Two 153s, twenty years apart

When Kusal Perera glided Kagiso Rabada to the third-man fence on the fourth day of the Durban Test against South Africa he was 153 not out. Not 154. Not 152. But the coincidentally perfect 153 – just as Brian Lara’s score 20 years ago. For mathematicians, 153 is a source of endless fascination – including

‘There’s nothing wrong with being gay’

This was supposed to be a piece about Joe Root’s Test-match batting over the last three years. I wanted to highlight the alarming decline in his output since he took over as captain, and visualise the outrage that may have been directed at the national selectors – not to mention the attendant hysteria on social

Chennai 1999 – a retrospective

It’s 20 years since India and Pakistan played out a terrific Test in Chennai. The 18-year-old me watched this game on television – in between trying to study for my 12th standard board exams. I am pretty sure I only caught bits and pieces of days one, two and three – and once Afridi got