MARTIN JOHNSON

Once upon a time, when an irate cricketer wanted to confront a pundit who’d been uncomplimentary about them, the standard intro was something along the lines of a sarcastic: “Okay, so how many Test matches have you played?” This, though, has become a dangerous business now that the answer is likely to be: “110 actually. Batting average 43.94, 28 five fors, and 17 inscriptions on the Lord’s honours board. How about yourself?”
We now live in an era when almost every inhabitant of the press, TV or radio box, is a former player. Hired on ...