The Writing Desk 27
@WritingDesk27
Sharmila Meadows - Freelance Journalist-Writer on cricket, faith & politics - Ex Westminster Policy Adviser & Private Sec - Je parle français -#Jesus follower.
For many of us, Field of Dreams makes a persuasive case for #cricket as an agent of hope. It also has much to teach us about recovery. My piece @ChurchTimes 👇 churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2024/… @flintoff11 @kylehogg22 @cofelancs #bbccricket @BBCSport @VernonCaruscc #CricketTwitter
Felt a more measured, but nonetheless fine, 50 from @ybj_19, simply one of my favourites. Sensed a #Jaiswal ton today, but great for #Dawson - as an individual & for ENG's spin needs. #ENGvIND @CricSubhayan @cricket_badger @cricket_broken
Good 50 for Yashasvi Jaiswal. Needs to go big.
Bad for IND after 1st innings; even worse 1st over of 2nd, BUT, as I said to a friend, if KL game manages the way he can & Gill unfurls his bat, who knows? They're playing shots like threading needles 👏🏽 #ENGvIND @cricket_broken @AnnieChave @ABsay_ek @CricSubhayan @pakwakankar
When Stokes moves through the gears, it's one of the great sights in cricket. (As seen from the @bbctms commentary box) #BBCCricket #ENGvIND
This #ENGvsIND series has been so closely contested, fine margins & if anything IND slight edge, so 4th Test quite surprising. ENG been superb, but I expected more from IND with the ball. What's gone wrong? @pakwakankar @CricSubhayan @sharmabharat45 @DeepDasgupta7 ? #bbccricket
Seen many great players, but none as compelling as when I first saw @root66 bat. 9 summers on, it stays with me: this history maker, whose exquisite talent, worn with dignity & class, doesn't need hindsight to cherish. Brilliant #JoeRoot 👏🏽 #ENGvIND #bbccricket #CricketTwitter
A day that will live long in the memory... Joe Root - history maker 🐐
I don't get the reason, why Root's greatness is measured by the fact that he has scored no centuries in Australia. Brian Lara never scored a test 100 in India, Ponting managed to average just above 26 in India. But that doesn't take away their greatness as batsmen. The way Root…
Whoever you support, come on @RishabhPant17 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 One of #cricket's finest entertainers & advocates. Wishing him well today & always 🙏🏽 #ENGvIND #RishabhPant @DeepDasgupta7 @pakwakankar @bbctms #ENGvsIND @cricket_badger
Fighter. Warrior. Mad. Take a bow, @RishabhPant17 🙏
For those of us who've watched @sais_1509 @CountyChamp, it was nice to see his composed, steadying 61 (though, in a @surreycricket twist, dropped by Smith) on his second outing at #Test level. A good knock "Thamby"😉 @TheMiddleStump @MarkMachado @ABsay_ek @MuraliPod #ENGvIND
On Day 1 at Old Trafford, Sai Sudharsan became the first India No.3 to cross 50 since Shubman Gill did it at Wankhede against New Zealand in November 2024 😳
With #ENGvIND fever this summer, it was a really nice time to chat with several Vicars of Indian origin for my feature piece on the #Church and South Asians for @ChurchTimes👇(and yes, we might have had some #cricket chats along the way!) churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/…
20 years ago today, I was @HomeOfCricket for Day 1 of the 2005 #Ashes. Wickets clattered in a sign of the thrilling series to come. It felt special at the time, & 20 years on & ever since, it remains so. #2005Ashes #bbccricket #crickettwitter @CricketSociety @MichaelVaughan
.@AlisonMitchell & @M_Raj03 , just listened to your @bbctms podcast on the rise of women's #cricket in India. Very good listen! Chimed with themes I'm also hearing for a piece on the positive impact of the game in India. #ENGvIND @BCCI #bbcsport #bbccricket
Went to Ahmedabad to find out about Jasprit Bumrah. Met his coach, saw the building he grew up in, and took a ride with Mehmood, the tuk-tuk driver who used to ferry him around telegraph.co.uk/gift/9520ea66c…
Sandwiched between headline batters & Deep/Bumrah, @imjadeja may slip under the radar but his 89, 69*, 72, 61* (& 3x not out) made him a main player in #ENGvIND, even before that run chase at Lord's 👏🏽 #Jaddu #Jadeja @cricket_badger @CricSubhayan @RevSportzGlobal #ENGvsIND
Any India fan blaming Ravindra Jadeja for defeat doesn't know cricket. What Jaddu did today was amazing. If some of the higher order batters had played like him, India would have won easily. Simple. #RavindraJadeja #Jaddu #ENGvsIND #ENGvIND
A game where #BenStokes brought his heroic quality, closely matched by #Jadeja 👏 #ENGvIND so finely poised & turning on fine margins that demand the smart #TestCricket we've desired. #bbccricket @CricketSociety @peterhardy51 @cricket_broken @henrymoeranBBC @willis_macp @huwzat
Ben Stokes is player of the match for his 77 runs, five wickets and a crucial run out
Yes, sad way to finish such a finely poised game, but what an incredible Test match. #Jadeja & #BenStokes absolutely shone. Brilliant series. #ENGvIND
.#ENGvIND is a delicious, unfolding plot. @klrahul feels key, plus Pant, but there's depth in Jadeja & Sundar & a lively wicket. 2 men for the job: KL & Stokes. So well poised. @cricket_broken @cricket_badger @justnotcrkpod @CricSubhayan @BoothCricket #bbccricket @CricketSociety
Asians make up the largest ethnic community in the UK, but are rarely integrated into mainstream churches. What can be done, asks Sharmila Meadows @WritingDesk27 churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/…
The UK #Church is rarely considered 'brown', but many South Asians follow #Jesus - my feature @ChurchTimes on #Christianity & South Asians: churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2025/… @EAUKnews @TheOutsider40 @AndyPenwortham @cofelancs @Premrajdc @dioceseoflondon @JillLCDuff @Coxee @ellis_red