• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

English Domestic Season 2024

tony p

State Regular
Championship returns tomorrow.

Essex - Durham @ Chelmsford
Worcestershire - Surrey @ New Road
Nottinghamshire - Somerset @ Trent Bridge
Warwickshire - Hampshire @ Edgbaston
and the bottom two sides:
Kent - Lancashire @ Canterbury

Lancashire have 9 players unavailable:
Hartley, Buttler, Salt, Livingstone (obviously)
Aspinwall, Stanley, Morley, Boyden (all injured)
Anderson (despite previous indications that he would play this match)
Despite the above - out of choice - they deem it necessary to manage the workloads of Mahmood (ok he might not be fit) and Wood (after a few T20 games!)
Leaving just 13 contracted players available.
They don't select Singh or Bruce (no reason given and even no mention of their overseas signing on the squad announcement) and add 2 uncontracted youngsters (19 year olds) making up a travelling squad of 13. Looks like they will play 3 wicket-keepers (Hurst, Bell and Lavelle).
I know he's only playing T20 cricket for them, but I would have thought that Lancashire must have been close to asking Steven Croft to come and play to help out if they are that short.
He could stand at slip if he didn't want to run around the field.
 

Third_Man

State 12th Man
I know he's only playing T20 cricket for them, but I would have thought that Lancashire must have been close to asking Steven Croft to come and play to help out if they are that short.
He could stand at slip if he didn't want to run around the field.
The two uncontracted players are Barnard (a spinner) and Birkman (pace). Croft would not really cover either of those positions and Harry Singh would, I suspect, be called up before him as batting cover. But another Jennings back spasm and who knows. Croft will be present as he is on the coaching staff. Croft's last first class wicket was in 2019, bowled 17 overs in 2022 and 2023 combined.
 

wpdavid

Hall of Fame Member
There's a fascinating duel going on at Worcester between Surrey's in-form batsman Jamie Smith and Worcester's loanee England bowler Shoaib Bashir. Smith's approach is to try and launch every other delivery out of the ground, but Bashir's too good for that. And his current figures don't show how well he's actually bowling.
 

Third_Man

State 12th Man
Interestingly Lancashire have edited these early paragraphs from the ECB reporters network when cutting and pasting it onto their website:

"Although both sides have struggled all season, the crowd for the first day of the 172nd Canterbury week was estimated at over 2,000. Cars were queueing for half a mile down the Old Dover Road and moving so slowly that they were overtaken by hundreds of pedestrians walking up the hill.

If they'd come to see James Anderson they were disappointed. Despite making the trip south he was left out of the squad and, perhaps unable to believe his luck at having been asked to bat against an Anderson-free attack, Compton plundered 11 from Tom Bailey's opening over."



Sadly they seem to prefer to edit all reference to James Anderson and did not seem to realise that the next sentence doesn't make sense after their edit:

"The scoring rate soon slowed however."

They then edited out Anderson again:

"It wasn't a standard interval: the crowd realised Anderson was bowling at one stump on the outfield and around a hundred fans formed a circle to watch. When he'd finished it took him nearly five minutes to reach the pavilion as he stopped for dozens of selfies.

When the outfield had finally cleared Kent suffered a mini-collapse."



Why are they so embarassed to mention James Anderson? Are they just miffed that he apparently chose to play in a golf tournament in Ireland which ended yesterday?
 

tony p

State Regular
Ryan Higgins is a very good cricketer.
I know he has played most of his cricket in Division 2, but there can't be many better all-rounders in England.
I wonder if he is on the selectors radar at all.?
 

Bijed

International Regular
Apart from when I've looked up older and more expensive examples, that's the most runs I think I've ever seen an over go for

1719234074355.png
 

mackembhoy

International Regular
Any chance for Atkinson or Potts ?
Potts hasn't had the best of seasons with the ball. Not sure how Atkinson has got on, not been in the wickets when I have looked at Surrey scorecards.

The press has said Cook likely the Jimmy replacement. He's currently out with an injury however so unsure how close he is to fitness.
 

Top