The Politics of Sport - Why I Affirm South Africa's Affirmative Action

By Shane Thomas

"Always going to be a question mark against any black player who plays for South Africa... Has he been picked for his race and colour, or is he any good... nobody's going to say, but everyone's thinking it."

This statement came from former England cricketer - turned pundit - Geoffrey Boycott in the aftermath of Temba Bavuma becoming the first black African to score a Test match century for South Africa.

Moeen The Muggins

By Shane Thomas

As England suffered an expected series defeat to Pakistan, one of the many subplots to come from the postmortem was the injudicious selection of Moeen Ali to open the batting alongside Alastair Cook, despite having never played in such a specialist position before. It was a disastrous choice, as Moeen only scored 84 runs in the series, with his batting travails possibly affecting his bowling.

England Need To Leave Their Complacency At Home

By Shane Thomas

In early 2012, the England men's cricket team was in a pretty good place. They soundly beat Australia a year previous to retain the Ashes, and then followed that up by thumping India 4-0 to become the world's best ranked Test side. They had assumed the mantle of the sport's playground bullies, and travelled to the United Arab Emirates to continue in this vein.

The Politics Of Sport - Why Do They Keep Getting Away With It?

By Shane Thomas

The point of a verdict in an inquiry, investigation, or legal proceedings is to act as a full stop. To clear the fog of questions surrounding an issue, remove the anxiety of indecision, and let us breathe because we now know where we stand.

The Women's World Cup - 5 Key Points

By Shane Thomas

At this point, I'd wager those who consider themselves progressive football fans are beginning to forget this summer's Women's World Cup. News of transfer rumours, and scrutinising the upcoming Premier League fixtures are at the forefront of one's mind, while the vicissitudes of the 24 teams in Canada are fading - like the remnants of a fever dream a few hours after waking up. Well, allow me to prolong the fever by enumerating five key take-aways from the tournament:

The Ashes 2015 Preview

By Shane Thomas

With the probable exception of the Summer Olympics, there's no sporting event I relish more than the Ashes. My dislike of the summer months is tempered by England versus Australia: five Test matches; a true and comprehensive examination of the cricketing strength of the two nations; cricket's oldest rivalry.

The Politics of Sport - Their Game. Their Rules.

By Shane Thomas

It's important to start with this. Malky Mackay and Iain Moody are not demons. They don't walk around, cloaked like pantomime villains, muttering curses under their breath whenever they walk past a woman of colour. In fact, if I found myself in a social situation with them, I wouldn't be surprised to find them agreeable company.

Good Pitch? There's Nothing Good About This

By Shane Thomas

When I first began to watch cricket (I was about 12), I would often hear players and commentators talk about a pitch (or wicket) being "good". I soon learnt that a good pitch was one that was amenable to plenty of runs being scored, favouring the batsman, and making it onerous for bowlers to take wickets.

The Last Laugh

By Shane Thomas

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson.

In the summer of 2013, Engand trounced Australia to win the 2nd Test by 347 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the 2013 Ashes series. In his post-match press conference at Lord's, Australia captain, Michael Clarke declared his belief that his Australia side could win the final three matches of the series to regain the Ashes. This statement elicited bouts of derisive laughter from the press, and likely many England cricket fans.

2013: A Sad Farewell

By Shane Thomas

As Jacques Kallis left the Kingsmead field for the final time as a batsman on Sunday, the home crowd acclaimed a man who will surely go down as one of the finest South African cricketers of all time[1]. Ending his career with another well-crafted century - his 45th Test hundred - it would be natural for one to resort to the warm blanket of reverie, and look back over an auspicious career.

England's Final Test

By Shane Thomas


England have been a significant power at the top end of world cricket for long enough now to prove that it's no fluke. Fans can rub their eyes and realise they're not dreaming. After a generation of enduring mediocrity, and sometime worse, the phrase "English cricket" is no longer a national punchline.

