***Official*** English Domestic Season 2008

[stumpski]

Well, that's baffling - Hampshire finished 10 runs short with three wickets in hand. Mascarenhas, renowned as a big hitter in one-day cricket, finished with 25 off 67 balls. So were they going for it, or not?

 

[Richard]

Yorkshire 227-6 in pursuit of 403 vs Notts, making a better fist of it than they did in the first innings but still looking likely to lose. Sidebottom not playing I noticed, does that mean he won't be fit for the next Test, or was he told to rest? And what's happened to Craig White, has he retired? Haven't seen his name on the team sheet for a while now.

White's only played one-day cricket this season.

Shame, even if he can't bowl any more (and if he could he'd probably be better than David Wainwright, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Nicholas Thornicroft and Rich Pyrah) he's almost certainly still a better batsman than Joe Sayers and co.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Bizarre stuff from Mascarenhas. He could at least have pushed a bit harder, even if he wasn't going full bore.

 

[zaremba]

Well that has got to be a huge blow for Hampshire. Bottling of the highest order. They will need to show a bit more fight than this if they're to challenge for promotion next season.

 

[stumpski]

Tbf they were 26-3 and then 63-4, so they had to rein it in a bit, but it seems odd to finish so close to a win when they were (apparently) only playing for the draw. You'd have thought in the last two or three overs Dimi would have opened his shoulders a bit; after all numbers 10 and 11 should be able to block for that long.

 

[tooextracool]

BTW, 12 wickets on debut for Imran Tahir. I hope he's down to play all the rest of the season?

Have you seen him bowl? Has quite a good FC record, bit surprising that hes never played for Pakistan.

 

[fredfertang]

Tbf they were 26-3 and then 63-4, so they had to rein it in a bit, but it seems odd to finish so close to a win when they were (apparently) only playing for the draw. You'd have thought in the last two or three overs Dimi would have opened his shoulders a bit; after all numbers 10 and 11 should be able to block for that long.

Colin Ingleby Mackenzie will be turning in his grave

I mean we set them a gettable target!

 

[FBU]

Lancashire have not yet offered Cork a new contract and told him that he is free to talk to other counties. Two unnamed counties have already made formal approaches.

That should be good news for either Hogg and Smith.

 

[fredfertang]

Lancashire have not yet offered Cork a new contract and told him that he is free to talk to other counties. Two unnamed counties have already made formal approaches.

That should be good news for either Hogg and Smith.

And good news for Lanky fans everywhere - Cork was probably a reasonable acquisition in the first place but was past his use by date at the end of 2006

 

[Richard]

Cork's last truly Cork-esque season was 2002, and I've never been as annoyed at the England selectors as I was that season, who repeatedly picked him when they shouldn't have and ignored him when they should have picked him. If they'd handled him better I truly believe he could have got re-established in the Test team that summer.

But in 2003 he played most of the season with a chipped bone in his ankle, inevitably not doing particularly well, then left seaming Derby for flat-as-pancake Old Trafford, which was a bad career move from a purely cricketing (and personal) POV. He's done decently enough for Lancs but he's never had the screaming 60\70-wickets-at-20 seasons he did in the past.

TBH I'd probably prefer him to retire at the end of this season. I'd hate to see him go on too long and become a bit-part player for whichever county he ends-up signing for. However, whoever he joins, I hope they're a county which typically prepares seaming wickets. Worcestershire would be a decent choice.

 

[Richard]

Have you seen him bowl? Has quite a good FC record, bit surprising that hes never played for Pakistan.

No, never have sadly. It's funny though - quite a few Pakistan bowlers seem to have good FC records on the odd occasion I take a look. I presume pitches in Pakistan domestic cricket tend to be fairly bowler-friendly, as not that many batsmen have particularly good averages.

Though it's not as extreme as the situation in Sri Lanka.

 

[tooextracool]

Seems odd that most of the pitches that they prepare for international cricket are so much flatter though. I remember on England's last tour, we had some of the flattest wickets during the tests but Asif absolutely destroyed us with a 10 wicket haul on a seaming nightmare during the practice games.

 

[Richard]

Yep, Pakistan pitches generally throughout history seem to have been some of the flattest going around. There's countless bowlers who've gone to Pakistan having been successful in most other places and managed nothing of note. Yet domestically, and indeed in tour-games, bowlers (particularly seamers) routinely run wild.

I've never really understood Pakistan cricket and I doubt I ever will.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Denly & Key giving a bit of a masterclass in the first 2020 semi. 40/0 off 4 overs so far.

Denly looks to score at a good lick, with proper cricket shots too. Makes me wonder why he's not in the 30 for the CT as quick-scoring at the top of the order is clearly an issue for us.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Kaneria on in the power-play. ITSTL.

Key hits his first two balls for 4 & then bowled round his legs. Partial credit to the captain. Key made 20 off 12.

 

[four_or_six]

Come on Essex... am a total convert since my visits to Fortress Chelmsford. Such a fantastic place to watch cricket, great family atmosphere.

I'm surprised no-one mentioned Kaneria or Essex much in the buildup when they mentioned slow bowling being so important.

 

[stumpski]

Surprised to see so many empty seats atm. Was the playing order decided in advance? That would explain why some of the Durham and Middlesex fans might set off a bit later, especially those travelling from the north-east.

Having said that, it looks like it's filled up a lot more in the last half hour or so.

Great fielding there.

 

[BoyBrumby]

It's almost a cliche now, but the spinners do make the difference, don't they?

Had a quiet chuckle at Bopara's bowling style as assigned by Sky: "Right Arm Bowler". He's done the trick tho, van Jaarsveld spoons one to mid-wicket.

 

[stumpski]

Hmmm, yeah, not sure what I'd call him, right arm medium pace or medium-fast, I guess. Can do himself some favours today in terms of retaining his England place, he might be up against his team-mate Napier.

 

[stumpski]

Talking of Napier - that was an awful miss. Right down his throat if he'd stayed back.