English Domestic Season 2024

[Fuller Pilch]

Smith with 4 wickets in 7 balls. Getting two ex-Worcester players out in the process

Lovely stuff

How did he look?

I see he has a 3-fer, a 50, and is now on a 4-fer. For some crazy reason he's never had a single game (any format) for NZ yet.

 

[Third_Man]

Where's that Tom Hartley quote about India.

Shows how much the Duke is a crutch to average bowlers.

As much as the games haven't been as competitive and that's a shame.

English spinners are taking wickets everywhere and English batsman getting into the swing of things think been 30 tons already.

I'd rather we develop seamers that don't just rely on conditions. Get spinners in the game and developing and our batsman making runs on flat pitches.

3 areas that England have struggled with over the years.

Rob Key going to be sat very happy even if their are county fans/cricket journalists fuming at a piece of leather.

Watch him increase it to 6 rounds next year!!

I kind of agree, just wish it was slightly more in balance between bat and ball, but if it has to be out of balance, I'd rather it was like this. 450 v 400 is better than 195 v 179 as first innings scores. My counter argument would be that the batsman already have it in their favour in the other formats.

Kevan James was saying something on commentaty about Rob Key (at an event) answering an audience question of "How are we going to produce a team to be top of the table in all formats?"
His answer:
we already have the batsmen, we now have some good young spinners all we need to find is some real quick bowlers. India keep finding them. He mentioned Turner (injured) and someone James could not remember at Somerset.

Surely, the response should be: you need to work out how to keep the ones you have already identified fit.

 

[Third_Man]

Derbyshire's Alex Thompson has a ten-fer and obviously gives it a bit of a rip. Next in line for a Test call-up? It might be the camera angle but his action looks slightly questionable to me.

Think they are more likely to look at Cameron Steel than Alex Thomson. Do the selectors know their way to Derbyshire?

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

What is up with the pitches this year? Seems like every game thus far has been 600 v 600.

Durham only made 517 so have been made to follow on.

 

[Starfighter]

Durham only made 517 so have been made to follow on.

I wonder what the record for the highest score for a team who's been made to follow on is?

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

I wonder what the record for the highest score for a team who's been made to follow on is?

Good question. Can't be too many higher you'd think?

 

[Hungry Llama]

OTOH could the kball let a lot of ordinary players go big on flat tracks?
I saw elgar quoted as saying the kball goes soft after 10-20 overs. Didnt
seem that way when englands batters were last in oz for the ashes facing
starc boland and cumins!

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Essex appear to have made hay thus far in their second innings. Still, the way things have been going they don’t necessarily have enough runs yet to feel safe!

 

[Starfighter]

OTOH could the kball let a lot of ordinary players go big on flat tracks?
I saw elgar quoted as saying the kball goes soft after 10-20 overs. Didnt
seem that way when englands batters were last in oz for the ashes facing
starc boland and cumins!

This is just as true as the combination of Dukes ball and green pitches making ordinary medium-fast bowlers look better than they are.

While I haven't watched county cricket for as long as some others here, I've always noticed that even in the period in them mid-late 10s when the Dukes ball was ultra-favourable to bowlers, batsmen could usually score when there was little grass on the pitch.

Conversely, the past two seasons of Sheffield Shield have seen unremarkable medium-fast bowlers like Gabe Bell dominate. While the Kookaburra ball is a bit better than in the mid 10s, the main factor is that nearly every pitch has been a genuine green top.

We can also look at spinners. You occasionally get grassy pitches which are dry underneath and turn. But more often the ball skids. But it doesn't matter whether a pitch is dry or damp. So long as the surface isn't too hard, cutting the grass lets the spinners get bite (in India damp pitches often turn more than drier ones). If the ECB want spinners, they need to stop penalising teams who do a Somerset.

Overall I think too much worry is given about the ball sometimes. Better to concentrate on producing a variety of pitches to produce well-rounded cricketers.

 

[Nintendo]

This is just as true as the combination of Dukes ball and green pitches making ordinary medium-fast bowlers look better than they are.

While I haven't watched county cricket for as long as some others here, I've always noticed that even in the period in them mid-late 10s when the Dukes ball was ultra-favourable to bowlers, batsmen could usually score when there was little grass on the pitch.

Conversely, the past two seasons of Sheffield Shield have seen unremarkable medium-fast bowlers like Gabe Bell dominate. While the Kookaburra ball is a bit better than in the mid 10s, the main factor is that nearly every pitch has been a genuine green top.