Athletic Main Course Humiliates United

By Shane Thomas

Many proclaimed last week's victory for Athletic Club de Bilbao over Manchester United as one of the results of the season so far. I was one of them. Turns out that was just an apertif. For their main course, they welcomed United to their home patch, and didn't just beat them, but dished out a beating.

Their intense pressing, mobile movement and incisive passing were all there from 7 days ago, but after their 3-2 win at Old Trafford, it was clear that the Athletic players knew that there was nothing to fear from the English champions, and performed accordingly. United weren't opponents, but co-conspirators in their own humiliation. United weren't defeated, they were thoroughly embarrassed.

An England Defeat In Which We Can All Rejoice

By Shane Thomas


The England cricket team; the sport's dominant force. The playground bullies. Best in the world. Don't believe me, look at the rankings.

So on this England team went to the sub-continent to play Pakistan. They came, they saw, and they got a pasting. It was a rude awakening, as Pakistan taught England a lesson that they shouldn't really have needed teaching. England were whitewashed in the series, 3-0, and have been humbled as a result.

But it's not England's defeat that should bring joy to cricket fans, but Pakistan's victory.

Episode 47 - 2011 in Review (Part 3)

No guest host, but still tons of sport to review on this episode. Our penultimate year in review show takes on Cycling, Cricket, Swimming, Darts and Golf.

The Greatest Events In Sporting History' is available from http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/sportinghistory/

Episode 44 - Basil D'Oliveira's Ashes Century in 1968

A big innings for the England cricket team, but an even more important one for the rest of the world. There was a time when South Africa's policy of apartheid was freely tolerated by many other countries. We talk about how one man swinging a cricket bat helped to change all that.

The Greatest Events In Sporting History' is available from http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/sportinghistory/

When Sporting Fandom Becomes Fanaticism

By Shane Thomas


In recent weeks, an alarming aspect of sport has come to the fore. The partisanship of supporters - normally a crucial component in the heft and resonance that makes it such an appealing aspect of life for some of us - has descended into a ugly sump of rabid, one-eyed protectionism. It seems that there's no heinous act that won't be defended - as long as the accused represents the team that you like.

Last month, both Liverpool's Luis Suarez and Chelsea's John Terry were accused of racially abusing opposition players. I think anyone with a core of decency in them would state that these are two racial incidents too many. Suarez has been charged by the FA, while the Terry case is ongoing, as the Metropolitan Police are now leading the investigation.

All Hail The Playground Bullies

By Shane Thomas

This is a weird time to be a supporter of the England cricket team. For as long as I've watched the sport, English cricket has been little more than a punchline. Summer after summer brought mediocrity, annoyance and often defeat. While things began to improve at the turn of the millennium - never more so than the epic 2005 Ashes series - English cricket had a place; which tended to be looking up at the Australians, as they conquered all and sundry to underline their position as the world's best.

Episode 27 - Adam Gilchrist

In our latest episode we pay homage to the Australian wicket-keeper, Adam Gilchrist. We focus on how his brutal & fast run scoring changed the sport of cricket forever. As well as this, we take a look at his take on sportsmanship in cricket, and the level of importance he played in arguably the greatest cricket side of all time.

The Greatest Events In Sporting History' is available from http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/sportinghistory/

India & Pakistan - Cricket's Powderkeg

By Shane Thomas

Now that the farce of the group stages of the Cricket World Cup are now done, the tournament is now worth bothering with. And in Mohali next Wednesday morning, we may see the most compelling game of cricket of 2011.

The Ashes Review - What England Did Right

By Shane Thomas

After years of disappointment and humiliation, England won an Ashes series in Australia for the first time in 24 years. Their 3-1 victory was a credit to the players and coaching staff, who all played their part in dominating the once mighty Australians and delighting those who stayed up at ungodly hours to watch and/or listen to the action. This has been one of English cricket's finest achievements, but what were the key factors that led to such a comprehensive success: