| T' T20 & th'Ashes & NZ24 13:02 - Oct 25 with 28276 views | D_Alien |
Great to see Ben Stokes will be fit for the Ashes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/59022351
The touring conditions will be particularly onerous this time round, so hope he's in a good place mentally too
But first up - the T20 World Cup, and a great start against WI, our nemesis in the last Final [Post edited 30 Nov 12:17]
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 12:10 - Jan 16 with 2892 views | pioneer |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 11:54 - Jan 16 by D_Alien |
Didn't watch t' shit
This thread should be burnt and its remains scattered in the world wide urn |
…along with several central contracts including the coach’s |  | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 16:02 - Jan 16 with 2800 views | Nigeriamark |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 12:10 - Jan 16 by pioneer |
…along with several central contracts including the coach’s |
Where do you start when it comes to getting batsmen who can score in red/pink ball cricket? we may not have lost 5-0 as in other series, but we have set all sorts of hapless batting stats. Our worst overall batting average since the 1880's is just one of them. Until today's decent start, their number 10 partnership had a better average than our opening one. The list is endless. I still think we have some good bowlers ( other than a spiner), but a couple are due to retire & others can't stay fit. |  | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 07:08 - Jan 17 with 2652 views | pioneer |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 16:02 - Jan 16 by Nigeriamark |
Where do you start when it comes to getting batsmen who can score in red/pink ball cricket? we may not have lost 5-0 as in other series, but we have set all sorts of hapless batting stats. Our worst overall batting average since the 1880's is just one of them. Until today's decent start, their number 10 partnership had a better average than our opening one. The list is endless. I still think we have some good bowlers ( other than a spiner), but a couple are due to retire & others can't stay fit. |
It was only one ball away from losing 5-0. Agnew says do away with the counties … I never rated him as a bowler and don’t think he is any better as an analyst.
When Aussies have to look at their game they don’t destroy the basic fabric …the Sheffield shield .
It’s not the structure it’s the people in charge who have shown no interest in supporting or promoting that structure. All been about the dash for cash.
No free to air tv has turned it into a niche sport for private schoolboys and a community game for those already exposed to the game through family. | | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 08:41 - Jan 17 with 2627 views | D_Alien |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 07:08 - Jan 17 by pioneer |
It was only one ball away from losing 5-0. Agnew says do away with the counties … I never rated him as a bowler and don’t think he is any better as an analyst.
When Aussies have to look at their game they don’t destroy the basic fabric …the Sheffield shield .
It’s not the structure it’s the people in charge who have shown no interest in supporting or promoting that structure. All been about the dash for cash.
No free to air tv has turned it into a niche sport for private schoolboys and a community game for those already exposed to the game through family. |
Whilst agreeing about Agnew, it could be argued that the newer formats are targeted at a younger and more broad-based demographic
Can't watch the Hundred personally, but it was a succesful launch and if even a third of those new spectators start following the Test team, the 5-day game (which should be retained) will survive. For that though, we need some success
Its a conundrum, and no easy answers, but the old moans about it being elitist no longer apply imo
[Post edited 17 Jan 2022 8:42]
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 12:09 - Jan 17 with 2515 views | pioneer |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 08:41 - Jan 17 by D_Alien |
Whilst agreeing about Agnew, it could be argued that the newer formats are targeted at a younger and more broad-based demographic
Can't watch the Hundred personally, but it was a succesful launch and if even a third of those new spectators start following the Test team, the 5-day game (which should be retained) will survive. For that though, we need some success
Its a conundrum, and no easy answers, but the old moans about it being elitist no longer apply imo
[Post edited 17 Jan 2022 8:42]
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Well lets hope some of those folks attracted by the fireworks and music of the hundred (do they notice the play?) actually take up the proper game and give the selectors (apologies no longer selectors, its the coach who chooses the team) some choice that goes beyond the customers of the private education system. | | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 12:14 - Jan 17 with 2509 views | EllDale |
Sadly I have to report that all three of my sons fall into the above category.
Displayed no interest whatsover in cricket (despite my best efforts) until 20/20 came along.
They now go to Headingley but only because it's a night on on the lash with their mates. The match itself is incidental.
