jackthegas
David Pritchard
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 313 
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Post by jackthegas on Apr 9, 2021 12:09:47 GMT
It’s unseasonably cold which means it must be the start of the cricket season! I am really excited about this year. I think the conference format is interesting. I am not necessarily in favour but certainly keeping an open mind. I hope we don’t go back to a one division system because I think that renders the second half of the season utterly meaningless for a lot of counties. I do accept that two divisions can lead to some short term thinking, so perhaps this structure could help alleviate that whilst keeping the season interesting.
Essex are probably favourites again, but it feels like there are some strong sides this year, especially if England don’t need to pick massive squads again. Surrey could be big beneficiaries if that was possible although their bowling attack looks a little light without both Currans. Possibly a bit over reliant on Rikki Clarke? Durham seem to be getting a decent side back together again, which is good to see, although I think their bowling is a bit light other than Rushworth. Notts have been comical over the last few years, but have a side packed with quality and I suspect they will improve this year, particularly if they can get the monkey off their back early on. Kent and Hampshire both look good on paper too. Good to see Liam Norwell playing well for Warwickshire yesterday after a wretched couple of years. They had an attack of Norwell, Hannon – Dolby, Miles and Bresnan yesterday with Sidebottom, Stone and Brookes waiting in the wings, not to mention Chris Woakes. That looks decent too, but I don’t much fancy their batting.
I like to go on spinner watch at this stage of the season. I notice Lancashire didn’t pick poor old Matt Parkinson. He must be pretty fed up having spent the winter sat on the subs bench. Not great news for England, although it’s good to see that Mason Crane has got a game for Hampshire.
In terms of the local sides, Gloucestershire have lost their head coach Richard Dawson. He seemed instrumental in their upturn over the last few years, so it will be interesting to see how his departure affects them. Good to see Mark Alleyne back in the fold even if it is temporary. I am looking forward to seeing a bit more of James Bracey this season and hopefully watching their young all-rounders develop. I don’t want to jinx it but they’ve started brilliantly against Surrey.
Somerset on the other hand have had a really poor start against Middlesex. Did they concede 300 in any of their Bob Willis group games last year? Their batting always looks inconsistent to me, but the bowling attack has won them plenty of games over the last few seasons. Looking forward to seeing whether Lammonby can follow up on last seasons form and whether Craig Overton can stake a claim for an England place. I hope they can win either the BWT or the Championship this year. Given their consistency over the last decade, they deserve some success.
The quality of the streams offered by every county has really improved over the last couple of years. Absolutely perfect for having on in the background whilst WFH, especially now they have decent replays. I like the hub on the ECB website which provides a central point to access every stream. I watched Essex v Worcester yesterday, but have switched to Gloucester v Surrey this afternoon.
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Post by alftupper on Apr 10, 2021 7:14:21 GMT
Glos have had a decent start, and Bumerset look like losing their opener. That`ll do me.
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warehamgas
Predictions League
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 10, 2021 12:31:49 GMT
Well done jack for starting us off this summer. Can’t disagree with any of your points. I thought Warwickshire look strong in the bowling department esp after seeing you list them. Essex will be the team to beat this season as ever because I don’t think England selection will worry them and they will be as they were, very strong. The one vulnerability they have may be injuries were any of their top players to suffer. I’m not sure their back up is that strong. Surrey will always be strong but England call ups will affect them badly. The team I think who will do well is Hampshire. They’ve always underachieved but I really think Vince is a top player who’s never fittedi to the England set up but is the best English batsmen we have. He also had a great Big Bash and seems to have carried thatover. A double century yesterday at Leicester. With Kyle Abbott, who was the best County Bowler in 2019 I think they will be the top team come the end.
Gloucestershire could do well esp with Braithwait joining. Players have done ok against Surrey and the batsmen got starts. A big season for Bracey I think. As for us, Somerset we will do ok. I don’t think we’ll be as good as previous seasons. Our real weakness hasn’t been addressed, a solid, experienced batsman to open or come in at No. 3. It’s been our weakness over the past 4 years. We recruited Chris Rogers to solve it in 2017 but have expected the youngsters to do it since. We recruited de Lange, but tbh we didn’t need another fast bowler, a batsman was the priority I would have thought, despite Joverton going. We will be ok because our bowlers will overcome most sides as they’ve done this morning in Middlesex s second innings. Last season in the BWT in the 10 innings we bowled in the 5 matches no team got over 200. Essex in the final were the first I think. We’ll still probably lose but chasing 280 gives us a chance. Spinning wise we may suffer with Leach playing for England. It’s a bit like our wicket keeper situation in 2012 when we had Butler and Kieswetter. We let Butler go because we couldn’t guarantee him a keeper place which he wanted for his England ambitions then Kieswetter had a career ending injury months after. And it took us a few years to get Steve Davies. This could happen again with our spin position from now on. It’s great that of our 11 in the current match 8 came through the system but to win the Championship we needed a stronger batsmen imo.
