jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jul 12, 2019 14:30:26 GMT
We were exceptional yesterday. One of the best days I have had as an English cricket supporter in the 25 years I have been following the team. Right up there with the first day of the boxing day Ashes test in 2011 and some of the memorable days of the '05 Ashes series. There is definitely a bit of momentum behind the tournament now as well. People were watching the game at work on their lunch break and I would imagine there will be a decent TV audience on Sunday.
The way we bossed the clutch moments was extraordinary. The opening spell by our bowlers obviously set the tone, and a combination of Rashid and Archer pegged Australia back when they looked set to recover and post 250. I thought they might target Starc early on. He is a great bowler but he is much more effective at the death. Roy went after Lyon when they brought him into the attack and then destroyed Smith when he was brought on to try and buy a wicket. Bairstow using the review and then Roy being furious when he was given out demonstrated England's determination to not just win, but to annihilate Australia. Root came out and continued to attack and then I liked the way that Morgan and Root just dropped down a gear after we lost both openers. Amazing how a crowd that would most probably have had a very Indian feel to it had Australia topped the group ended up with a very typical Edgbaston feel to it. Credit to the tournament organizers for that one.
As for Sunday, if England play to their potential they will have too much for New Zealand no matter what. Simple as that really. Of course this is sport and England have been known to have a spectacular off day but I just feel that it's their time. England have so many big game players. Neither Stokes or Buttler were needed last time out, in fact, England could have got to the final without Buttler, who is the ultimate big game player. I can't wait!
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Posts: 313
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Post by jackthegas on Jul 3, 2019 13:15:10 GMT
I've also read plenty about a lack of free-to-air TV exposure for this World Cup. That is clearly an issue. If I didn't like cricket I don't think I'd know the World Cup was on. Look at the impact FTA TV has had on women's football this month.
However, what I have not heard is a criticism of the schedule. I've just worked out that in the 2015 World Cup 24 of the 28 matches were day / night fixtures. In this World Cup, the only D/N fixtures have been on a Saturday. Both semi finals are on a week day and start at 10.30am. They will be finished by 6.30pm BST at the latest. If I am lucky I may be able to watch the last 30 minutes.
The earlier starts and lack of D/N fixtures can only be because the timings suit Indian TV audiences. It's currently 18.40 in Mumbai. Most matches will be finished by 11pm their time. I would guess earlier starts are good for the commercial side of the World Cup (lots of the major sponsors are Indian) but not so good for the health of the game in the UK.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jul 3, 2019 12:51:59 GMT
Great start again today but my word some of our batsmen lack savvy. Against Sri Lanka and Australia we lost wickets when it was obvious the captain had turned to his strike bowler, namely Malinga or Starc. Today Williamson left Boult on for an 8th over with in excess of 15 overs left in the innings. The smart move was for Buttler and Morgan to take a low risk approach for an over, look to take 5 or 6 (sensible anyway after losing a couple of quick wickets). Instead Buttler hauled out to long on and we're now in danger of collapsing.
In trying to get 360+ we may end up falling short of 300, which would leave New Zealand well in the game and England under huge pressure if New Zealand get off to a flyer.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 30, 2019 21:02:37 GMT
England got to a very good 337-7 after being on target for 400 at one stage, Roy and Bairstow smashed it opening with 160 from 22 overs. India's Rohit and Kohli responded well but the team ultimately struggled to a total of 306-5 leaving England victors by 31 runs. We saved our necks by a good battle against one of the favourites, all we have to do now is beat NZ, sounds easy doesn't it. We didn't get the rub of the green against Australia but I think we did today. Both Roy and Bairstow lived a bit of a charmed life early on. Good players tend to capitalise when they have a let off though, as Rohit Sharma did. Players like Vince always leave you feeling that another chance is just around the corner. Lots of positives for England today. Stokes is in fabulous form, Woakes is back to his best, Plunkett looks nailed on to play the rest of the tournament and Archer looked fit enough. Moreover, the weather seems to have improved the pitches! Root had an off day, but winning without him contributing much is probably a good thing in itself. Bit worried about Morgan. Not just getting out to another short ball but he looked flappy before that and has been unusually testy this week. I think he handled the bowlers well know though. Rashid seems to be struggling with his shoulder, but it hasn't been an easy tournament for the spinners in general. Shame Afghanistan couldn't finish the job yesterday (Gulbadin almost wholly culpable for letting that one slip away) but I think Bangladesh will give Pakistan a good game if England can't get past New Zealand. I still think it's hard to pick a winner. India look overly reliant on their top order (hence the cautious approach today), New Zealand have scraped by a couple of teams thanks to the brilliance of Williamson and Australia look brilliant if 280 - 300 is par. If the weather improves the pitches and 330 - 350 becomes par again then do they have enough support bowling and enough hitting power? I think they are my favourites but it's not clear cut. Pakistan can't field for toffee, are heavily reliant on Babar Azam with the bat and England look more likely to chase 350 than 250. I'm sure it's great fun for a neutral but for an Englishman who's first experience of a world cup was the 99 debacle, I could barely watch today!
