Gursimran Hans

Over the years, several cricketers have captured the imagination of the public. In this article, I list my personal cricket World XI based on players who played the game when I was most in tune with the going-ons of the game. They are several top players who just missed the cut and perhaps on another day I would choose differently. Ali Cook faces the first ball of the game. England’s all time leading Test run scorer, Cook burst on the scene in 2006 recording a half-century and a century in hi

Cricket is one of the world’s oldest sports and one steeped in tradition and heritage. Hundreds of grounds have hosted international and domestic cricket at the top level of the game but a select few stand out among the rest as being the most iconic. From vibrant colour to historical moments, I’ve picked out 16 of the most iconic in the world. Located on one of the most important ports in the West Indies, St. John’s is noted for its’ hard and dry pitch which favours batsmen. Several of the W

The second installment of the World Cup may have seemed liked Déjà vu. The format of the tournament was unchanged from the previous installment in 1975 and it was once again hosted by England using the same six grounds as before. England as hosts automatically qualified alongside fellow Test nations Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan and New Zealand. South Africa were still under a sporting boycott at the time. Prior to the tournament which began on the 9th June, England also hosted the

English sports fans don’t have to wait that long for one of the nation’s favourite games to come home. In May 2019, England will host the Cricket World Cup. In this new series, I’m going through the history of every single Cricket World Cup to date. Despite the sport having a long history dating back centuries, its premier world championship is just 43 years old. This comes from the fact One-Day Internationals are still a young invention with the first 130-odd years of international cricket be

You don’t read this book, it reads you. Published before his move to PSG, I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic deals with Zlatan’s early life in the Malmo suburb of Rosengaard and his career in football, his thoughts and emotions during the high points and the low points. Ibra, as he became nicknamed when he first when to Italy to play for Juventus, had a rough upbringing, split between the homes of his Bosnian father Sefik who had an alcohol problem and his Croatian mother, Jurka, who worked hard to raise

Albert Camus, one of the world’s greatest philosophers began writing The Plague sometime in 1941. His time in the French Resistance meant it was not completed until after the Second World War. The book can work as an allegory to life in France under the Third Reich. It is set in Oran, a town on the Algerian coast, in the midst of a devastating plague. Through this, Camus works an allegory of life under the German occupation, without any political leanings getting in the way of the interpretatio

I have nothing but total respect for Arsene Wenger and his achievements in football. As a West Ham United supporter, I have a fair bit of tribal hatred to Arsenal Football Club, but Arsenal are the only one of our rivals that I have any feelings of respect towards, and that’s all down to Arsene Wenger. I’ve spoken and written extensively about how I think football should be played and I think Wenger’s style of play, particularly while Arsenal were at Highbury fits the bill perfectly. During th

With the recent decision to bomb a Syrian chemical weapons factory by the United Kingdom, United States and France, debate has naturally turned into the reasoning behind the decisions. Are these interventions worth it? Will we be plunged into a Third World War? This opinion piece delves into some of my thoughts behind the issue and points that I think people are misunderstanding or not considering. This isn’t true. Whilst my inclination is to avoid all intervention and conflict in general, I t

AC Milan rightfully claim a spot as one of the biggest clubs in world football. Though various issues have resulted in a downturn in fortunes, they have had spells of complete domestic and European dominance. Only Juventus have more Scudettos, only Real Madrid can beat their seven Champions Leagues. From the Swedish invasion of the 1950s and 1960s to Arrigo Sacchi’s revolution and Fabio Cappelo’s evolution with Carlo Ancelotti’s 2000s dream team to follow, the Rossonieri have spent decades sti

In football, no.10s, the forward players just behind the main striker often stir up the most emotion. These players are often enigmatic, can do things with oranges that most cannot do without a football and contribute with goals and assists and just moments of sheer ecstasy. This article is dedicated to 10 of these men who have graced the game in the last 20 years that you may not have heard off. The only player on the list still playing professionally for Czech side Slavia Prague. Having burs