So I’ll go with Hampshire and Essex to be the two teams to beat for the Championship.
Great to have cricket back. As a member I will be able to enter the ballot for our first home match v Hampshire on 6th June which I will but no live cricket until then.
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Post by lostinspace on Apr 11, 2021 13:57:22 GMT
Glos have had a decent start, and Bumerset look like losing their opener. That`ll do me. Looks like the tables have turned in both matches, Somerset on the verge of a "good start" to this seasons format, and the glumps ......well, will settle for a draw i think... as Lancashire start playing with a rather large white seamless ball!! a snowball!! |
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 11, 2021 14:15:11 GMT
Thanks lost in space I don’t like to crow on this thread but to presume after 2 days about what the final result is ......
I’ve been listening to Radio London so far and Somerset have won comfortably in the end. Our bowlers did what they are always likely to do, bowl a side out cheaply yesterday but our batsmen kept their nerve and a small gem of an innings by Lewis Gregory and some solid determined batting by George Bartlett ensured the win. A good start but only that.
Gloucestershire have done well and after a sticky start have a good chance I think. But Surrey know how to win in Division 1 so If Gloucestershire do it it will be an excellent win.
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absent
Joined: February 2021
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Post by absent on Apr 11, 2021 16:37:53 GMT
Never in doubt. What a great chase. Well played Glos...
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 11, 2021 17:04:54 GMT
I don’t know about never in doubt astaf, but that was a very good win. After losing two quick wickets to have then won by a sizeable margin will do wonders for confidence.
The matches in this first round seem to have gone against what normally happens. A moving ball, early season, green wickets and generally low scoring innings hasn’t happened this year. Not all but some sizeable scores and with a few drawn matches. I think this season will be a good one.
UTG!
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 313
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Post by jackthegas on Apr 11, 2021 20:21:25 GMT
Great result for both local sides. I have no idea how Somerset won their match. They were completely out of it more than once. Somerset have a reasonable top order, but they have the bowling attack and lower order of a champion. I agree with Wareham, I am surprised they didn’t bring in an overseas top order batsman. Imagine the impact Amla could have made at Somerset? Got to admire their faith in their young players though and to be fair, Able and Bartlett repaid them today.
I didn’t see much from Surrey to make me change my mind on their bowling attack. Dent and Van Burren batted really well, but Surrey just couldn’t keep a lid on the run rate. I’m glad the weather didn’t intervene. It’s taken the best part of 15 years, but it finally feels like Gloucester have put that horrendous period where they were red ball also fans behind them. Some good home grown players, some astute signings and competitive in all three formats. Plenty to admire. Looking forward to the derby next week.
A quick word on my adopted county Worcester. Great mental fortitude from some young players to grind out a draw at Chelmsford. Jake Libby has demonstrated that sometimes one signing is all it takes to knit together a talented, but under performing batting unit. The likes of Barnard and Cox are talented middle order batsmen but they were left horribly exposed for a year or two. Despite having arguably the best red ball spinner in England on the roster, Worcester still haven’t got a front line spinner to play in the Championship, which will hold them back, but I think they will be difficult to beat.
I thought Wareham’s point on Essex’s strength in depth was fair. Without Siddle (who is due back soon) I thought they lacked a 4th bowling option. Somerset on the other hand have Brooks and Davy waiting in the wings. A couple of injuries this season could bring them back towards the pack. Didn’t think the pitch at Chelmsford was great actually. Not a lot of carry, but the kind you see in international cricket from time to time, so probably not a bad thing to encounter some in first class cricket.
Did anyone see the McManus “stumping” for Hampshire against Leicestershire? Pretty hard to believe that he didn’t know that he had the ball in his right glove as he removed the bail with his left!