Bit like a day at the races. | | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 12:57 - Jan 17 with 2449 views | D_Alien |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 12:09 - Jan 17 by pioneer |
Well lets hope some of those folks attracted by the fireworks and music of the hundred (do they notice the play?) actually take up the proper game and give the selectors (apologies no longer selectors, its the coach who chooses the team) some choice that goes beyond the customers of the private education system. |
There's two different (but probably related) issues
There's attracting people to watch (the 'evening out with the family', or 'night out with the lads' that EllDale refers to) and there's enabling young kids the chance to play the game
Certainly when i was at primary school there was a Rochdale league, played on cricket strips in school playing fields or places such as Lenny Barn. I also recall having to leg it with a few other lads from St. Peter's on Kingsway after we'd thrashed them. They came after us with fists raised!! So much for elitism!!
But sadly, most of those facilities have now gone, or in a state of disrepair | |
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 13:30 - Jan 17 with 2413 views | isitme |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 07:08 - Jan 17 by pioneer |
It was only one ball away from losing 5-0. Agnew says do away with the counties … I never rated him as a bowler and don’t think he is any better as an analyst.
When Aussies have to look at their game they don’t destroy the basic fabric …the Sheffield shield .
It’s not the structure it’s the people in charge who have shown no interest in supporting or promoting that structure. All been about the dash for cash.
No free to air tv has turned it into a niche sport for private schoolboys and a community game for those already exposed to the game through family. |
The thing with the Sheffield Shield is there are only six teams, so the quality is much better than the English County Championship. The best are playing against the best on decent pitches, which helps to develop actual quick bowlers and batsmen who can play test match bowlers.
Having 18 counties and matches played at the ends of the season on green tops is hardly conducive to developing test match players. Someone like Darren Stevens with his 70 mph line and length can be unplayable, but spinners do not get the chance to develop. Oh and for most of the season the best players are away at the IPL or enforced rests due to central contracts. They never get to play themselves into red ball form.
Radically, having a county championship with 6/8 teams would reduce the workload but should increase the quality. The counties could then still play white ball cricket (which is what makes them money) and potentially 3/4 day red ball matches as a 'feeder system' to the main championship teams similar to the 50 competition which currently runs at the same time as the hundred. The T20 blast should be held in one block over a few weeks. |  | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 17:36 - Jan 17 with 2287 views | EllDale |
From memory there wasn't just a weekend Rochdale Cricket League which was certainly still in existence in the late 1980's but also a midweek, 20 overs a side, league.
Didn't Mayfield ARLFC have a team in this latter competition and, for much of one season, play Geoff Marsh who went onto open for Australia?
I too played on Lenny Barn, several school pitches and also at places like Denehurst Park which had a decent matting wicket. | | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 19:56 - Jan 17 with 2214 views | pioneer |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 13:30 - Jan 17 by isitme |
The thing with the Sheffield Shield is there are only six teams, so the quality is much better than the English County Championship. The best are playing against the best on decent pitches, which helps to develop actual quick bowlers and batsmen who can play test match bowlers.
Having 18 counties and matches played at the ends of the season on green tops is hardly conducive to developing test match players. Someone like Darren Stevens with his 70 mph line and length can be unplayable, but spinners do not get the chance to develop. Oh and for most of the season the best players are away at the IPL or enforced rests due to central contracts. They never get to play themselves into red ball form.
Radically, having a county championship with 6/8 teams would reduce the workload but should increase the quality. The counties could then still play white ball cricket (which is what makes them money) and potentially 3/4 day red ball matches as a 'feeder system' to the main championship teams similar to the 50 competition which currently runs at the same time as the hundred. The T20 blast should be held in one block over a few weeks. |
Yes they have six teams because they only have six ‘counties’ (= states) and a much smaller population than England (and Wales).
Our lack of quality arises from the vast reduction in exposure and opportunities to play asa result of selling out TV rights to non freeto air and the game no longer being played widely in state schools.
Think back to when cricket was widely played by kids in schools and watched widely on TV, The range of teams who won the county championship because there were enough good quality players to staff 17 teams (no Durham then). | | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 20:53 - Jan 17 with 2170 views | isitme |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 19:56 - Jan 17 by pioneer |
Yes they have six teams because they only have six ‘counties’ (= states) and a much smaller population than England (and Wales).
