Test Match Special

Hands up all those who know the collective noun for swallows. That may seem like an odd beginning to a piece about the Australian cricket team but bear with me...

The Test series in the Caribbean is done and dusted and a few of us have put our heads together to rate the performances of the England players (my name may be at the top of this blog but I'm not taking all the blame). As usual, we'd love to hear whether you agree or disagree...

By Ebony Rainford-Brent, England women's cricket team The start of the World Cup is finally here. This is something I have been building up to for the last five months since being selected, dreaming and thinking about it every spare moment and I am really excited...

While England's men head into the final Test against the West Indies knowing they can no longer win the series, their female counterparts are in Sydney, about to begin their quest for the inaugural ICC Women's World Cup - and they have a real chance of success...

I first became aware of the horrific events going on in Lahore when I received a text message from the office at 4am on Tuesday morning, alerting me to what had taken place and warning us there would be a need to get some reaction from the England camp...

At the end of the thrilling match here in Antigua, reporter Arlo White said to England captain Andrew Strauss "Sir Allen Stanford famously said that Test Cricket is boring, it's not been a great week for him." It's difficult to believe that seven days ago we were preparing for the second Test at...

There is a saying here in Antigua that "every disappointment is a blessing". Well, perhaps the rushed relocation of the Antigua Test match from the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium to the Antigua Recreation Ground is a blessing in disguise...

Well, that was certainly a Friday the 13th the cricketing world will never forget. It was only the second time in Test history that a match was abandoned on the opening day...

I was looking forward to taking a break from text commentaries and my other duties on the BBC Sport website and just enjoying some live cricket...

As England's batting line-up fell apart in Jamaica, I was waiting in one of the corporate boxes at Sabina Park to try and secure an interview with the island's current sporting superstar Usain Bolt...

No question what the talking point is at the end of the first day of the series - it's KP again! No doubt there will be the same split in opinion we witnessed when he tried to hit Paul Harris for six at Edgbaston to reach his hundred, and hit a catch down long-on's throat...

So much has happened over the past few weeks that it will be a relief for everyone involved with England to see the cricketers back on the field again...

The vast number of tributes which have flooded into the BBC following the sad news of Bill's death is testament to the relationship he fostered with the listeners of Test Match Special...

Bill Frindall spent his working life chronicling the achievements of some of the greats of the cricketing world...

BBC Test Match Special statistician and scorer Bill Frindall has died at the age of 69 after suffering from Legionnaire's disease. Please leave your tributes to the man affectionately known as the Bearded Wonder below. You can read his valued TMS blog contributions here.

When Test Match Special was last broadcast just before Christmas, I doubt many of us thought England's series against the West Indies just over a month later would see a new captain leading the side and no full-time coach to help behind the scenes...

Welcome to Ask Bearders, where Test Match Special statistician Bill "The Bearded Wonder" Frindall answers your questions on all things cricket...

Over the years at the BBC Sport website we have had a go at predicting players on the cusp of making an impact on the international cricket scene...

The wrong choice of venue prevented the cricket fan from experiencing five full days of play and it also decreased the chances of a result considerably...

After looking back on the highlights of 2008 during the fourth day lunch interval at Mohali, we delved into "Old Aggers' Almanac" on Tuesday to make predictions for the year ahead - and what a 2009 it promises to be! In Twenty20 Cricket we have the second Indian Premier League...

Another tour of India, albeit one with a tragic twist that overshadowed much of the cricket played, came to an end here in chilly Chandigarh...

Normally when I am abroad with the England team at this time of year it is very difficult to feel particularly Christmasy especially when the sun is shining and the temperatures soar...

The train journey north from the venue of the first Test in Chennai to Chandigarh always promised to be a long, long journey and, after England's last-day defeat it enabled considerable contemplation on the mixed emotions of India's incredible win...

As Sachin Tendulkar deftly guided the final ball of the match to bring up not only the winning runs but also his 41st Test century, a banner was held up in front of the Test Match Special Commentary box which read "India's great victory - dedicated to the people who died in Mumbai"...

Looking around the room during Graeme Swann's press conference, it was noticeable how many journalists were watching and listening to him with interested smiles on their faces...

The players have arrived; their security has arrived; a cyclone has apparently arrived and, if you look very closely, a small pocket of England supporters has slowly begun to arrive in Chennai in time for the first Test...

Cricket has essentially been in limbo since the horrific attacks by gunmen on Mumbai...

Welcome to Ask Bearders, where Test Match Special statistician Bill "The Bearded Wonder" Frindall answers your questions on all things cricket...

I first heard the news, via a text message, as I stood on a busy platform at Cuttack railway station a little before midnight on Wednesday night...

Welcome to Ask Bearders, where Test Match Special statistician Bill "The Bearded Wonder" Frindall answers your questions on all things cricket...

Watching England in one-day internationals away from home is rarely easy but, after two heavy defeats in Rajkot and Indore, the next five games and the long hours spent between games on the train are starting to look tougher by the day...

In the same way that there are plenty of people who can stomach neither Wagner's Ring Cycle nor a Girls Aloud concert, there is some middle ground between the elegant sanctity of Test cricket and the streetwise kid that is Twenty20...

India did the unthinkable by beating Australia 2-0 and regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Very few people gave India a chance of beating Australia but India not only defeated them, they did it in convincing style. India outplayed the best team in the world in every department...

Each time I log on to the BBC website I often see the advertisement for Gavin Strachan's blog and I clicked on it this week to read how amazed he was at the talent on show at the Emirates at the weekend...

If Kevin Pietersen was concerned with the way his team collapsed to 98 all out inside 26 overs in the warm-up match against Mumbai's reserves, he was determined not to show it, preferring instead to label it as "a blip" and "not really too much to worry about"...