That fact that my copy of Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets got battered in the post is quite poetic. It is a gritty, hard-hitting story. David Simon who would go on to produce hit TV series The Wire, spent 1988 shadowing the homicide squad of Baltimore Police Department whilst on sabbatical from his job as a reporter at The Baltimore Sun. It is quite simply, a stunning example of immersive journalism as Simon gets under the skin of the detectives, the suspects, the lawyers, the witnesse

Football, known as The Beautiful Game has had its’ fair share of superstars. Below, I’ve compiled a side from 11 of these players, whom, I believe at their peaks form the greatest team you could assemble throughout the history of the game. The side will play in a 3–4–2–1 formation, in the style of Johan Cruyff when he managed Ajax and Barcelona. This formation will allow the team to play a high tempo attacking game with control exerted from the midfield. A strong, mobile defence will back up a

The last play to be penned by Federico García Lorca, just a few short weeks before his execution in 1936 as part of Franco’s purge of Spanish intellectuals, La Casa de Bernarda Alba was first premiered in Buenos Aires in 1945. It is sometimes grouped with Blood Wedding and Yerma as part of Lorca’s rural trilogy, though, it was incomplete at the time of his death, at the age of just 38. I must admit to being unaware of this piece, however, a friend of mine is starring in a production of it, so

This summer, I found a copy of Sybil, sometimes referred to as Two Nations by Benjamin Disareli, who was British Prime Minister in 1868 and again from 1874–1880 in a charity shop. The book was in a far better condition then it looks in the scanned picture, it didn’t survive spending months in my bag. In the story Disraeli examines the living conditions of Britain’s working poor, a by-product of the nation’s growth during the Industrial Revolution. Charles Egremont, Lord Marney’s younger broth

So after another promotion, I was leading Almere into their first Eredivisie campaign. Our KNVB Cup win also bought Europa League football to the Mitsubishi Forklift Stadium. The 2–3–2–3 formation did not work as well in my last top tier campaign with FC Zwolle. FC Zwolle, did however, still end up relegated that season. Thus, I was adamant to stick to the formation for 2013–14. The key was to sign players with the formation in mind. I did, though it needed some tinking around in January and p

So after resigning from FC Zwolle following relegation, I was out of work for about six days. We, for game date relatively, were in line with the beginning of Michel’s career. In 1960, Michels began at JOS. JOS, based in Amsterdam are now an amateur club and were not in the game as a playable team. However, within days of my Zwolle resignation, the job became available at Almere City. Almere, had in the game despite being predicted to struggle reached the play-offs both times. Almere is a shor

So FC Zwolle had been promoted to the Eredivisie for the first time since relegation in 2004 under my managing. The 2–3–2–3 formation had worked well with plenty of press, constant attacking, solid defending and varied play. Time would tell if that tactic would continue to work. For much of the beginning of the season, I kept to the 2–3–2–3 formation, which had bought so much joy in the previous season. However, this formation didn’t quite save the same effect in the top division. Opposition t

Inspired by my trip to Amsterdam, I have decided to bring out FM 2011, my favourite Football Manager installment and re-create the career of the legendary Rinus Michels, the father of Total Football, the mentor of Cruyff, the builder of Ajax’s legendary 60s and 70s teams as well as the man who bought The Netherlands their only major trophy and laid the framework for Cruyff’s Barca-Ajax blueprint. Michels began his managerial career in 1960, in order to make the game work with tournament years,

Inspired by a friend who follows Arsenal, I have written an article on how I’d have done business if I was Arsenal manager this summer. Picture the scene, Arsene Wenger retires after leading the club to an FA Cup. The board decide to put me in charge, and give me a transfer kitty to build a side capable of challenging for the title. This is all arbitrary of course, Arsenal spending the amount of money I would need to spend is more unlikely than me being appointed manager. Now, 28, Kjaer has be

Having looked at Real Madrid’s greatest side, I also look at Barcelona’s. This was also hard, I even had 12 players in the starting line-up before I dropped Ronaldinho to the bench and removed Diego Maradona (he did after all cause a massive punch in the Copa del Rey final). A genuine legend for both Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona, Zubizarreta was first choice between the sticks for eight years. He was no.1 during the resurgence under Cruyff. A strong, commanding goalkeeper capable of making wo