Features
Depression and anxiety 'being seen in cricketers as young as ten'
Hendo 4th April 2018
Nigel Henderson talks to a coach whose interest in mental health issues has uncovered a worrying trend. Depression and anxiety are manifesting among cricketers as young as ten, according to a leading coach and advocate for good mental health. Lindsay Moody, who worked with England captain Joe Root at the age of 12 and had a short career in Sussex's 2nd XI, worries that parental expectation is making the problem far worse than in previous generations, with players under almost unbearable pressure to perform.
Getting it Wrong: opprobrium aimed at ball-tamperers has a darker side
Hendo 4th April 2018
In the light of mental health difficulties experienced by some cricketers, Nigel Henderson wonders if those caught up in the events at Newlands need a little understanding and what might happen to them if they don't get it. It may seem odd amid the fallout over the ball-tampering affair that Steve Waugh should be the one to counsel us against losing sight of "the social impact and mental health of all players" subject to widespread condemnation in the incident.
'A stupendous act of bastardry': why Aussies feel betrayed by Stickygate
While England fans have been content to laugh and enjoy their discomfort, Perth native Jeremy Henderson explains why he and his countrymen have reacted so strongly to the ball-tampering affair. There are not many issues which actually unite Australians. For many decades politicians and the media have done everything to promote division, sometimes hatred, over so many things: rich vs poor, left vs right, workers vs bosses, and so on. There are so many fruitful areas for the self-interested to exploit, from immigration, taxation, and race, to welfare recipients, climate change and indigenous affairs that we all become embroiled in the fight at some stage.
Kohli The Lonely
Paul Howarth 27th January 2018
The cricketers-in-song-titles game that'll take over your life. Everyone needs a mate like Big Tone. A die-hard Newcastle United fan (well, no-one's perfect), a man with an encyclopaedic knowledge of pop music and – crucially for this tale – someone who delights in childish games.
Trevor Bayliss's trump card makes England a poor excuse of a team
Hendo 12th January 2018
If the England coach's mantra was intended to deceive, he was unable to fool Nigel Henderson, who finds him to blame for much, if not all, of the team's poor Ashes showing. Not so clever, Trevor: the England coach has something of the US president about him.
Brilliant Bhuvneshwar Kumar beginning to show his all-round qualities
Hendo 10th January 2018
India's premier swing bowler's class with the bat is starting to make respected observers sit up and take notice, says Nigel Henderson. Bhuve Kumar: preparing to make South Africa pay attention – with bat and ball.
The MCG: a modern tradition, but England can poop the party set
Jeremy Henderson reveals that the Boxing Day Test is not such an ingrained custom and gives the beleaguered tourists hope with the sorry tale of Ross Duncan. Grounds for optimism: England don't always lose at the G. Tradition is a concept which seems to vary, depending upon the age of the culture in which it is discussed. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as "The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation". And so it is in those civilisations with a long history spanning many generations. Less so, however, in a very young "civilisation".
Turn up the volume: stump mics could stamp out sledging when it goes too far
Martin White wonders whether we've reached an all-time low when it comes to in-play verbals. There are very few situations that cannot be improved by wit. Cricket is no exception, and humorous comment has been a part of cricket since before any of us can remember. In a workplace environment, or amongst friends, it might these days be referred to as "banter". In cricket, it has taken on the term "sledging". The origins of that are a little vague, including a reference to a sledgehammer or a well known American singer, but however it came about, it has been used in cricket – especially at Test level – since the late Sixties.
Duckett the issue: bingeing Poms the victims of (social) media's fake morality
Hendo 13th December 2017
Nigel Henderson suggests that cricketers in a losing team are the first to come under attack in a post-truth world.
Heard but not seen: why this series is the Invisible Ashes
David Brook, Guerilla Cricket's latest recruit and the man who took Test cricket to Channel 4, argues that BT Sport's acquisition of the away Ashes TV rights are having knock-on effects for the promotion of the game. With the second Test poised tantalisingly on the final day in Adelaide – England needing 178 with six wickets in hand – and expelled from a speeding awareness course for sneaking a peak at the Ashes score on my poorly concealed mobile phone – I popped into a nearby Corals to find out the odds on England and perhaps place a cheeky bet. I pulled up the cricket screen and scrolled down the options.
