Aug 1, 2008. India has been dudded. No-one with the slightest enthusiasm for cricket will take the least satisfaction from the victory secured by the local team in an SCG Test match that entertained spectators at the ground, provided some excellent batting but left a sour taste in the mouth. It was match that will […]
Articles Written by Peter Roebuck
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.
Come Together
January 31, 2008. India needs to stop acting like an aggrieved outsider and take up the responsibility that comes with power. Australia needs to understand that its teams are supposed to set an example. For the good of the game, the two have to find a common language. India and Australia have been going hard […]
The all-round art of Sangakkara
16 September 2011: Balanced yet intense, ruthless in his need to succeed, always contributing to his team’s cause, he is among the finest cricketers Sri Lanka has produced. Kumar Sangakkara counts among the most polished and prudent of batsmen. Nothing catches the eye about his work except its consistency and efficiency. Although he pulls and cuts […]
What Price Justice?
January 30, 2008: If this is the way the Indian board intends to conduct its affairs hereafter, then God help cricket. India’s performance in chartering a plane to take the players back home in the event of an independent judge finding against them in the Harbhajan Singh case counted amongst the most nakedly aggressive actions […]
Craftsman and Cavalier
January 26, 2008. Adam Gilchrist has given more outright joy to followers of the game than any cricketer since Sir Garfield Sobers. He will be missed as a cricketing force, as a contributor and as an entertainer. Throughout his career he has played with a gusto that has set him apart from the common run […]
Hayden’s Hundred an Act of Will
January 26, 2008. Matthew Hayden’s hundred at the Adelaide Oval was an act of will. From the moment he walked to the crease he steeled himself to construct a massive score. Forced to watch the Perth Test from the sidelines, he suffered as his team slipped to defeat. He spent the first two days of […]
Did You Break the Code?
17 January 2008. Cricket, unlike other sports, lacks a code that – although not mentioned in any rule book – is universally accepted and lends the sport a commonness of purpose. Every game has codes and customs handed down by the generations and honoured by tradition. Often it is these customs that supporters point towards […]
Arrogant Ponting Must be Fired
Jan 8, 2008: Ricky Ponting must be sacked as captain of the Australian cricket team. If Cricket Australia cares a fig for the tattered reputation of our national team in our national sport it will not for a moment longer tolerate the sort of arrogant and abrasive conduct seem from the captain and his senior […]
Personal Distractions Make for Poor Match from Ponting
Jan 6, 2008: Ricky Ponting has had a fractious match at the SCG. From a distance it is hard to avoid thinking that he has allowed a petty squabble with an immature opponent to affect his judgement. His confrontation with Harbhajan has taken a toll of his form as a batsman and tactician. He has […]
Raise your sights, India
2 January 2008. The world’s most fanatical cricket nation must get serious about long-term success in the game and doing whatever that takes. India faces a stark challenge in the years that lie ahead. Not once in 60 years of independence has this cricketing powerhouse attained top ranking in its chosen game. Certainly, it has […]
The Aussie Way
19 December 2007. Australian cricket is fierce, attacking and spirited. In many ways it reflects the country’s origins and history. A tour to Australia counts amongst the most challenging experiences cricket has to offer. Teams visiting the antipodes and returning with the spoils are honoured. Englishmen coming back from an Ashes triumph in 1928-29 were […]
A Man Undefeated
5 December 2007. A working man without ego or vanity, Harold Larwood, having beaten the Australians, went and joined them. Harold Larwood is my favourite cricketer because he was honest, modest, and the epitome of the properly raised working man. Nothing of the celebrity could be found in him, no hint of glamour or touch […]
Decline and Fall
4 December 2007. Self-indulgence and self-interest are to blame for West Indies’ present condition. Not long ago a rising West Indian batsman asked an old hand for help with his game. Since the elder was a selector, the youngster might have supposed that he’d be happy to offer advice. Not a bit of it. Instead […]
Learning by Degrees
23 November 2007 Over the years cricket has not handled throwing well. Thankfully that seems to be changing, if slowly. Throwing has been the most emotional topic the game has known. Considering the fury of the argument, it might be imagined that batting was in peril and practitioners were constantly taking blows from some demonic […]
Australians Too Good in All Areas
May 5, 2007: Australia was overwhelmingly the best run side at the 2007 World Cup. As ever the deeds of champions can be instructive. By no means did Ricky Ponting have a bunch of supermen at his disposal. To the contrary the Australians looked vulnerable, arriving with their tails between their legs, not an easy […]
Bangladesh, Ireland Light up St Patrick’s Day
Mar 18, 2007: When the mighty fall they land with a thud. What a week it has been to be sure! And what a night! India crushed by Bangladesh, Pakistan given a St Patrick’s Day drubbing by the Irish, two titans tasting the sourness of defeat within an hour of each other. Inzaman’s bedraggled troupe […]
African Counterparts Need to Make Stand at Cup
Mar 16, 2007: Unless cricket prospers in Africa it will soon resemble an antiquated game reserved for enthusiasts on two continents and hardy souls elsewhere. Australian mining companies have noticed that Africa’s potential remains untapped. Around the world immigrant communities from the continent are starting to escape from their ghettos to make their mark in […]
Woolmer Lived for the Game until Stumps Were Called
Mar 3, 2007: Bob Woolmer was a softly spoken cricketing philosopher with an observant, probing mind that penetrated numerous layers of the game without ever quite reaching the core. No-one who met him could dislike him yet few knew him intimately. Throughout he was in love with the game of bat and ball, endlessly thinking […]
Shoaib the Imposter
Mar 2, 2007: Enough is enough. Shoaib Akhtar does not belong on a cricket field anywhere let alone as a participant in the forthcoming World Cup. An impostor whose reputation relies upon a handful of bursts spread over a career lasting a decade, he has been more trouble than he is worth. No captain, no […]
An Aboriginal Champion
Feb 27, 2007: John Duckett was hoovering as the bell rang, His fourth child was sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of the arrival of guests at the family home in Maroubra. Having completed his garbo round, John was attending to his duties. He likes working as a garbo because it keeps him fit and he finishes […]
Australian’s Lose Aura of Invincibility with Run of Losses
Feb 20, 2007: Australia’s chances of retaining the World Cup have shrunk. Their aura of invincibility has been broken. It was a precious asset. The five defeats suffered in the last fortnight have been caused by a combination of poor thinking and slipshod cricket. On this form Ricky Ponting’s side will be lucky to reach […]
Aboriginal Cricket on the Rise
Feb 16, 2007: A scorching sun was sending shimmers across Albrecht Oval in Alice Springs. The Macdonnel range was providing a glorious, barren, ancient backdrop. South Australia was chasing 218 on a field turned green by recent rains that broke a five year drought and caused The Todd to flood Queensland had plundered 80 runs […]