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 11, 2021 21:53:18 GMT
I listened to a BBC Sounds programme last week about the season with Anthony McGrath (Essex), Peter Moore’s (Notts) and Jason Kerr (Somerset) talking about the season and team’s prospects. In an answer to the question which do you think is best, this season’s Conference style Championship or the normal Division 1/ Division 2 system. Moores said Conference (obvious I suppose with them in Div 2), Kerr was non -commital but McGrath was strongly for Div 1 / Div 2. I’ll wait until the season is over before I judge but I think the system will raise standards of those clubs who would be in Div 2 esp in latter part of the season when they have nothing to play for. Whether that will be the case in Div 1 when every match was strongly contested remains to be seen. But all clubs have a chance now and as we saw last season when Derbyshire did very well. Perhaps it may be Worcestershire or even Gloucestershire this year. And it will be the impact on production of younger talent for England which will be important and perhaps even the attendances in the matches.
Last season Somerset were never strong batting-wise but in most innings one player would carry the team with a century which tended to paper over the weakness. This match was better, the 10th wicket in the first innings saved us and prolonged the match to give us a chance and in the second, Abell, Bartlett and Gregory all contributed. But we’re still one batsman short imo.
That was a great win for Gloucestershire. But istr that they have a bit of an Indian sign over Surrey. You Gloucestershire fans would know better but they seem to beat Surrey quite regularly. Didn’t look a great start for Joverton but he’s a class bowler and genuine all rounder so he’ll do well, injury permitting. Looking forward to Somerset v Gloucestershire on Thursday at Taunton, it’s a real shame no one can be there. But should be a good match.
No, I didn’t see the stumping incident but I’ve just read about it. He’s a genuine lad and I’m sure it’s a genuine mistake though of course an error and he was meant to be upset when it was pointed out. But ultimately the umpires are there to stop those things. They were pretty unaware it seems! Just as well it wasn’t a close match so it didn't affect the score. Hampshire were always going to win comfortably.
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absent
Joined: February 2021
Posts: 306
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Post by absent on Apr 11, 2021 22:03:30 GMT
I've only seen it in 'real time' and I'd be prepared to accept it was an accident. In freeze frame it looks bad but it really happened in a bit of a blur.
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Post by The Concept on Apr 15, 2021 9:15:04 GMT
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 15, 2021 20:25:27 GMT
And thoroughly good to watch. I watched the afternoon and evening sessions from the Somerset website. Quite an even first day I guess, though Gloucestershire will see 110-5 turn into 312 all out as a missed opportunity perhaps esp after putting Somerset in. Was impressed by the young pace bowler, Goodman, bowled really well in the afternoon when Davies and Overton were punishing the other bowlers. Tomorrow should be another good day. Poor Brathwaite, he looked very cold out stuck in the slips there after arriving from warmer places! On some deliveries he was very late taking his hands out of his pockets. Interesting to see Essex bowled out by Durham for 96. Durham in trouble as well so they haven’t made the most of the opportunity, perhaps a difficult pitch. Most of the other matches seemed a good balance between batsmen and bowlers. Leicestershire and Derbyshire both doing well. |
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Post by The Concept on Apr 15, 2021 20:36:05 GMT
I had the game on my personal laptop, and popped in the front room to keep a check, and managed to see a bit on my lunch break and some late afternoon, before finishing my shift - divided the day up!
I had a look at Goodman's figures on Cricinfo, and he's only played a few 2nd XI games, and his figures haven't really shone, but Harvey and the coaches must have seen something in him. Only picked up 1 wicket, but kept things tight throughout, and got the ball moving early on.
A good replacement for Josh Shaw, who bowled so well in the first innings against Surrey, before getting injured.
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Post by The Concept on Apr 15, 2021 21:33:18 GMT
It's brilliant to have CC matches available online.
I remember when the BBC started doing ball-by-ball online commentary, which has been excellent, but this is a big step up.
I enjoyed the T20 games last year too.
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irishrover
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Post by irishrover on Apr 15, 2021 23:02:00 GMT
Sorry - very late to the party this year. Have been busy with personal stuff and getting my own cricket season off the ground. My club (I'm secretary and 2nd team skipper) is currently being used as a Covid Vaccination Centre which is fantastic and a real coup on many levels not least that we can make a genuine contribution to the community of course (we made the national press - you can read about us here! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jan/21/bell-ringing-and-air-punching-as-covid-jabs-begin-in-whalley-range). But it hasn't half made the usual pre-season work an absolute nightmare. We start on Saturday - I'm just relieved we've managed to get to the start line for our League season. 5XIs across 2 days, 55 different players, strict Covid testing and protocols in place, all kinds of other paperwork regs and temporary facilities organised, no car parking within a quarter of a mile due to need to keep spaces free for the vaccination centre and lots of adaptations made to the ground at short notice. Hopefully it'll all go off alright. We have a temporary outdoor bar arriving tomorrow (as we can't currently access our own) - I feel I will need it!