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 25, 2019 15:07:46 GMT
Your analysis about our bowling attack irish is pretty bang on. Our bowlers are very good but it’s hard to see them replacing anyone in the England team. You may be right about Jack Leach later on in the Summer but it’s such a tight test squad with Moeen and Rashid likely to be the spinners that I think he will miss out again. And Jamie O is still, imo, the fastest and potentially best bowler we have but he is so vulnerable to injuries that I’m not sure he will go on and play for England. Somerset I think “manage” him very well and he knows it. One or two of the bowlers, possibly Davey, Brooks or even Craig O may be rested for the T20 but if fit I think Jamie will play as many as he can together with Jerome Taylor. Bess could go out on loan again, to a second division team I hope, but he will be kept back for the time when the Ashes start in case Jack L is called up. I’ve always felt we are a batsman short to be a Championship winning side but our bowlers are getting us out of a few holes so far this season. You may be a batsmen light but you bat deep- and that's just as important in a season where bowlers are, on the whole, getting on top in games. You've done an excellent job of jinxing Somerset here Irish! It's been an odd season so far. All of the talk back in April was that the new batch of duke balls had a flatter seam and made batting easier. Then, after the white-ball hiatus it basically hasn't stopped raining (New Road flooded whilst I was on holiday) and batting has looked really difficult again. The lack of runs has certainly made it difficult to pick a top 3 for the Ashes.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Posts: 313
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 25, 2019 15:00:28 GMT
Well. This is all going south very quickly for England. It's like the last 4 years haven't happened! I know batting has been trickier during the World Cup than it has been during the build up but our inability to chase does not paint our mental fortitude in a good light. I know it's a World Cup but at this stage, there are (were?) second chances so it's not that different to a bilateral series.
We look much more likely to ruin our net run rate at this stage than win the game!
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 21, 2019 17:18:26 GMT
That stokes innings very much demonstrates the stupidity of some of the shots played by the lower, middle order.
I've played in teams that have batting right down to 10 or 11. All very well and good on paper but it can lead to a tendancy for the top order to place too low a price on their wicket. The someone else will finish it mentality. Some of our all-rounders do not look like the kind of savvy cricketers who might get you over the line in a tight one. It's one of the reasons I like Tom Curran.
Depending on the outcome of the windies v new Zealand game on Sunday, England could find themselves under a lot of pressure next week.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Posts: 313
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 21, 2019 16:37:34 GMT
Not the kind of chase normally associated with sides that go on and win world cups.
They've lost every clutch moment in this innings so far, from losing the early wicket, to root and buttler getting out when they brought back Malinga for what felt like a final throw of the dice, to moeen's utterly stupid, brainless shot.
We might need to win 2 of our last 3 against India, Australia and New Zealand to qualify for the semis at this rate!
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 4, 2019 12:32:43 GMT
It's just a bit out dated and the commentators don't seem to have caught up yet. At the last World Cup you had 4 outside the fielding circle in the last 10 overs and so 100 runs or more were the norm. The change to allowing 5 outside the fielding circle has changed that though. The old adage about doubling the score after 30 overs is nonsense now as well but pundits keep harping on about it. Double the score after 26/27 doesn't quite have the same ring to it though! If Buttler had batted until the end we'd have won but once the rate climbed up to 10 and over it was obvious that the game hinged on his wicket.
No stats from me, but your assessment is one that I agree with. If a side is 325/3 after 40 overs then the opposition are likely to feel utterly dejected and a score of 425+ is likely. Likewise, if you're 270/2 chasing 320 then the game is gone and without scoreboard pressure sides can play more freely. It's true in club cricket too. Once the game has gone away from you, things get out of hand very quickly. England were on the brink of taking the game away from Pakistan whilst Root and Buttler were together but wickets pulled it back.
One of the things England do well is to keep their heads when a monumental score looks likely. I guess that's in part because they genuinely believe they can chase down any score.
It's why 50 over cricket is a really interesting form. There is enough time for sides to have a wobble, re-consolidate and salvage something. The game ebbs and flows in a way that T20 cricket rarely does.
The next game is at Cardiff isn't it? Given the short boundary straight down the ground and the opposition they might leave one of the spinners out.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 4, 2019 8:28:37 GMT
Well today is in complete contrast to Thursday's opener! I haven't seen much of today's game but I have followed on the radio and online and it sounds like our fielding was really poor. From the little I saw, I thought we bowled too short and we've been unable to bat with our normal fluency so far. If we can put a partnership together then a freak innings from one of our middle order may get us over the line, but I thought the first game would settle everyone down a bit, but unfortunately it looks like the opposite might be true. Let's hope that the below par performance (for the first 70 overs at least) are just one of those things rather than a sign of underlying nerves. I do wonder whether England have missed a trick with their preparation. Why haven't all of their 'day' ODIs in the UK started at 10.30am for the last 12 months or so? The pitches curated under the guidance of the ICC seem to have a bit more in them for the bowlers too. Fair enough to have good batting tracks 4 years ago when we were trying to play with more freedom, but I wonder whether they could have produced a more diverse range of tracks post the Champions Trophy in 2017? I think everyone knew there was a good chance that pitches might end up being drier and a bit two paced. Still, whatever happens today it's important not to get carried away. It's a long group phase and Pakistan are too good a side to lose all their games. Likewise, I am not sure England are good enough to win 11 games on the spin (plus the handful they won on the spin pre-tournament). Yeah I think that's a fair reflection of the game I saw.
