers ought to take guard as southpaws and vice versa. The reason is simple. Cricket is a top-handed game. Moreover, both hands have roles to play. Most racquet games are played one-handed. As far as batting is concerned, the dominant paw ought to take […]

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Yuvraj Singh

No Auto-pilot in Twenty20

7th May 2009. The difference Warne and Dhoni have made to their sides proves that captains are paramount, even in the shortest format. Captains run cricket teams. It’s an old adage that has not lost any of its force. Cricket is different from other games. Rugby, hockey and soccer players spend most of their time […]

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Shane Warne bowling

IPL is a Mixed Blessing

23 April 2011. IPL’s fourth edition has been going along at a rollicking pace. Packed grounds, excited spectators, new teams and vibrant contests have been its hallmarks. The sight of Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the scoring list, too, confirms that truly great cricketers can meet all challenges. Suffice it to say that IPL […]

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Kumar Sangakkara

Inspiration is Sport’s Primary Purpose

16 April 2011. Never underestimate sport’s ability to inspire. Certainly it also provides opportunity and entertainment. It is, too, an outlet for youthful energies that might otherwise be directed into less savoury activities. Now and then a noted sportsman stoops but it’s a small price to pay. Overwhelmingly sport takes the sting out of young […]

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Anil Kumble

Old and Beautiful

21 April 2009. Men written off, men supposedly past their primes, have proved that the IPL, and the world, belong not to youth or any other category. Not the least delight of the opening rounds of the IPL, and among the most unexpected, was to be found in the performances of the old stagers. As […]

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Makhaya Ntini

South Africa’s Hour

7th April 2009. The offer to host the IPL is an impressive statement of confidence by a nation prepared to accept challenges. By a strange quirk of fate and in the twinkling of an eye, South Africa has become the cricketing venue of choice. Within a fortnight the second season of IPL will start on […]

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Mitchell Johnson

Full speed ahead

24th March 2009. Mitchell Johnson has moved from newbie to pace-bowling spearhead cum hard-hitting No. 8 double quick, and the best part is, he’s not nearly done developing yet. Mitchell Johnson’s buccaneering innings at Newlands enhanced his reputation as an immensely talented cricketer likely to provide outstanding service to his team and rich entertainment to […]

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Kumar-Sangakkara-of-sri-lanka

What Now for Cricket?

13th March 2009. Cricket has been more vulnerable to discord and conflict than many sports, and the latest crisis may be the most serious yet. Cricket is enduring the toughest period of a colourful, contentious history. Of course all cricketers experience bad patches when form deserts them. Indeed it is part of the test provided […]

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Kevin O'Brien

Top Five Moments of the WC

2 April 2011. 1. The Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan shaking hands. Sport cannot cure all the ailments of the world but it can open minds. Tensions had been high since the Mumbai bombings in 2008. Then India and Pakistan were drawn to meet in the semifinals of the World Cup. All sorts of […]

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South African Cricket team 2008

Time to Put the Boot In

23rd February 2009. The win in Australia was an expression of hope; the potential needs to be taken to the next level now. South Africa start the forthcoming series, played on their own red soil, as red-hot favourites to beat the Australians and thereby replace them at the top of the Test rankings. Of course […]

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Phil Hughes

The Road Out of Hell

12 February 2009. The signs are that Australia may have put the worst behind them. Australia has suffered its worst cricketing summer since the community was rent asunder by rebel tours, retirements and other upheavals in the early 1980s. In those days antipodean cricket was down in the dumps. Defeats piled up at the hands […]

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Hashim Amla

The Unbreakable South African

29 January 2009. Humble, resilient, modest and unflappable, Hashim Amla has overcome plenty and emerged the better for it. Hashim Amla counts amongst the most serene of cricketers. Nothing seems to ruffle him. Along the way both life and cricket have tried to disturb his tranquility, only to be met with a mild smile and […]

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