• 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.

**Official** County Cricket 2018

S.Kennedy

International Vice-Captain
works well for me. play cricket saturday and sunday. sit at the computer during the week listening and watching the cricket

A lot of the members prefer it that way too if i'm not mistaken. A large majority are retired and like to watch the cricket during the week, and do other things at the weekend.
That is not the views I have been hearing I'm afraid. Most members are livid.
 

SeamUp

International Coach
I was thinking about Notts the other day and their chances of winning the championship.

Ball should be fit and probably won't be playing for England. I'd back him to come back strong and take lots of wickets.
Broad is available for the first 10 or so games in the championship. These two things are massive +ves.

Those two + one or two of Footitt, Gurney, Chappell, Coughlin, Fletcher, Luke Wood, and Blatherwick. Pretty ridiculous reserves on the fast bowling front. To win the championship you need guys taking 50 wickets+ at around or less than 20. Ball can certainly do that.

They've obviously brought in a load of the best young english talent. The only thing I'd question about them is there isn't a whole lot of experience in under pressure consistency from most of them. Duckett, Chappell, Slater, (coughlin) they all been at struggling div 2 clubs where there is nothing on most of their games. Hard to know whether they can sustain a title challenge across a season if there batting is going to be reliant on Duckett, Slater, Libby, Moores and Samit Patel( who doesn't exactly exude permanence and reliability when batting). Clarke I think is a good signing - driven and played in teams competing across a season.

One day team should be good again though. Clarke, Duckett, Chappell, Coughlin all will add to the collective. Chappell and Coughlin both meant to be class outfielders (for bowlers), as well as their other qualities.
It's amazing how producing fast bowlers in the region never really has been a problem but producing batsman remains one. Think the last one Notts brought through is Samit Patel. Signed Hales as a youngster from MCC which is fair play. Tom Moores was at other academies before joining Notts.

You got to think with their investment that they should be in the mix again. The word from Newell and all was that they just aimed to remain in Division 1 and have a run in a white ball comp. They now should have the base to push on this season for many reasons that you mentioned.

Also good to see Carter get a call-up. Quietly had a break-through season and don't think many would have thought an England Lions call-up would happen. Quite a few young right-arm off-spinners around County cricket (Bess/Carter/Virdi). Besides Leach/Dawson not many slow-left-armers. Suppose that is why Briggs is there.
 
Last edited:

cpr

International Coach
I was thinking about Notts the other day and their chances of winning the championship.

Ball should be fit and probably won't be playing for England. I'd back him to come back strong and take lots of wickets.
Broad is available for the first 10 or so games in the championship. These two things are massive +ves.

Those two + one or two of Footitt, Gurney, Chappell, Coughlin, Fletcher, Luke Wood, and Blatherwick. Pretty ridiculous reserves on the fast bowling front. To win the championship you need guys taking 50 wickets+ at around or less than 20. Ball can certainly do that.

They've obviously brought in a load of the best young english talent. The only thing I'd question about them is there isn't a whole lot of experience in under pressure consistency from most of them. Duckett, Chappell, Slater, (coughlin) they all been at struggling div 2 clubs where there is nothing on most of their games. Hard to know whether they can sustain a title challenge across a season if there batting is going to be reliant on Duckett, Slater, Libby, Moores and Samit Patel( who doesn't exactly exude permanence and reliability when batting). Clarke I think is a good signing - driven and played in teams competing across a season.

One day team should be good again though. Clarke, Duckett, Chappell, Coughlin all will add to the collective. Chappell and Coughlin both meant to be class outfielders (for bowlers), as well as their other qualities.
You've basically described Lancashire last season. 2 guys chucking 50+ at 20 (Bailey 19.65, Onions 21) with decent support from Mennie, Maharaj and passable all rounding from Clark. Reliant on a couple of big batting names (Vilas and Jennings) hoped for decent from young English talent (Hameed, Livingstone, Davies).

Didn't exactly turn into a title chasing season....
 