We did field badly. We also didn't bowl particularly apart from Moeen and Wood at the end. I feel like if anything we maybe relaxed too much after the South Africa win. There was a slight lack of intensity about us particularly early on and Pakistan were obviously bang up for proving everyone wrong after Friday's debacle. It is possible we got carried away watching the highlights of that Friday game thinking we could bounce out the Pakistan batsmen. In fairness they played really good smart cricket throughout. Hafees in particular was World Class with ball and bat. Root and Buttler still almost had us over the line but not quite, which was fair because Pakistan outplayed us on the day. Fielding was surprisingly bad but a lot of that was Jason Roy who just had a complete disaster - 2 drops and missed run out chance. Woakes, for example, fielded magnificently with 2 superb catches and tied a record for most outfield catches in a World Cup game I think.
It's definitely not panic stations but it does make things a bit harder. Assuming we should beat Afghanistan and Sri Lanka and that SA are already looking in deep trouble if they (likely although not guaranteed of course) lose to India on Wednesday then we're probably going to need to win at least 3 against Australia, India, New Zealand, Windies and Bangladesh which we should definitely back ourselves to do but winning today would have made that path look a lot easier. We haven't quite hit our straps in either games with the bat - at least not to the very highest level we've been showing over the last year. It's definitely a good result for the tournament as a whole. Gets Pakistan going and makes the battle for those top 4 slots look very competitive.
A lack of intensity is easier to fix than the players feeling the weight of pressure. It was interesting yesterday listening to the commentators saying that England would feel confident chasing 100 in the last 10 overs. I am not sure that is the blueprint anymore. The extra fielder outside the fielding circle in the last 10 means that chasing 10 an over is very tough especially if Buttler, Morgan, Roy and Bairstow are all out. Root is at his best when he is scoring at just over a run a ball and Stokes has struggled to find 5th gear of late. Moeen is capable but looks hopeless with the bat at the moment and the lower order are capable of getting England over the line when the rate is 7 or 8. Usually, England get ahead of the rate early when they chase. England were back on track at the 35 over mark but just when it looked like Buttler was finding 5th gear, Pakistan managed to gain a bit of control after the last drinks break and then Root got out. England got 35 between overs 35-40, they probably needed 50. As it was they needed more than 90 off the last 10 and that meant that we really needed Buttler to stay until the end. Pakistan bowled really well at the death. I like Woakes but he doesn't look fully fit to me. I'd like to see Tom Curran come into the side next time out. I just think he's the kind of bloke that has the temperament to get you over the line with bat or ball. If South Africa beat India on Wednesday then it really will be wide open...
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Jun 3, 2019 15:21:15 GMT
Well today is in complete contrast to Thursday's opener! I haven't seen much of today's game but I have followed on the radio and online and it sounds like our fielding was really poor. From the little I saw, I thought we bowled too short and we've been unable to bat with our normal fluency so far.
If we can put a partnership together then a freak innings from one of our middle order may get us over the line, but I thought the first game would settle everyone down a bit, but unfortunately it looks like the opposite might be true. Let's hope that the below par performance (for the first 70 overs at least) are just one of those things rather than a sign of underlying nerves.
I do wonder whether England have missed a trick with their preparation. Why haven't all of their 'day' ODIs in the UK started at 10.30am for the last 12 months or so? The pitches curated under the guidance of the ICC seem to have a bit more in them for the bowlers too. Fair enough to have good batting tracks 4 years ago when we were trying to play with more freedom, but I wonder whether they could have produced a more diverse range of tracks post the Champions Trophy in 2017? I think everyone knew there was a good chance that pitches might end up being drier and a bit two paced.
Still, whatever happens today it's important not to get carried away. It's a long group phase and Pakistan are too good a side to lose all their games. Likewise, I am not sure England are good enough to win 11 games on the spin (plus the handful they won on the spin pre-tournament).
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on May 31, 2019 14:28:13 GMT
I saw my first days cricket this year on Monday. Only the second days cricket on a non-work day at New Road this season, and on the last occasion the weather was awful so I decided to give it a miss. Mind you, it was still bloody cold on Monday!
