The Ultimate Pitch Christmas gift guide
As the Christmas countdown begins apace, the mad dash for gifts cranks up. But fear not, here at Pitch we’ve compiled a comprehensive compilation of present ideas for the sporting fan in your life, with everything covered from darts to horse racing, clothing to food and drink, and the majority for less than £100.
The Official Line
As Ashes tours come and go, column inches devoted to cricket inevitably centre on the 22 blokes set to slug it out over 22 yards in the middle. Rightly so. But what about the other performers, those who will make crunch decisions that can swing a contest one way or another? Kieran Longworth speaks to three officials – from cricket, golf and sailing –about the art of staying cool when the pressure reaches boiling point.
“The Intensity is Unenjoyable…”
Bowling spin in Australia in an Ashes series – how hard can it be? It’s all about mindset, that’s if you’re talking to former England great and serial urn-lifter Graeme Swann. And all about starting well if you’re national treasure, Ashley Giles, one of the heroes of 2005. Pitch caught up with two of England’s star turns, as it were.
Simon Hainsworth considers the emergence of new sports like pickleball and padel.
Football. Golf. Tennis. Cricket. Rugby. All sports most people in the world know about; a huge majority will have played and even more will have watched either live or on television. They are staples of the sports world, concepts we grow up knowing about – often playing at school or at grassroots level as children.
