*Official* English Domestic Season Thread 2010

[flibbertyjibber]

Bad light saves Durham from defeat then.

Yorkshire closing in on victory.79 to win with 23 overs left and 7 wickets in hand,should be easy.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Looks like I need to reverse reverse jinx Yorkshi*e then.

 

[S Chanderpaul]

Leicestershire 2 wins out of 2 now.

Buck in the wickets again.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Adam Lyth out for 90. Great knock which has basically seen us home.

Just 30 to win now.

I see Leicestershire beat Derbyshire.Good to see young Buck doing well.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Leicestershire 2 wins out of 2 now.

It helps having found a couple of bowlers in Hoggard and Buck to go with the promising young bats they have.When you add in the fact the division is crap they look like they have a chance of promotion behind Sussex.

 

[Scaly piscine]

So weather saves Essex then.

Normal service to be resumed shortly.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Being serious i think having Blackwell at 5 is a huge risk.Not a great batting line up if you have an all rounder coming in that high.Yes the bowling is strong but the batting doesn't look as strong this season.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Yorkshire win by 6 wickets.

We are top of the league.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Blackwell averages 40 with the bat, so don't see it as a huge risk.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Yeah but he is a hitter and having a guy like him coming in at 40-3 when it is moving around on the first morning (which can always happen) is a bit risky.Also he has played most of his career on the Taunton road so that massages his figures.

Still fancy you to win the title but don't think it will be as easy this time.

 

[Prince EWS]

Blackwell's one of the better number fives in county cricket at the moment really, don't think it's an issue.

 

[Woodster]

Disappointing Essex never finished Durham off today, had a great opportunity but resolute batting from Di Venuto and Benkenstein primarily, with decent support from Blackwell and Mustard meant honours were shared. Champions spirit not allowing themselves to get beat even when up against it.

Credit to Essex who have started the season well, showing they won't be any pushovers this season. Great effort from Foster and Mickleburgh, but just lacking the genuine bowling match-winner, Ten Doeschate managed it against Hants, but we do lack a genuine threat on pitches that don't offer a great deal. 30 wicketless overs from Napier is disappointing.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

but just lacking the genuine bowling match-winner.

I think apart from Durham and Notts you can say that about every side in Division 1.

Yorkshire may have found one in OHD but it is way too early to tell as he has only played 3 games in his life but a couple of 5 wkt hauls already is promising but will he be able to use the new ball in a few weeks when Bresnan and Shahzad are on England duty?

I think this is going to be a strange old season with most sides evenly matched but the 2 i stated above should be the top 2 as they have the best bowling depth and look the most capable of taking 20 wickets a match.This may all change if there is a long hot summer and the spinners really come into it but how often do we get them?

 

[superkingdave]

Hmm just looked at Lancs CC fixtures again and they are even more crazy than i thought. We play Essex and Warwickshire twice before the end of May but don't play Durham, Hampshire or Notts before the back end of July. Our games against Notts are 24th August and 13th September.

Not that i guess we are complaining, much better to play those sides later in the season imo.

First six games are Warks(h -won), Essex(a), Kent(h), Somerset(h), Warks(a), Essex(h)...suffice to say if we don't get plenty of points early we will be in trouble.

 

[social]

So weather saves Essex then.

Normal service to be resumed shortly.

Durham better get a couple of decent batsmen into the team as aside from Di Venuto, Benkenstein and Blackwell, the lineup is rank

 

[morgieb]

It's true that they don't have many decent batsman, but their bowling is ridiculously good. Perhaps they are paying the price for not signing an overseas player....

 

[Pothas]

Excellent article on Scaly's favourite cricketer by the great Vic Marks.

Monty Panesar sets out in search of his old self at Sussex | Sport | The Observer

 

[Pothas]

Hampshire in talks with Bret Lee, not sure why. If it is just for the twenty20 then we already have Afridi and Razzak and if it is as a replacement for Mendis (if they think he will be in the Sri Lankan side against India) then it is a massive risk, we already have one 30+ fast bowler who has hardly played any cricket in the last year or so.

 

[King Pietersen]

Agreed, it's a massive risk. I've heard talks of Lee and Ishant Sharma and neither signings would particularly excite me. I would love to see us get someone like Shane Watson back for all forms. He's one of the in-form players in world cricket, is excellent in the field and offers probably as much bowling as Lee tbh. If Lee was fit and firing then it would be a different story, but he isn't. Would be a massive risk, and a waste of money if he can't stay fit. Having Watson and Afridi as overseas players for the T20 stuff would be epic.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Surrey off to a good start again 10-1.

Kent off to a solid start 17-0.

Broad bowling the Somerset openers into form.22-0 off 5 Broad 3-0-18-0.

Essex 7-2 both to Jimmy Anderson,good to see him finding form.