I saw Middlesex bowled out for 220 having been asked to bat. The pitch was absolute dross and I felt that score was probably 20 runs above par. Worcester have a habit of producing pitches that are up and down from the off. One delivery from the Diglis End took off and a few balls later a similar deliver basically rolled along the floor. Worcester were then blown away by Tom Helm who was very impressive. Nice solid repeatable action, tall and decent pace. One to watch if he can stay fit.
Worcester’s batting is thin. Rhodes is not a number 3 and I don’t think Whitley is a number 6, nor a front line bowler. D’Olivera can’t buy a run and is out of the side and Fell hasn’t really found form after recovering from illness. A youngster called Josh Dell made 50 at 4 the round before so maybe he will play a few more games in the second half of the season. They have lost Twohig to injury too so they have no front line spinner. I was surprised they didn’t go in for Bess on loan and I would have thought that Somerset may have been receptive to loaning to a second division county rather than Yorkshire. I think mid-table looks the most likely outcome for Worcester this season.
Somerset have had a great start to the season and I was really pleased that they won the one day cup. They have a really exciting young squad with lots of strength in depth and competition for places. They must have a really good chance of doing the double this year. Glos have been competitive too which is nice.
I guess there won’t be a lot of love for the new franchise names on this forum. Anyone fancy going to Cardiff to watch the Welsh Fire which is the side Gloucestershire and Somerset are affiliated with? I am trying to remain open minded regarding the format but creating a franchise in Wales to accommodate the South West of England and the whole of Wales was always going to raise peoples hackles. Couldn’t they have compromised and had 10 sides with the South West one’s fixtures shared between Bristol and Taunton? Could have had a North East side too. They have 8 games at the moment. Making it 9 games with 4 home and 5 away or vice versa doesn’t seem too hard to accommodate. Ensure you have at least one game played at each smaller affiliated County each year (so the Birmingham franchise would play at least one game in Worcester and three in Birmingham) and reduce the number of list A games by moving to a knockout competition. Still sounds rubbish but at least a few less people would feel left out.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on May 31, 2019 9:10:12 GMT
I watched most of yesterday’s game on the TV and I thought England were really impressive. I think they’ll have got more out of that win than they would have got had they 370 and bowled South Africa out for 350. We know they can win games like that. I thought the pitch was tacky and slow and England assessed conditions really well and posted a score that I felt was just about par for the conditions. A less experienced team may have been bowled out for 260 chasing 350 or been overwhelmed by some good bowling and played too conservatively and posted 260.
England’s fielding was superb as well. The Stokes catch was obviously the highlight but I thought their ground fielding stood out. I reckon they recorded a net gain of 30/40 runs when compared to South Africa. Roy in particular was immaculate. Given the pressure they were under I think it was a really mature performance and I feel more confident now than I did this time yesterday. The pressure will reduce from here at least in the rest of the group stage. It was the first game, we lost Bairstow early and had to contend with an early start. I know it will ramp up again if we reach the semis but it was encouraging.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Apr 8, 2019 13:23:27 GMT
Oh - I also had a nice surprise a few weeks ago. I forgot I had entered the ballot for tickets for the Lords Ashes test until a pair for day 2 arrived in the post!
It should be a great season of international cricket. Just a shame that it's all behind a payroll. I can't think of another sport who's two premier events are not covered on FTA TV.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Apr 8, 2019 13:14:40 GMT
Norwell hasn’t played much over the last couple of years so I am not sure he will be that big a miss. Craig Miles on the other hand is a frustrating one. He was a bit hit and miss last year as you’d expect from a player still learning his trade. My guess would be that he is on the cusp of discovering some consistency though. When a county loses a player like Gidman or Kirby after seasons of consistent performances you kind of think that’s far enough but it is frustrating when you lose a youngster who isn’t likely to develop into anything other than a good County pro before he has really produced consistently over a period of time. The batting looks inexperienced but not completely lacking in talent. You could live with a few years of inconsistency if there was any prospect of the likes of Bracey sticking around should they develop into a good player. So yes, in short, I would think bottom 3 in the Championship is certainly on the cards this year.
You have to say, the strategy of Gloucestershire, Glamorgan and Durham to invest in their facilities in the hope of hosting international cricket has left all three Counties in a pretty desperate state. All the more so for Glos and Durham who have both missed out on hosting a side in the new competition next year. At least Durham had a few golden years before it all went wrong! Gloucester have been dreadful since the redevelopment was first proposed. Perhaps the strategy has paid off for Hampshire, all be it they have a very rich Chairman bankrolling the County.
There must be 20 batsmen who could conceivably find themselves in the England top 3 for the First Ashes test. At this stage I think the Burns and Roy are likely to feature but so much depends on who does what in the next couple of months. As always, the problem is that some of the better options (including but not limited to Clarke, Pope and Foakes) are better suited to 4 or lower.
The combined East Midlands XI aka Notts have a disappointingly strong squad. I heard an interesting interview with Ben Duckett last week. He basically said that after he toured with the Test side Graham Thorpe suggested that he might like to try developing a trigger, which, quite naturally, he did. The consequence was that he pretty much failed to score a run last year. As batsmen often seem to do he has gone back to his original technique which basically sees him stand still and try and hit the ball. I suspect the upshot is that he will score plenty of runs for Notts but maybe might find his technique against spin stops him having a successful international career.
