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Tag Archives: cricket

Briefs from the field

RAIN MEN vs WHITE HUNTERS Sunday August 11th 2019 . ‘Remarkably few ‘keepers have become captains; and many of those who have have quickly given up the job.’ — Mike Brearley, The Art of Captaincy . On strict assurance that he was about to leave the country, the Chairman, Selectors, and Life Members/Platinum Donors Circle of […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. The Paris Louvre is in future to be guarded by watch-dogs. — The Nelson Evening Mail, Monday, July 13 1908 . The human population has almost doubled since we landed on the Moon. Genital preferences are transphobic. The third umpire will have the final say on the snatch. It is against the rules to take a […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. John Stow, author of the Survey of London, was rewarded by James I with a licence to beg. — The Nelson Evening Mail, Friday, August 17 1906 . In Germany, young ladies have no sex. ‘Silver Billy’ Beldham was blond, and is said to have fathered 39 children. Thom Yorke’s left eye is made […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. Though fair-haired people are not so strong as those with dark hair, they usually live longer. — The Nelson Evening Mail, Wednesday, July 15 1908 . The comedian Joe Pasquale (born Joseph Ellis Pasquale) has not died. The US government spends more per head on their dysfunctional healthcare system than the UK spends per person on […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. The maximum suicide age is between 65 and 75. — The Nelson Evening Mail, Thursday, August 9 1906 . Forest Green Cricket Club accepts no liability for damage to vehicles parked on the green whilst a game is in progress. There are pros and cons to time-travelling while black. Pope Gregory declared the rooster the most suitable […]

Bleak Howzat!?— Charles Dickens pays a visit to The Cricket Club

(in loving memory of its former incarnation) . Colombo. The Galle and Pallakele matches lately over, the series lost, and the selectors falling back on Maitland Place in hopes of inspiration for the third and final test. The last of the erratic rains now gone, the water in the half-uncovered sewers stagnant, rank with garbage. […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE #2

The Spanish Inquisition, and other matters unexpectedly arising. — For Queen Mob’s Tea House

NEWS AT A GLANCE #1

A lad named Rogers, and other true-ish stories. — For Queen Mob’s Tea House

Everyman, I will go with thee, and be thy Bluffer’s Guide

Last weekend I played host to a particularly friendly cricket match – by which I mean that both teams had no clue what they were doing. The opposition, Rain Men, were captained by my friend and usual team-mate Simon, whose excuse was that he’d only played the game 263 times previously. The other captain was, […]

NEWS AT A GLANCE

. We call our day 24 hours, but it is really 23 hours 56 minutes 5 seconds. — The Nelson Evening Mail, September 28 1906 . ‘Facetious’ is the shortest word in the English language including all the vowels in alphabetical order. The English theatre loves the joker. Samuel Beckett notched up 35 runs in first-class cricket. UK funeral directors are […]