Issue 53 – out now

Managing editor Matt Thacker introduces issue 53 of the Nightwatchman…

Halfway through a world tournament and England are still in it, despite having looked pretty unconvincing. Although, in fairness, so has everybody else because all 20 (!) teams have had their moments, with World Cup newbies such as Nepal and Italy proving that a diet of T20 cricket really does make you better at T20 cricket.

The nature of the game, where an individual performance with bat or ball over one or two overs can turn a match on its head, will always give objectively weaker sides an increased chance of triumphing as strength in depth becomes less important. And as long as you don’t take it too seriously, that’s no bad thing.

Zimbabwe’s unbeaten romp through the group stages, including a takedown of the mighty World Cup machine Australia, was particularly heart-warming – they are a cricketing nation who have always seemed more sinned against than sinning.

Similarly uplifting was Pathum Nissanka’s stunning one-man show against the same green-and-gold opponents. This Sri Lanka side-story was especially resonant for me because 10 years ago, my team – the Authors XI – was playing cricket in some picture-postcard spot in Sri Lanka, when up stepped a little lad, knee-high to a grasshopper, to smash us repeatedly out of the park. A cherubic demeanour combined with his otherworldly hitting so delighted us that we pressed a load of our kit onto him at the end of the game. His first sponsorship, we like to think.

Obviously, every time he has done well since that day we have claimed some form of influence, ownership even, and with a first-class average of almost 60, a Test one of 45, ODI of 40 and T20I of 30+, that is some pretty regular back-patting.

This spring edition has the usual mix of the bizarre and the beautiful, the old and the new, the world famous and the never-heard-of, covering the globe and the years with – we hope – something in there for everyone.

Enjoy!

And as ever, if you would like to write for us – poetry and prose accepted – or just let us know what you think about the Nightwatchman, good or bad, please do get in touch. We read every submission (but promise nothing) that fulfils our criteria: that articles should touch on cricket (however tangentially) and are original, well-written and thought-provoking.

Matt Thacker, March 2026