Given the stuff that was doing the rounds about Joe Clarke during the Alex Hepburn trial I wonder whether moving away from Worcester might not be a bad thing for his development. I also wonder whether England might consider that he has too much baggage to make the side this summer. The pitches at New Road are pretty results orientated; I think they are better at Trent Bridge so that may work in Clarke’s favour. Notts also have a plethora of seem bowlers (Luke Wood would make a decent reserve at almost all other Counties but he is nowhere near their squad and has gone on loan to Northants). It would be nice if they could develop some of their own players – but there we go.
So I think Surrey or Notts will win the league. Surrey might just nick it as I think they have a better spin bowling attack. Kent will go down (although I backed them to get promoted for 3 years – until last year when I think I gave up hope and of course, they were promoted) but I think Yorkshire will struggle too. Not enough depth in the bowling department and a batting unit that has struggled for consistency over the last couple of years. Warwickshire need a couple of their (mainly pilfered) young batsmen to step up too. Sam Hain is a top order batsman who I thought would play for England but he seems to have kicked on in List A cricket and stalled in the red ball stuff.
I like Somerset’s bowling depth and Azhar Ali looks like a good signing but I always feel that Somerset have the odd low score in them.
Middlesex and Lancashire should get promoted but that’s often not how it works. A side gets on a role early on and then before you know if half the season has gone. The fixture list is a bit different this year though so maybe that won’t be the case this year. I know Northants have lost players but Wood and Holder are good early season signings and they could do well if they can score enough runs.
I have seen plenty of Worcester over the last couple of years. I have to confess, unlike Irish, I have definitely got an affinity with my adopted home County. New Road is a lovely place to spend a day and the proliferation of home grown players makes it really fascinating to see their development season on season. I promise I won’t go on too much (because I appreciate there can only be very limited interest in a non – west country County on a Bristol Rovers forum!) but Worcester have a really exciting bowling attack. Leach is really underrated but has a fabulous record over the last few years and Tongue will probably be the next Worcester cricketer to move to Notts or Warwickshire. Both missed large parts of last season but I expect them to make an impact this year. Pennington, Barnard and Brown are also a year older (Barnard is already pretty close to the finished article with both bat and ball and Pennington is probably the most promising of the lot, although his body language is a bit flat at times). Parnell looks like an astute signing to me. Much better than Magoffin anyway who was past his best and didn’t really have the pace to compliment Leach and Barnard who are certain starters.
They will miss Joe Clarke but signings Callum Ferguson and Wessels could go some way to replacing his runs (although I am not sure whether Ferguson is playing First Class cricket). They will need the likes of Fell, Cox and D’Oliveira to score more runs than they managed last season if they are going to get promoted and if spin does play a larger part this year due to the schedule they will need Twohig to step up too. It will also be interesting to see how Alex Gidman gets on as head coach.
I know Sussex have been heavily backed but I don’t think they will see much of Archer this year. They look better suited to List A cricket to me.
As a footnote – it’s been a good mornings cricket at Taunton. Gregory in the wickets again. He's another cricketer I rate really highly. Both he and Brooks are great county pros and ideally for Somerset, both are just a notch below international quality and so are omnipresent.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Feb 1, 2019 13:27:19 GMT
Another top order failure....Followed by a decent recovered...Followed by a meek collapse.
The wicket was definitely difficult - I have no idea why the Windies spent 20 years not preparing wickets like this. Opposition teams hate these wickets and even fairly mediocre seamers can do major damage by 'hitting the pitch hard', something Windies seamer have always been better at than anyone else on the whole. England can bleat and moan about the tracks all they like but they are running the risk of getting a reputation as fair weather players. Last year they were fine until it started moving sideways at Trent Bridge when our batsmen suddenly looked like they'd never faced the moving ball. Now faced with a bit of inconsistent bounce (yes the one that did Root was brutal but let's not overdo it - we've seen far worse tracks in the past) they're not up to the challenge. I imagine much the same would occur if the pitch turned a bit. It's all very well banging it round the park on these flat ODI wickets but I think the word might have gone out on England's test team. Prepare more bowler friendly tracks that suit your attack and then back your batsmen to stand up to the Test better than the England ones will. It's working for the Windies so far. This is as dangerous as they have looked in years.
Having said that I thought 250 would be a good effort on the wicket. 30-0 from Windies overnight says I might be wrong there. Still think it looks like a pitch Broad could do damage on though. If not we could be more or less out of the series by close of play today.