Anyway I have the benefit of 5 days of County Cricket with which to play Captain Hindsight with! I have the following observations;
-Echo what others have said about that Glos win over Surrey. I think this is our biggest for over a decade and agree with Jack that it's a bit of a seminal moment that will hopefully mark a return to relevance in the format. Hope we're not overstating it but I think there are solid reasons for optimism right now and it was a special performance. It looked like they'd blown it really but that innings from Van Buren was special. I watched most of it last Sunday and enjoyed it all apart from the agonising moment when it looked like the bloody Bristol rain was going to cost us - justice done I feel.
-Somerset have now shown twice in a week why they have been, and remain, real Championship contenders. They have the vital capability (obviously rooted in their excellent depth) to dig themselves out of holes and turn games around. Also because of their generally quite aggressive and positive approach they are capable of doing so in a single session which keeps them ahead of the game time wise as well. That was a big win against Middlesex. I think the 2 local sides were involved in the best games of the first round and now they're playing each other and again Somerset have shown their key resiliance and that extra level of depth on Day 1 which would make them favourites in this match. I saw a bit of that Davies innings - he remains one of the most stylish batsmen to watch when in full flow and he also plays many critical innings like this. Still feel like Glos could perhaps have done a bit better though - game drifted a bit and there was some loose bowling. Now we'll get to see what this Glos batting lineup is made of with Brathwaite added - it will be a good measure of whether they can have reaonable ambitions of getting into that top tier of the 2nd stage this season.
-My other default interest, Lancs, seem (as they always do for some reason) to be a consensus trendy media pick to win the thing. I don't really see it. I think they're objectively weaker than they have been for the last couple of seasons. Gleason's injured and he was a key player in the promotion season, Livingstone is likely to be missing for franchise cricket/England for a lot of the summer, Onions has retired. I don't think their youngsters are as interesting as the Lancs cheerleaders seem to think think they are. However, Villas is a cut above and Tom Bailey-Saqib Mahmood is a formidable 1-2 punch in the seam department. Interesting that they picked 2 spinners (plus Steven Croft) for this latest game at Old Trafford. Looking forward to getting down there later in the season and annoying my Lancs supporting mates by calling their team overrated. They probably will win it now!
-I was interested in Jack's overview which I generally agree with. Surely everyone can agree that Surrey's early struggles are hilarious! Now struggling against Leicestershire.....However, the one prediction that stands out there which I definitely wouldn't have gone with was a resurgance of Durham. I didn't see that coming but they were slightly unlucky to miss out on a win v Notts last week and have demolished Essex today (albeit struggling themselves in reply suggesting bad batting conditions). I'd like to know a bit more about why you fancied them Jack because I definitely didn't see that coming although I suppose getting Borthwick back was a big signing for them.
-I'm with Wareham in the wait and see camp on the structure of the competition. There's always pros and cons to the way this is done. I have to say as someone who is generally restricted to watching Lancs games these days I have seen the serious downside of the standard divisional structure. The seasons where Lancs have been consigned to Div II (for entirely their own fault) have been utterly tedious to watch for a neutral like me as they just slice through the oppositon week in week out. Last time I think they won nearly all their home games and most of those were completed with more than a day to spare. It was boring. I imagine it's also boring to watch the also rans at the bottom end of Div II of which there are far too many and, as most Glos fans will agree in recent years, it's simply no fun to go into a season when you already kind of know that you will not be able to compete. Add a couple of years of that and it's easy for it to become a negative downward spiral. So at least this Conference structure incentivises everyone to give the red ball game a go. On the other hand, I do think the top end of Div 1 was high quality cricket which might be sacrificed here. I'm also a little worried that the Conference could be part of a long-term plan to further downgrade County Cricket. Finally, while I'm open minded about Conference structures I'm not sure about this particular Conference structure. The 2nd stage thing confuses me. I don't understand what the incentive is for the Counties who don't get into the top tier at that point. Why would they bother? Can't complain about the return of Glos-Somerset Championship games though. It's been way too long. I'm also really hoping be able to get to Scarborough for the Roses match later in the Summer because, assumig fans are allowed in, that could be a fantastic occasion.