Our lack of quality arises from the vast reduction in exposure and opportunities to play asa result of selling out TV rights to non freeto air and the game no longer being played widely in state schools.
Think back to when cricket was widely played by kids in schools and watched widely on TV, The range of teams who won the county championship because there were enough good quality players to staff 17 teams (no Durham then). |
But they could have more teams, but chose not to so that they do not dilute the pool of talent. The grade system underneath the first class game is really strong with a number of feeder leagues playing 3 day red ball games.
I do not agree that free to air games would increase the quality of the England team, especially with the millions lost in TV rights not being able to be spent on either he men's and women's game and initiatives such as dynamos and a number aimed specifically at inner cities would not get any funding at all. Without Sky's money there would be no full time professional female players. Now that's not to say that there couldn't be more matches on free to air channels, but I do not share your view that it would help that much. Probably the biggest barrier to kids playing cricket is the cost to play. We have a lot of local clubs and Chris Schofield went from Littleborough to England international. Jack Morley who plays at Heywood is on Lancashire's staff. I think a key question is how do we get kids who have talent, but whose parents cannot afford to buy equipment playing cricket regularly?
School can give exposure, but there isn't the time to really develop skills, which is where the local clubs play a crucial role. As for the county championship back in the day, there was no IPL, T20 or central contracts and the country championship had more games played in the height of summer. Overseas players were also better and tended to be there for the full season. Facing Wasim or Waqar was certainly a test for anyone's technique. Again, did we have a wider pool of quality players to select from. For most of the 80s and 90s England were pretty average at test cricket. Our rise to number one in the world coincided with a good top six who were pretty much always available, behind them there wasn't much depth.
It is a difficult problem which probably needs a range of solutions, but I do not think maintaining the status quo in terms of the county championship is one of them. [Post edited 17 Jan 2022 20:56]
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 19:11 - Jan 18 with 2000 views | blackdogblue |
In a shock announcement the English Cricket Board have announced they have appointed Tennis World Number 1 Novak Djokovic as Temporary Head Batting Coach.
A spokesman for the ECB released the following statement:
“We acknowledge Novak does not have a background in our sport however there were two mitigating factors, both sports are a bat & ball and it took Australia two weeks to get him out” |  |
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 19:56 - Jan 18 with 1955 views | pioneer |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 19:11 - Jan 18 by blackdogblue |
In a shock announcement the English Cricket Board have announced they have appointed Tennis World Number 1 Novak Djokovic as Temporary Head Batting Coach.
A spokesman for the ECB released the following statement:
“We acknowledge Novak does not have a background in our sport however there were two mitigating factors, both sports are a bat & ball and it took Australia two weeks to get him out” |
Very good!
Reminds me of a story Jim Laker once recounted on TV about the famous hill at the SCG in the 1930s.
At the time there was a big court case going on in NSW about an abortion clinic run by a Nurse called Riley. Englands openers (probably sutcliffe and holmes from yorkshire) had been batting all day and the fans on the hill were getting more frustrated as the beer consumption increased. The aussie captain in frustration and with only a few overs left in the day decided to give the wicketkeeper a bowl.
This led one fan on the hill to yell out “Jesus christ Bradman…why dont you bbring Nurse Riley on, she can get the bastards out” | | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 09:35 - Jan 19 with 1810 views | AtThePeake |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 17:36 - Jan 17 by EllDale |
From memory there wasn't just a weekend Rochdale Cricket League which was certainly still in existence in the late 1980's but also a midweek, 20 overs a side, league.
Didn't Mayfield ARLFC have a team in this latter competition and, for much of one season, play Geoff Marsh who went onto open for Australia?