Some interesting points there. My perception has been that when the pitch moves sideways they are in the game, both spinning or seam / swing. With a few exceptions (Trent Bridge being the obvious one, and New Zealand last winter too) I think they have tended to struggle when the pitch responds to extra pace or is flat. Our batsmen struggle in all conditions if we're honest but when it's doing enough for our bowlers, other sides struggle against our attack. When it does nothing for our bowlers that is when a bit of wrist spin, or better control or the extra pace other sides seem to have has caused us a problem. We still seem to be a long way off a side that can compete in all conditions to me. At least 3 top order test class batsmen for starters. I think Burns could be OK but Denley's career average isn't 36 for nothing. Are any of Bairstow, Stokes or Buttler actually good enough to bat in the top 5? They all have talent and are without doubt worth a place in the side given the paucity of other options but all are decent numbers 6-7 really. Career averages don't tell the whole story but I think they do reflect a lack of consistency and a looseness of technique. We need a bowler who can hit 90mph regularly too. Maybe Archer but it's asking a lot for him to do it consistently from the off and for him to stay fit. Both Stokes and Curran are 4th seamers I think. I don't subscribe to the view that you can't bowl at around 80mph and not have a good test career but you have to have skill and consistency. Curran's seam never looks great to me and his control isn't good enough at the moment. Stokes is great on his day but also not consistent. Moeen is also clearly better suited to batting at 8 and playing as a second spinner or as the only spinner on a green top. I can't decide whether the degradation of first class cricket across the world has affected the quality of test cricket, especially the batting, or whether we have entered an era of exception pace attacks. I think probably the answer is a bit of both.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
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Post by jackthegas on Sept 21, 2018 8:15:20 GMT
I wonder whether a season in division two might actually benefit Lancs in the long term? Players like Hameed, Mahmood and Parkinson might get a bit more game time and form playing against weaker sides. I was certainly surprised to see Maharaj playing for them on a short term contract instead of Parkinson a few weeks ago.
On paper, Worcester look like they'll finish well a drift but I can think of a number of games where a bad session cost them. I think the bowling attack looks stronger now than it did at the start of the season. The magoffin signing hasn't really worked out and the extra pace that Parnell has given them is what they really needed close season. He's a left armer too and I think he's a great signing. Add Leach who has missed half the season with injury to Pennington, Barnard and Tounge and I reckon that is a quality seam attack.
The batting has been the problem though. They've lost a couple of games in the first session of the first day. They need to find a couple of reliable batsmen either from outside or from within. Their best performances of the season have been based around the batting of Clarke, Moeen and Mitchell but they've either been unavailable for much of the season or hit and miss. Averaging 40 with a couple of hundreds is decent but not enough to carry a batting side. It sounds like Joe Clarke is off to Notts which won't help. As always though there are a couple of young players coming through and I expect Worcester to sign an overseas top order batsman next year. At some stage I really do think this side will survive and thrive in division one. The proposed change to a 10 team first Division might help them do that.
The one day campaign was obviously a highlight. It's funny how often the least fancied side comes through to win finals day. Really pleased for Ben Cox, especially after the heavy handed way he was left out of the championship game the week before. He's got to be one of the best keepers in the country and in another era would be close to the England side.
I thought Gloucester had a promising season until they lost Norwell and especially Miles. They've been inconsistent but they seem to have some batsmen coming through the ranks which is really encouraging. And then the news broke about the departures and you wonder what the point is. Worcester have lost one of the most promising young players of his generation. Fine, I think small counties can live with that. But when you lose a couple of run of the mill bowlers it grates.
Time for some kind of remuneration system for young, home grown players I think.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 313
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Post by jackthegas on Aug 24, 2018 7:41:37 GMT
I think there is more to the Rashid situation than meets the eye. Something is clearly amiss at Yorkshire. They are losing or are rumored to be in the process of losing several senior players and frankly, their coach, Andrew Gale seems like a bit of a hot-head. I think relations between Rashid and Yorkshire have broken down and Ed Smith will have heard both sides versions of events before deciding to pick Rashid.
In terms of best openers in the Championship, Hammed is a real worry. He hasn't managed a score over 35 this season. I hope he comes good but he's struggling to hold down a place in Lancashire's best team at the moment. It will never happen but Daryl Mitchell has scored 800 runs at 46 in a struggling team. I am telling you, England could do a lot worse if they are looking for a Chris Rodgers type figure.
Vince is a good player and I think he could make it at the highest level but his selection doesn't do anything to help the balance of the team. To use a footballing parlance, it's like picking 5 attacking midfielders and wondering why you're getting overrun in the midfield.
I read an article by George Dobell on Cricinfo yesterday. He basically said that organized players like Nick Compton, Jaik Mickleburgh (who scores a lot of runs in minor counties cricket) and Andrew Umeed (who scored a very slow Championship hundred against a quality attack last season) don’t get a look in. They are seen as poor value for money because they are one dimensional and so can only play one form of cricket. Someone like Pope can obviously play in all three formats and so he represents better value for money, particularly for smaller counties. You can even see that at Gloucester where Tavare has arguably been shown less patience than some of Gloucester’s other younger players. I thought it was a prescient point. Even if it isn’t entirely true at the moment (Mickleburgh has a poor first class record over an extended period of time), you can see that it could be an argument County CEOs use when deciding who gets a contract in future.