FBU

International Debutant
Lions Squad to take on india a in new year. https://www.ecb.co.uk/england/men/news/947520/england-lions-squads-confirmed-for-india-tour

England Lions 50-over squad

Dom Bess (Somerset) Sam Billings (Kent)Danny Briggs (Sussex)Matthew Carter (Nottinghamshire)Zak Chappell (Nottinghamshire)Joe Clarke (Nottinghamshire)Alex Davies (Lancashire)Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)Lewis Gregory (Somerset)Sam Hain (Warwickshire)Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire)Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)Jamie Overton (Somerset)Ollie Pope (Surrey)Jamie Porter (Essex)

England Lions A Test squad

Tom Bailey (Lancashire)Dom Bess (Somerset)Sam Billings (Kent)Danny Briggs (Sussex)Zak Chappell (Nottinghamshire)Joe Clarke (Nottinghamshire)Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire)Lewis Gregory (Somerset)Sam Hain (Warwickshire)Max Holden (Middlesex)Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Yorkshire)Jamie Overton (Somerset)Ollie Pope (Surrey)Jamie Porter (Essex)Amar Virdi (Surrey)

From the tour to UAE, Gubbins and Livingstone dropped/rested. Callups for Zak Chappell, Matt Carter, Duckett and Tom Bailey.

Sam Curran and Bairstow picked up at the IPL auction. Curran is understandable (given how he did against India) but probably misguided given his limited t20 ability. Bairstow is smarter and should have been picked up a couple of years ago imo. Has experience as opener or middle order, and as keeper or outstanding fielder.

Tests 6's this year - Pant 15 Curran 14 Hetmyer 17. No one else in double figures. All in the IPL.
 

theegyptian

International Vice-Captain
One or two of the teams at the bottom of the second division should follow Somerset's lead and prepare turning wickets.

Gloucestershire, Derbyshire and Glamorgan have only spent two years in division one since two divisions came in, the least of any counties.
Derbyshire haven't won a major trophy since 1993. In the time since every other county has won at least two trophies. Warwickshire are the most successful with 13 trophies.
Gloucestershire's recent finishes in division 2 are 5th(2018), 6th(2017), 6th(2016), 6th(2015), 7th(2014), 6th(2013), 9th Last (2012).
Glamorgan's recent finishes in division 2 are 10th last (2018), 7th(2017), 8th(2016), 4th(2015), 8th(2013), 6th(2012), 6th(2011)
Derbyshire's recent finishes in division 2 are 4th(2014), 8th(2015), 9th -Last(2016), 8th(2017) and 7th(2018)
You have to go back to Jack Russell, Dominic Cork and Robert Croft for the last time these counties produced an even semi regular England player.

The point I'm making is these counties really aren't going anywhere. They aren’t producing players, they aren’t attractive to prospective players and they don’t have the financial power to compete with many of the bigger counties. Any kind of decent player coming through leaves after a little while because they are stuck in div 2. Two of Gloucestershire best young bowlers, Craig Miles and Liam Norwell, left this winter for Warwickshire. Ben Slater left Derbyshire for Notts.

Even a side like Worcestershire, who have done an amazing job bringing through a quality group of local players (with still more coming through) can't keep hold of their best players (Joe Clarke, Kohler-Cadmore) and can't manage to stay in division 1 for more than a season. The best they can seemingly hope for is to yoyo between the two divisions, and win the odd white ball trophy.

There's an actual opportunity next year for division 2 clubs with 3 teams getting promoted. Unfortunately though for the likes of Glos, Glam, and Derb there are four counties that are much stronger than they are. ie. Lancashire, Middlesex, Sussex and Worcestershire.
Under normal circumstances they aren't getting promoted. So why not do something different. The schedule is quite accommodating in 2019 to those wanting to prepare turning wickets with more cricket been played in the middle of summer than in recent times.

In the short term the counties aren't competing anyway so even if the worst happens and they get thrashed most weeks it's no different from normal. At least there is some different cricket being played. Over recent years a lot of the most interesting cricket has been played at Taunton because of the alien conditions and the difference from the rest of the grounds. It makes interesting cricket.