We can also look at spinners. You occasionally get grassy pitches which are dry underneath and turn. But more often the ball skids. But it doesn't matter whether a pitch is dry or damp. So long as the surface isn't too hard, cutting the grass lets the spinners get bite (in India damp pitches often turn more than drier ones). If the ECB want spinners, they need to stop penalising teams who do a Somerset.

Overall I think too much worry is given about the ball sometimes. Better to concentrate on producing a variety of pitches to produce well-rounded cricketers.

For all the talk about pitches at FC level, does it really make much difference in player outcomes? Feel like pitches/ball type etc at youth/grade/second XI level would have a much larger impact given how much more wicket gets played there by players early in there careers.

 

[Midwinter]

Six scores of 500 or more in this round of matches.

and being made in good time to,

 

[Starfighter]

For all the talk about pitches at FC level, does it really make any difference in player outcomes? Feel like pitches/ball type etc at youth/grade/second XI level would have a much larger impact given how much more wicket gets played there by players early in there careers.

Well FC batsmen usually develop to some extent before playing tests, especially if they started FC young and there was a decent gap between then and their test debut. As to what the different contributions are who knows. But in general a cricketer will be playing a higher level than previously, so I'd think it would effect something. Otherwise we could just pick guys straight out of U19s and have them succeed.

 

[mackembhoy]

Looks like there will be a few enforced draws due to the weather today.

Shame for Worcs as looks like they might suffer from that @chris.hinton

Somerset might get away with a draw by the looks of it. Durham too even though less likely of a defeat than Somerset.

 

[Blenkinsop]

I'm not Rob Key's biggest fan but it does seem that the Kookaburra experiment has worked, in that it's encouraged spinners who actually turn the ball, and true pace bowlers, at the expense of trundlers. Having said that, some of these pitches are so flat you'd struggle to bowl a side out with a Swing King.

 

[Starfighter]

I'm not Rob Key's biggest fan but it does seem that the Kookaburra experiment has worked, in that it's encouraged spinners who actually turn the ball, and true pace bowlers, at the expense of trundlers. Having said that, some of these pitches are so flat you'd struggle to bowl a side out with a Swing King.

Most of that is not the ball, it's simply cutting the grass off the pitches. Compare the Sheffield Shield season with the same ball and green pitches, where it was dominated by ordinary fast-medium bowlers and no-one except Beau Webster (WAG) scored runs.

So no, Key doesn't deserve much credit, unless he was ordering less grassy pitches.

 

[mackembhoy]

Somehow the rain has delayed start of all games except at Edgbaston.

Durham being saved by the rain is delayed for now

Nice and sunny up in Northumberland today.

 

[Prince EWS]

Most of that is not the ball, it's simply cutting the grass off the pitches. Compare the Sheffield Shield season with the same ball and green pitches, where it was dominated by ordinary fast-medium bowlers.

So no, Key doesn't deserve much credit, unless he was ordering less grassy pitches.

I actually reckon he probably was tbh.

 

[Chin Music]

I think it is fairly obvious that many counties need to shave off more grass. When I went to the Oval last year a few times, it was noticeable that there was way more greenery on the pitches than you would normally expect back in the day for county matches, let alone the Chief Exec test pitches that are produced, although at least they offer turn on days 4 and 5.

 

[Starfighter]

I think it is fairly obvious that many counties need to shave off more grass. When I went to the Oval last year a few times, it was noticeable that there was way more greenery on the pitches than you would normally expect back in the day for county matches, let alone the Chief Exec test pitches that are produced, although at least they offer turn on days 4 and 5.

Thing is there's always the excuse that it's early season so that just magically makes the pitches green. Same here in Australia, yes we had some wet years but the pitches were still green during a normal February despite having little reason to be.

However, even though it is wet right now in the UK the pitches aren't green, because they've actually cut the grass. It turns out the solution to excessive green tops all along was to mow the green bit.

 

[Chin Music]

Thing is there's always the excuse that it's early season so that just magically makes the pitches green. Same here in Australia, yes we had some wet years but the pitches were still green during a normal February despite having little reason to be.

However, even though it is wet right now in the UK the pitches aren't green, because they've actually cut the grass. It turns out the solution to excessive green tops all along was to mow the green bit.

We've had a few nice and warm sunny days recently although the weather has turned too be cool and wet today. It should be said we have had a very wet winter in the south east. However, I have seen enough first class cricket gearing too much towards seamers over the previous couple of years when as I said, the Oval was reliably a batting wicket for pretty much as long as I recall.