Mike Marqusee wrote on many subjects but particularly insightfully and searchingly on our game

It might seem like there isn't a need for "independent" umpires these days, but imagine the outrage if a home umpire appears guilty of favouritism

Can Santa Claus find cricket a great Test spinner, and make the World Test Championship happen?

Two courageous cricketers who, when faced with extreme tragedy, understood that the show must go on

Who knew the Middle East would one day become the centre of a cricket-lover's universe?

The second World Cup was played in the immediate aftermath of the Packer revolution, when administrators had been awakened to the market potential of ODI cricket

Sport bereft of fair and vibrant competition is a betrayal. The Future Tours Programme was far from perfect, but its absence provides serious cause for concern

Cricket was a latecomer to global tournaments, and the first one came to be largely because the game was not financially strong

Players, emboldened by free agency, agents and endorsements, are now asserting their rights as never before - and management doesn't like it

Individual rivalries in team sports can be productive or destructive. Jealousy may have spurred Pietersen the batsman, but at the cost of the team's image

So long as people's sporting affiliations do not assume racially abusive or violent form, who does it harm whether they support their national side or not?

Historically a strong Yorkshire has acted as a supply line for the Test team, and the current crop hints at longevity and substance

A new book celebrates 175 years of the oldest first-class club of all with a delightful collection of artwork and photographs

A factor in improved away records in recent years, particularly in ODIs, is the presence of fans from the diaspora cheering for visiting teams

Baseball and cricket - throwing and bowling. We sort out the differences

Baseball movies are more ambitious and unabashedly American - always a draw at the box office

Careers tend to blossom or fizzle out depending on a sportsman's craving for success

He deserves acclaim for daring to wear those wristbands, but the ECB should have known better than to approve his actions

In modern times, there have been a few valuable innings by tailenders bumped up the order, but the psychological advantage it gives the opposition can't be discounted

Nothing could have prepared us for James Anderson's sudden outpouring of grief at Leeds, a reaction both spontaneous and moving