In the medium to long term these counties would hopefully become an attraction proposition for spin bowlers, and maybe even batsman. Like Somerset, providing spinning wickets might actually make decent spin bowlers - who might go onto play for England. Having England players galvanises the local community. You only have to look at the local support Leach and Bess have had in Somerset and Devon to see the benefits of local international cricketers. It also benefits the home team to have alien conditions to the rest of the division. Somerset were unbeaten at home in 2018 - it's tough for visiting sides.

The tactical advantages are obvious. If you play on turning wickets every other week, whilst every other team plays once a year on a turning deck then you have a pretty significant home advantage. You might have a worse squad than a Sussex or Middlesex but the gap will narrow due to your heightened home advantage.

A lot of these counties at the bottom of division 2 also have threadbare budgets and squads. Spinners generally get injured less than fast bowlers so it allows counties to maintain small budgets with small squads.

Derbsyhire and Glamorgan are in a reasonable position in that they already have some promising spin bowlers, some of which have allround skills which makes it easier to balance their sides. Matt Critchley at Derbyshire is a Batting allrounder who bowls some reasonable leg spin, plus they have Hamidullah Qadri who is a promising offie. Glamorgan have had lots of spin bowlers come through their academy in recent years, and haven't quite cracked the county game - which isn't surprising given the conditions. Salter, Morgan, Bull, Sisodiya etc. Both these teams also have fast bowlers - Vijoen, Van der Gugten, De Lange , whose skills are lessened by playing on green seamers, but whose value (in relation to other teams medium pacers) will go up on flat wickets (that turn for the spinners).

There are also a number of spinners who have been released by their counties who are presumably looking for opportunities and will be fairly cheap to secure. Kerrigan, Azeem Rafiq and Ravi Patel were the most well known of those.

Proposed Derbyshire side - Godleman, Reece, Lace, Madsen, A Hughes, Smit, Critchley, Van Beek, Vijoen, Qadri, R Patel
Proposed Glamorgan side - Selman, Murphy, Marsh,Carlson, LLoyd, Cooke, Salter, Morgan, Van der Gugten, De Lange, Hogan

The main problem with all of this is in the longer term it'll be harder to produce spinning wickets because less cricket is been played in the middle of the season. In 2020 they go back to four day cricket at the start and end of the summer which obviously isn't ideal. However Somerset had no problem artificially making their wickets spin friendly in September in recent years so it can't be that hard to produce these wickets.
 
Last edited:

SeamUp

International Coach
***ual Conquest Game with all details of girls on whatsapp group ey !

I see Joe Clarke is standing up for his best mate.

It looks bad like the lads are standing up for each other and degrading womens rights but some of the stuff like Joe Clarke was charged because she couldn't remember if she had *** with him and that she was contacting him months afterwards. Sounds twisted.
 
Last edited:

theegyptian

International Vice-Captain
So Elgars signed on for Surrey again, scheduled to play 13 out of 14 championship matches. https://www.kiaoval.com/main-news/dean-elgar-rejoins-for-2019-summer/
Stone, Fidel Edwarsds and Bairstow have signed new contract at their respective counties.
Hemphrey joins Glamorgan's long list of non England qualified players, that are playing as locals. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/46809747
Jury failed to reach a verdict in the Hepburn rape case so he's been discharged. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ch-verdict-discharged-Alex-Hepburn-trial.html
The case will certainly tarnish the name of Worcestershire CCC. Joe Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore (who have both now left Worcestershire) have been stood down from the Lions tour of india pending an investigation into their conduct. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket...and-joe-clarke-tom-kohler-cadmore-india-tour/.
The word was that Gubbins and Livingstone were rested from the lions tour rather than dropped - interesting to see if they get callups now or they pluck someone else from county cricket. I personally would take a look at Tom Abell and Harry Brook. Maybe Will Rhodes.

Benny Howell going well out in the BPL. Has a very good record with the ball in the last few years of English T20.
 

theegyptian

International Vice-Captain
The Hales career seems to have gone down the pisser in recent years.

Currently not getting into the BPL side he's contracted too. Not in England's first XI odi side. Opted out of playing first class cricket for Notts- Still not getting picked up by IPL sides. The Stokes affair.

It's kinda happening on the quite but I imagine he has quite a bit of frustration about his current playing situation.
 

Top