I think you can apply the same logic to off-spinners. Would someone like Martin Ball come through the system at Gloucester now? I am not sure he would. Far more value for money to be had in investing in a Ryan Higgins style medium pace all-rounder or an erratic leg spinner that is likely to be an asset in limited overs cricket than an orthodox off-spinner whose strength is consistency. An off-spinner might only positively influence the two or three rounds that are held in July and August.
I wonder whether they might stumble across a solution over the next couple of tests anyway. If Bairstow can bat but not keep I would think they might push him up to 4 and Stokes to 5. I think Bairstow would average 45+ without the gloves and Stokes has been stoic in losing causes a couple of times in the past. I also think he is the England batsman that seems most able to work at his game. He was really poor against spin when he started but I think he has developed a method.
I watched the first quarter final last night. How good was Parkinson! I can’t imagine that Kent’s groundsman is very popular today though. If there is a side that you don’t want to play on a turning wicket it’s Lancashire.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 313
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Post by jackthegas on Aug 20, 2018 16:15:41 GMT
Thanks for the write-up Irish. Trent Bridge is my least favourite ground. It’s a pain to get to from the my house and the only time I’ve been was that horrendous bore draw against India a few years ago. I watched India’s lower order bat most of the day very slowly. It has undoubtedly coloured my view!
England are a shambles. I’ve said before that I find their wins difficult to fully enjoy because as a side they are just not progressing. When they win it is almost always because their swing bowlers have outperformed their counterparts in helpful conditions and then we’ve managed to scramble together enough runs thanks to our lower – middle order to build an unassailable lead.
If the opposition manage to post a score of around 300 in the first innings we buckle. If we bat first, we buckle more often than not. If it’s not swinging we can’t bowl sides out. Even when we create chances, we can’t catch. We’re as bad now as we were in the 90s. The only differences are that cricket has drifted further from the public consciousness and that Australia aren’t very good anymore and so we manage to beat them at home.
There is no silver bullet here. England have some good players but they don’t have any balance in their side. I think they could pick a marginally better side, but I do not see a Strauss or a Trott or a Collingwood waiting in the wings. The ECB have chased money to the detriment of the performance of the test team. They’ve put almost all cricket behind a paywall and the only highlights available are on a channel that no one watches. The first class game has been pushed to the margins meaning we don’t produce bowlers who can be affective outside of England. Even Sky don’t cover First Class cricket, preferring to cover the CPL and IPL instead. The decision to incentivize young English players means that good county pros have drifted out of the game which has diluted the quality of County Cricket. Smaller counties can’t compete which means they are prioritizing List A squads. This has had a positive impact on England’s One Day team but I think it’s had the opposite impact on the Test Team. The integrity of the Championship has been eroded because of the decision to split the leagues in to 8 and 10 (again – to accommodate more T20 cricket). Relegating 25% of the top division promotes short termism from the big counties.
All of this needs to be addressed, but in the short term we need to pick some boring cricketers. I have agreed with a lot of Ed Smith’s picks but Pope was a stupid, high risk selection. The guy hasn’t batted above 6 for his county and is clearly a very dynamic cricketer. He is not what we need right now. Our openers are really struggling and we desperately need some solidity to the top of the order. I know averages aren’t everything but Rory Burns has consistently averaged 10 runs per innings more than the openers we have picked. He has the right kind of aptitude and he is a leader. Surely we’d be better picking him to bat at 3 and dropping Root back down to 4? I know Joe Clarke has been mentioned a lot and he is a good player but I have seen him a lot and I also think he is cut from the same cloth as the players we have at 3-7 in the side at the moment. If it’s swinging he swings too. The player at Worcester that I would consider is Daryl Mitchell. Another proven leader, a good catcher and a consistent run scorer over a number of years. He’d be a stop-gap but I think he’s capable of averaging 35+ at the top of the order, which would be considerably better than anyone else has managed. He’d definitely help the balance of the side. Even if the top 4 batted 50 overs and scored 100 runs that would be enough to set a platform for our biffers down the order. At the moment they are being exposed to the new ball too early when bowlers are fresh and the ball is swinging.
We need to consider an insurance policy at 5 too. This would mean a difficult decision but the best sides have a Thorpe, Collingwood, Waugh type cricketer coming in at 5 that can bat time if a side lose early wickets. Stokes has to play to balance the side and Bairstow has been one of our more reliable cricketers so that would probably mean Buttler missing out. I saw James Hildrith make a class hundred in tough conditions against Worcester last month and if we are looking for a stop-gap in the middle order, I would think that he would be a better bet at 5 that Ian Bell. Perhaps unfairly though he is also perceived to not necessarily be the man you want in a crisis although that isn’t an assessment I agree with.