I too played on Lenny Barn, several school pitches and also at places like Denehurst Park which had a decent matting wicket. |
There's still a midweek league in Manchester but it's a daft format. Think it's 16 x 5-ball overs and teams of 8. |  |
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 11:56 - Jan 19 with 1703 views | D_Alien |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 09:35 - Jan 19 by AtThePeake |
There's still a midweek league in Manchester but it's a daft format. Think it's 16 x 5-ball overs and teams of 8. |
That sounds like the type of format more suited to indoor cricket. I played quite a few games at the facility near Healey Dell in the 1990s, great exercise too, very taxing on the legs doing a lot of very quick running whilst batting. Shame when it closed
Not sure why that format would be used outdoors, but i suppose anything that encourages people to take up the game is to be welcomed | |
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 23:22 - Jan 19 with 1519 views | D_Alien |
Yes, that's an interesting article, with some well-made points
The trouble is, its an article that (tv rights aside) could've been written in any decade in living memory. I can recall my dad ranting at the telly when it was announced that Colin Cowdrey was replacing Brian Close as England captain, and not due to performance! (Cowdrey famously won the 1967 series in the West Indies, incidentally)
The squad returning from down under contains Haseeb Hamid, Ollie Robinson, Johnnie Bairstow (whose dad David kept wicket for us down under but was ostracised due to his working-class origins, leading to mental health problems and suicide), Ben Stokes (the literal street-fighter), Jimmy Anderson, etc.
My point is, education and background certainly helps, but imo its not a barrier but rather an excuse for poor playing conditions in English red ball cricket and dire preparation. The team who won down under in 2010/11 weren't hindered by any of the points raised in the article
[Post edited 19 Jan 2022 23:24]
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 18:21 - Jan 20 with 1351 views | pioneer |
Not to Rob Andrew, Barnard Castle old boy. | | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 18:33 - Jan 20 with 1347 views | pioneer |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 23:22 - Jan 19 by D_Alien |
Yes, that's an interesting article, with some well-made points
The trouble is, its an article that (tv rights aside) could've been written in any decade in living memory. I can recall my dad ranting at the telly when it was announced that Colin Cowdrey was replacing Brian Close as England captain, and not due to performance! (Cowdrey famously won the 1967 series in the West Indies, incidentally)
The squad returning from down under contains Haseeb Hamid, Ollie Robinson, Johnnie Bairstow (whose dad David kept wicket for us down under but was ostracised due to his working-class origins, leading to mental health problems and suicide), Ben Stokes (the literal street-fighter), Jimmy Anderson, etc.
My point is, education and background certainly helps, but imo its not a barrier but rather an excuse for poor playing conditions in English red ball cricket and dire preparation. The team who won down under in 2010/11 weren't hindered by any of the points raised in the article
[Post edited 19 Jan 2022 23:24]
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And I bet your dad said Cowdrey didn’t win that series it was sobers who lost it. In the only test that was completed He declared twice and set England a target of 215 on an excellent batting wicket.
One of only two occasions that a team has declared twice and lost in test cricket.
Garry would get bored in games that were going nowhere. | | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 18:54 - Jan 20 with 1324 views | D_Alien |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 18:33 - Jan 20 by pioneer |
And I bet your dad said Cowdrey didn’t win that series it was sobers who lost it. In the only test that was completed He declared twice and set England a target of 215 on an excellent batting wicket.
One of only two occasions that a team has declared twice and lost in test cricket.
Garry would get bored in games that were going nowhere. |
Remember that well, but it was just one game and we were competitive throughout to be in with a chance when it came
My dad didn't say anything - he pretended not to be interested after Cowdrey was made captain! I just take players for what they offer in the heat of battle regardless of their origins | |
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 21:34 - Jan 26 with 1105 views | TyroneShoelaces |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 18:54 - Jan 20 by D_Alien |
Remember that well, but it was just one game and we were competitive throughout to be in with a chance when it came
My dad didn't say anything - he pretended not to be interested after Cowdrey was made captain! I just take players for what they offer in the heat of battle regardless of their origins |
In the heat of this battle. Rovman Powell is king for today at least
Some of our bowling wouldn’t go amiss at Redbrook or Stag Park [Post edited 26 Jan 2022 21:37]
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| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 21:47 - Jan 26 with 1088 views | Brierls |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 21:34 - Jan 26 by TyroneShoelaces |
In the heat of this battle. Rovman Powell is king for today at least
Some of our bowling wouldn’t go amiss at Redbrook or Stag Park [Post edited 26 Jan 2022 21:37]
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The likes of Roy and Livingston are finding out what it feels like to be on the receiving end of brutal batting, rather than dishing it out. |  | | |
| T' T20 & th'Ashes on 21:50 - Jan 26 with 1080 views | TyroneShoelaces |
And the second string bowlers finding out that top class batters will
Take you to pieces every single 1/2 chance they have | | | |
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