Neil Manthorp

3 days ago | supersport.com | Neil Manthorp

cricket04 June 2025 11:28| © MWPBy:Neil Manthorp ShareIf the final of the World Test Championship was to be decided by experience or the weight of runs and wickets obtained by the respective 15-man squads, the Australians need not even take the trophy mace out of the velvet stocking in which it is lovingly wrapped for travel. It’s theirs for another two years.

4 days ago | mannersoncricket.substack.com | Neil Manthorp

This column won’t make much sense to anyone who hasn’t read the previous one, but plough on anyway if you don’t have the time to page back. Let’s start with a letter from Kingston which was posted for all to view at the end of the last one:“I was born in Zimbabwe, grew up in SA, and live in Arun. That this knock-about between my two "home" nations was to be played on my very doorstep seemed like all my worlds aligning in the most unexpected way.

5 days ago | businesslive.co.za | Neil Manthorp

Heinrich Klaasen’s sudden and unexpected retirement (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/sport/cricket/2025-06-02-big-hitter-klaasen-retires-from-international-cricket/) from international cricket on Monday represented the biggest loss to the Proteas white ball teams since AB de Villiers walked away from the national team at the age of 34 in 2018. Klaasen turns 34 next month.

6 days ago | supersport.com | Neil Manthorp

cricket01 June 2025 20:25| © MWPBy:Neil Manthorp ShareShreyas Iyer © PhotoShelterShreyas Iyer delivered a masterclass of batting skill and run-chasing ingenuity during an innings of 87* as he led the Punjab Kings to victory by five-wickets with six balls to spare in their IPL Eliminator Match against the Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

1 week ago | mannersoncricket.substack.com | Neil Manthorp

Cricket has an endearing habit of punching itself in the face and failing to promote the game. And there are precious few people prepared to own up: “Yeh, that was me/us. That was my/our punch. Sorry.”Take the four-day practise match between South Africa and Zimbabwe at the picturesque Arundel Castle Cricket Club. The Zimbabweans recently played their first Test match in England for over two decades and, despite being hammered by an innings inside three days on the field, won many friends off it.