-Does anyone have any opinion on the other major change around extra points for draws? Apparently this has been bought in at the behest of Joe Root who thinks it will encourage batsmen to play long innings to rescue games. My instant reaction is that this is a terrible idea. For decades we've been trying to work out ways to liven up Championship games and incentivise teams to play for a result and in one swoop they've reversed all of that. I also don't think it will achieve it's aim. If Root wants more batsman to have to play meaningful rearguard defensive innings to save games I'm not sure this change will do that. The reason those innings matter is that one team has a good chance of winning so will have set a target accordingly. All this will do is disincentivise captains from setting competitive targets and potentially create more meaningless unpressured cricket which is surely the opposite of the intention. Or maybe it won't have any impact at all and I'm overreacting to a small change. But I couldn't help noticing a general lack of target setting declarations in that first week. That's more than enough gubbins for now!
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 16, 2021 20:38:40 GMT
Another good day. Gloucestershire may well have learnt from their lesson last year when playing Somerset. Bracey’s innings was an excellent innings and after missing a complete season he would have gained a lot from today. The afternoon session was attritional for him and tbh it wasn’t a great watch but he ground out a century against as good an attack as there is. Well done to him. Somerset kept plugging away and the match looks well balanced and any team winning a couple of sessions tomorrow will have a good chance to get a win. A long way to go but I’d imagine that Somerset would have been frustrated by the evening session and didn’t bowl as well as they can and Gloucestershire will have gained confidence after losing the initiative yesterday to have finished the day fairly level.
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Post by The Concept on Apr 16, 2021 20:56:30 GMT
Honours fairly even, and I'm sure if Wareham knew a Glos player would get a century he's glad it was a big Rovers fan!
Big surprise today was a highest First Class score, and a first ever 50, for the real Matty Taylor.
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warehamgas
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Post by warehamgas on Apr 16, 2021 22:15:43 GMT
Honours fairly even, and I'm sure if Wareham knew a Glos player would get a century he's glad it was a big Rovers fan! Big surprise today was a highest First Class score, and a first ever 50, for the real Matty Taylor. Indeed! I obviously hope we win and I’m sure we’re a better side but well done to the lower order Gloucestershire batsmen and James Bracey. That was proper Division 1 cricket day today, competitive and under pressure from both ends from a very good bowling team. Tonight Bracey will know he’s been got at, under pressure, struggled for runs this afternoon but he came through it very well. Of course I’m a Somerset CCC season ticket holder and have been since 1969 but I started watching cricket at Ashley Down when Mortimer and Allen were in their pomp, so still my second team. And tbh I just love watching live cricket and like most cricket supporters can appreciate a good competitive day of cricket. It’s unlike football, no need for confrontation just a bit of lively banter perhaps! Always good to chat to opposing fans when they visit Taunton. |
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Post by The Concept on Apr 17, 2021 7:41:06 GMT
Honours fairly even, and I'm sure if Wareham knew a Glos player would get a century he's glad it was a big Rovers fan! Big surprise today was a highest First Class score, and a first ever 50, for the real Matty Taylor. Indeed! I obviously hope we win and I’m sure we’re a better side but well done to the lower order Gloucestershire batsmen and James Bracey. That was proper Division 1 cricket day today, competitive and under pressure from both ends from a very good bowling team. Tonight Bracey will know he’s been got at, under pressure, struggled for runs this afternoon but he came through it very well. Of course I’m a Somerset CCC season ticket holder and have been since 1969 but I started watching cricket at Ashley Down when Mortimer and Allen were in their pomp, so still my second team. And tbh I just love watching live cricket and like most cricket supporters can appreciate a good competitive day of cricket. It’s unlike football, no need for confrontation just a bit of lively banter perhaps! Always good to chat to opposing fans when they visit Taunton. I'm the opposite way round... Brought up in Keynsham, so in Somerset (just!), and in Primary School it was the time of "Somerset - The Team to Watch", with Botham, Garner, Richards et al. But my grandfather took me to Glos in the summer holidays: Bristol; Cheltenham; Gloucester; Swansea; W-S-M; Taunton, and I gradually graduated to north of the River Avon. There was the controversy at Somerset in the 80s, and then the Glos team at the turn of the Millennium sealed it. So Glos 1st, Somerset 2nd. |
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absent
Joined: February 2021
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Post by absent on Apr 18, 2021 12:16:53 GMT
Glos win at Taunton by eight wickets, that's quite a statement.
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