Two hundred and fifty years ago, the forebears of the Brigands were arguing about whether to introduce a third stump, while the forebears of the Butterflies were fighting over America. In August 1776, the Hambledon Club were debating matters across the road at the Bat and Ball; the two-stump wicket had been letting bowlers down for years, and a third stump was agreed on the grounds that it would shorten the game. At the same time, politicians who had progressed from one of th

At 2.44pm on the final day of the unforgettable Ashes summer of 2005, Kevin Pietersen and Ashley Giles came together with the urn on the...