County Cricket 2022

[Blenkinsop]

Well, as a Northants follower I'd kill for a B team bowling line-up of Kemar Roach, Dan Worrall, Gus Atkinson and Jordan Clark!

 

[Pothas]

Fair enough, perhaps not the fault of Surrey after all. And yes, the schedule is a joke.

There was me thinking all last week that Hampshire were the unlucky ones having to play last week with the rain. As it turns out we somehow just got the win and Surrey then have to play with more absences. Dawson will be in Pakistan as well but we have got lucky with Vince seemingly now completely discarded by England.

 

[Shady Slim]

Surrey continue to take the piss out of their supporters as their D1 challenge recommences at Northampton today. I knew that we'd be without Pope and Foakes but figured that we'd see Jacks and SCurran in the middle order, which isn't the worst outcome. Nope, neither of them is playing, presumably exhausted by their efforts in the Hundred. Or maybe told to rest before flying out to Pakistan, in which case the county should have told the powers that be to take a hike. Instead, we've got Geddes and Steel in our top 6. Spoiler alert - they're both crap. Overton's also missing, presumably still recovering from whatever he did to himself a month and half ago. Surprisingly, TCurran is actually playing in the CC for the first time this season. Still, Roach and Worrall are back, so a low scoring 3 day match seems the likeliest outcome. Northants in with a real chance unless Burns and Amla go big.

william jacks was big in the hundred
william jacks was bowling some offies
william jacks isn't playing for surrey
william jacks isn't back in a hurry

every day the game got closer
wpdavid knew in his heart it was over
"i'd love to think we could beat northants
but we're just so overrated"

 

[wpdavid]

There was me thinking all last week that Hampshire were the unlucky ones having to play last week with the rain. As it turns out we somehow just got the win and Surrey then have to play with more absences. Dawson will be in Pakistan as well but we have got lucky with Vince seemingly now completely discarded by England.

Your boys did really well to squeeze the win out of the time available last week. I think the weather wasn't quite as bad as forecast, but fair do's to Hampshire; it would have been unjust if they had been denied a win due to the rain. We'll see how it goes, but the surprise so far is that Northants' openers have been untroubled by Roach, Worrall and the supporting cast.

 

[wpdavid]

william jacks was big in the hundred
william jacks was bowling some offies
william jacks isn't playing for surrey
william jacks isn't back in a hurry

every day the game got closer
wpdavid knew in his heart it was over
"i'd love to think we could beat northants
but we're just so overrated"

Something like that.

 

[wpdavid]

Well, as a Northants follower I'd kill for a B team bowling line-up of Kemar Roach, Dan Worrall, Gus Atkinson and Jordan Clark!

Yeah, the bowling should be OK, although your openers have done really well so far. Not for the first time, I wish we'd played another spinner instead of five RMF guys, but that's how we've gone all season. The batting is the concern without Pope, Foakes, Jacks and SCurran. I was really hoping that England would finish off SA yesterday, but it wasn't to be.

 

[wpdavid]

Well, as a Northants follower I'd kill for a B team bowling line-up of Kemar Roach, Dan Worrall, Gus Atkinson and Jordan Clark!

I must say that Emilio Gay is batting beautifully, if you're able to catch the live stream.

 

[theegyptian]

Gay (Northants), Haynes (worcestershire), Rew (somerset) and Ollie Price (Glos) are 4 young batsman I'm keeping an eye on as maybe test players of the future. Then again another year's time and it'll probably be 4 other randoms.

 

[Blenkinsop]

Yes after many seasons when fragile batting has been Northants' weakness, we've finally developed a couple of quality batters in Gay and Saif Zaib. No doubt Notts will pinch them at the first opportunity.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

I see Somerset issued a strongly worded statement about their dissatisfaction with the county cricket schedules. Only 4 days of cricket in Taunton out of 47 days in the height of summer, during which 17 members of their squad were unavailable for selection.

 

[Chubb]

Zimbabwe's Shane Snaeter with a big fourth innings for Essex, sounds like an excellent match.

 

[Daemon]

I see Somerset issued a strongly worded statement about their dissatisfaction with the county cricket schedules. Only 4 days of cricket in Taunton out of 47 days in the height of summer, during which 17 members of their squad were unavailable for selection.