Can I hijack this thread with a quick comment on the T20 too? Given that the sides that Irish, Wareham, and I watch regularly are all represented in the quarters. I have genuinely got split loyalties for the Worcester – Gloucester game which surprises me. I can’t work out which side I will find myself rooting for but I am looking forward to it. I think Glos have gone off the boil so Worcester will start as favourites but perhaps that will play into Gloucester’s hands? I like the look of the Somerset team, they have got most bases covered, but Notts have a really good side and seem to be hitting form at the right time.
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jackthegas
David Pritchard
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 313
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Post by jackthegas on May 13, 2018 9:04:58 GMT
Was that the first time that Lancs batting clicked in the first innings? Should be a good match starting Friday. I doubt if the Somerset bowlers will find Old Trafford as bowler friendly though all the Somerset bowlers have chipped in so far with Gregory, Overton, Groenewald and Davey all getting wickets. It’s good to see the spread, makes you more vulnerable if it’s only one of the bowlers in form. With 3 centurions so far and a match winning 82 by our captain the batting is looking a bit more secure though we still collapse around one of our players getting a big score. Leach was left out against Yorkshire because I think they will rotate the spinners early on before playing both in the second half, but that’s my interpretation. With these swing and pace friendly wickets I would be surprised if both played before August. Though it was a part time spinner Abell who had two wickets against Yorkshire. The whole table is very close with only Worcestershire looking off the pace. A good case could be made for all the rest. We could find ourselves in August with some counties able to make a case for being Champions yet still being vulnerable to relegation. At least it will be interesting It seems a bit daft doesn't it - rotating the England spinner out of the lineup! But I suppose that's what you get for scheduling so many games in April and Somerset need to keep Bess happy especially if Leach does end up cementing an England place. You are half-right about Lancs batting lineup because, while it was the first time the vaunted order actually delivered, it was mainly the bottom end and lower order that pushed them up to that imposing score. The highly touted top order failed yet again - so much for the next England batting solution coming out of Old Trafford, none of the likely candidates have made any kind of case for themselves. But then neither has anyone else really. Vince might just be sitting pretty here. I think Lancs will be pretty worried about their start to the season to be honest - from what I've seen so far they are more likely to be near the bottom than the top which is not what they were expecting. It's quite simple - too many players not playing very well. If you'd said that Bailey would be their leading wicket taker at this point I think everyone would have assumed that would mean they'd be right up there - instead he's the only one keeping them in games right now. I want to go this weekend but it might be tricky this time. I may have to hope for another match that goes the distance. Far be it for me to contradict our Somerset correspondent but I think I read that Leach picked up a small knock just before play and that’s what Bess played. I’ve been to two days play this year and have seen the best and the worst of Championship cricket. The first was against Notts. I arrived during lunch. Worcester lost all 10 wickets in the first session and that ended the match as a contest really. It was also bitterly cold and as a result the crowd was sparse. Yesterday, the sun shone and the crowd was far healthier and the cricket was competitive. I saw all of Joe Clarke’s hundred. He’s got a Bairstow style back lift but that’s it really as far as similarities go. He’s quite wristy and far more languid than Bairstow. He pulled the ball especially well yesterday. He picked up length really well and rolled his wrists to stay in control of each pull he played. For a while, at 140-2 I thought Mitchell and Clarke might bat Essex out of the game and they made batting look easy. What impressed me with Clarke though was that as wickets feel at the other end, he trusted his game enough to drop down a gear. He weathered a particularly good spell from Siddle and Harmer. I then saw Tongue stand out with the ball after Magoffin and Leach wasted the new ball. Based on yesterday, his control has improved and he’s quick enough (86mph ish at a guess) and tall enough to extract things from the wicket that others can’t. I certainly thought he looked a more likely England prospect than Porter. Worcester have a seem bowling attack that is good enough for Division One in my opinion with strength in depth. I’d forgotten all about Morris who was terrific a few season ago and is making his way back from injury. They also have George Scrimshaw coming back from injury who was with the England pace programme this winter. There are other young bowlers around too who I hear good things about. The batting though is overly reliant on Mitchell and Clarke and to a lessor extent Travis Head. D’Olivera is a decent 6 or 7 but I don’t think I fancy him to get through the new ball early season. Fell hasn’t really got going since coming back from his health scare and Cox is probably a place too high at 6. They have some lower order runs in them but you can’t rely on that. I can’t help but feel that both Moeen Ali and Worcester would have been better served by him playing some Championship cricket rather than sitting on the bench in the IPL. I also saw a lessor spotted spinner in the Worcester side yesterday. The excellently named Twohig was fielding at first slip which suggests we might see a fair bit of him this season. He’s another home grown player and I hope he can develop into a useful option. Somerset look like they might be the early season pace setters after this round. Given how strongly they usually finish the season, could it be their year? I think my worry for them is injuries, particularly to the batting. With Trescothick injured their top order looks a bit inexperienced. I saw a bit of Gregory bowling on the live stream the other week and I thought he looked a real handful. He seems to impress every time I watch Somerset.
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