Articles that Peter Roebuck wrote for ESPN Cricinfo (ESPN Sports Media Ltd).
16 February 2011. Every sport requires a tournament that marks its pinnacle, that provides the ultimate testing ground for players and teams, that is a fitting shop window for the game. The 2011 World Cup is upon us. Already the teams have arrived and though the final is seven weeks away their prospects are under […]
2 February 2011. The reason Australian batsmen are struggling to bat through a session is because they are caught up in the nonsensical new notions of Twenty20 technique. To talk to an Australia coach and to a 30-year-old former Shield player recently was to understand the challenges currently faced by those responsible for directing the […]
19 January 2011. To repair its reputation and standard of cricketing excellence, Australia must restore the strength of its domestic cricket and introduce balance in its corridors of power. Over the weekend, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Hauritz, David Warner and Phillip Hughes turned out for their clubs. At once, it was a commonplace event and a […]
30 December 2010 The MCG result tells us things about the visitors and the hosts both: one young and ambitious, the other inept and fretful. England’s comprehensive victory in Melbourne meant that the Ashes had been retained. It is an outstanding achievement. It’s one thing to win the urn on home soil, another to venture […]
22 December 2010. Australian wickets have been denatured and characterless for far too long. Let’s hope Melbourne produces a track like the one in Perth. Only in cricket can the pitch attract so much attention. A darts board is a darts board. Rugby and soccer fields vary little and home advantage is more often due […]
9 December 2010. England’s resurgence has come about thanks to intelligent use of its natural resources, whether the variety within the immigrant community or the grey matter of former captains. Fifteen years ago I predicted that by 2010 England would be the strongest team in the world. It was a bold forecast, since they have […]
30 November 2010. Both sides essentially approached the Brisbane Test defensively, and sound as the reasoning was, it didn’t help set pulses racing. Ultimately the Gabba Test petered out into a boring draw. It was a curious match. Every day seemed like an eternity, not because the play lacked sparkle but rather due to the […]
11 November 2010. Kevin Pietersen arrives in Australia with his game in working order and his purpose renewed. Kevin Pietersen is a cricketer in search of his game and a man in search of his life. At last he is starting to look in the right places. After two years spent in self-indulgent folly he […]
4 November 2010. They have a settled side and a united leadership, but they haven’t been as impressive away as at home, their bowlers are unproven and their batsmen far from impregnable. Everything has been going England’s way. According to the pundits a glorious victory awaits. As far as they are concerned, the Australians are […]
20 October 2010. He fits the type and is the right age but is yet to show that he can confront his weaknesses and toughen up like Ponting did. Michael Clarke is an established Test batsman with an impressive record, a successful leader of his country’s Twenty20 team and the vice-captain of a Test side […]
7 October 2010. VVS Laxman is an artist whose strength lies not in his artistry but in his competitive spirit, a batsman who needs adversity to unleash the giant within. VVS Laxman has joined Brian Lara on the short list of modern batsmen whose mastery extends to fourth-innings chases and whose masterpieces include memorable innings […]
8 September 2010. Time is up for making excuses and passing the buck; anti-corruption bodies and administrators can do no good if players keep giving in to temptations. Cricket has been leading a double life. At the same time it is a valiant and beautiful game played with intent by a collection of superb players, […]
The nebulous idea of the spirit of cricket is hard to sustain in our fractious times. Better to think in terms of respect for opponents, perhaps. By sponsoring the Test series between Pakistan and Australia played in England, the Marylebone Cricket Club did the game a service. Cricket faces no greater task than the protection […]
11 August 2010. The five-day game is still compelling, but pitches need to be got right if the format is to thrive. Ajantha Mendis’ plucky stand in Colombo proved a superb advertisement for the longer version of the game. Whereas 50-over cricket is one-dimensional, Test matches can swing back and forth in the most improbable […]
28 July 2010. Australia and India face similar problems, with ageing stalwarts and unproven youngsters. The upcoming series between the two doesn’t seem as good a prospect as those in recent times. By no means can the Indians or Australians be confident about their Test prospects over the next few months. In that period Australia […]
14 July 2010. Murali hasn’t been combative like Warne or full of rage like Kumble; more unconventional than them, and tenacious to the core, he has surpassed them both. Muttiah Muralitharan has made a mesmeric contribution to the game. It was no small thing for a boy from Kandy to attract the attention of selectors […]
30 June 2010. Strauss’s boys are full of a new attitude, defined by resilience, optimism and unbreakability. Hope and hurt fell upon English sportsmen during a tumultuous week. Hurt came from another heavy defeat at the hands of the Germans, so often a nemesis on the games field if not upon the battlefield. As usual […]
16th June 2010. Things may not be as rosy as observers may have cause to hope for, but respect for those seeking to rebuild the country and its cricket must surpass anger about those hell-bent on its destruction. Zimbabwe and its cricket community have been getting soft treatment lately, as both undergo changes that optimists […]
2 June 2010. Our sport must embrace the environment it belongs to, engage with it, and move with the times. Cricket’s primary task over the last 30 or so years has been to move beyond its historic and geographic confines and to take its place in a broader, more difficult, less governable and much richer […]
19 May 2010. Collingwood’s side were fearless and kept pressing till victory was theirs. Here’s hoping it marks a renaissance in the country’s cricket. England deserved their triumph in the Caribbean. The two best teams met in the final and the most resourceful side prevailed. Paul Collingwood’s outfit gathered momentum as the tournament went along […]
5 May 2010. At no point in the history of one-day cricket has as much emphasis been put on taking wickets as there is now – though not too many are getting it quite right. In a recent Twenty20 match against Australia played in the land of the long white cloud, Tim Southee produced one […]
21 April 2010. An abbreviated format may not provide enough of a canvas for greatness to be displayed, but cricket is about entertainment foremost. A lot of nonsense is talked about lengths of matches. It does not make much difference. A cricketer is a cricketer. If he is any good, he will quickly learn to […]