@cnerd123 imagine doing the scheduling and then having people complain

 

[Blenkinsop]

Should be a cracking finale to the season. Well done to Northants for gutsing it out and getting the draw. Top knock from Zaib. I think we can confidently expect a greentop at Taunton on Tuesday...

 

[Pothas]

Great work Northants.

 

[wpdavid]

I genuinely think it's a good thing that the latest rounds of matches that mattered were able to be completed, despite the previous week's weather. If that ultimately works out for Hampshire just having time to bowl out Northants rather than my boys, so be it. Ultimately, they were good enough to do that, and Surrey weren't, even allowing for the different pitch conditions at Southampton and Wantage Road. That's the third time Surrey have been unable to finish off supposedly weaker opponents this season (the others were Gloucestershire and Kent, since you ask) and, as I've said before, it serves them right for stacking the side with RFM bowlers and not finding room for Virdi or Moriarty; both of whom are far better operators than the generally ineffectual Steel.

Looking ahead, I hope the weather will continue to provide an even playing field for the two main contenders for the title. I remember, many years ago, Worcestershire pipping a superior Hampshire team (Richards, Greenidge, Roberts and eight other blokes) because the former were able to complete their final round of 3 day matches whereas the latter weren't. And I remember thinking at the time how unfair that was, as I quite liked the Hampshire team of the time. This season, Surrey should be able to welcome back Pope and Foakes to replace the the under-cooked Smith and the under-talented Geddes. So, in theory, not having to rely on TCurran to hit an unexpected maiden hundred should be a good thing. Fun though it was. Beyond that, it also remains to be seen who will turn out for Yorkshire and Lancashire in our remaining two games. Brook will probably be back for Yorkshire, but hopefully Root will be having a well earned rest. As for Lancashire, I'm hoping not to see some random 40 year old leading their attack in extremely helpful Autumnal conditions, but he has been known to play at this stage of the season, so we'll see.

 

[wpdavid]

Anyway, it's the final of the Royal London Cup today; probably Darren Stevens last professional game. I would have made Lancashire favourites, but it turns out that Kent won the group match between the two sides, squeaking home by 2 wickets with 1 ball to spare. So it should be a close match, and the weather is set fair for Nottingham, so here goes. I wonder what the Kent supporters think about Crawley not playing, now that he's actually found some form. I think the idea is to stick with the guys who got them there, but Crawley's quick scoring at the top of the order wouldn't have done any harm. I suppose the same goes for Anderson and Lancashire, although I suspect that Jimmy is cryogenically frozen between his test match commitments. And I gather that Lancashire have chosen to stick with the guys who got them there instead of those who played in The Hundred.

Kent have chosen to bat. Possibly a brave move in the seasonal early morning conditions, but good luck to them.

 

[Blenkinsop]

@wpdavid has Moriarty actually played a FC match this season? And has Virdi got the yips? Last time I watched him bowl he was quite poor.

 

[wpdavid]

@wpdavid has Moriarty actually played a FC match this season? And has Virdi got the yips? Last time I watched him bowl he was quite poor.

I don't think Moriarty has played once in the CC this season. He played a couple of List A matches, which didn't go well. The captain thought it was a good idea to open the bowling with him, with not a lot of protection during the powerplay, and he was predictably expensive. You may be right about Virdi. I know he was loaned out to Somerset for, I think, just one match. He went wicketless and the opposition amassed a huge score. But it was only one match, and most of the Somerset bowlers were expensive, so conditions were probably not helpful. I think he may have played some List A games and gone OK, but I'm wracking my brain here. I do think that both of them would have been OK if allowed to get their act together in a four-day game or two. I get the impression that one of the reasons why they haven't played for Surrey in the CC is that they have preferred to bat deep, and these two spinners are both old fashioned tail-enders. Whereas most of the RFM bowlers (Clark, Lawes, Atkinson) can, to differing degrees, bat a bit.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Hopefully heading to Chelmsford for the bitter, bitter grudge match (my bitterness, my grudge) against Lancashire next week - weather permitting.

 

[wpdavid]

Hopefully heading to Chelmsford for the bitter, bitter grudge match (my bitterness, my grudge) against Lancashire next week - weather permitting.

I'll bite. What's the grudge with Lancashire?