DEREK PRINGLE

England’s white-ball mantra to “play without fear” came a cropper against Australia in Hobart the other night, when a promising start was squandered by a slew of reckless strokes. But if the batsmen in Eoin Morgan’s side are resigned to crashing and burning, occasionally, the bowlers seem content to plough the same furrow, wind, rain or shine even if it means sliding to defeat.
I’ve always maintained a healthy scepticism towards statistics, especially those used to predict fresh situations. But once in a while one pops up, as it did during this...