The cricket thread

Heartfeltdawn

Y'know... I'm debating something radical for next year. Leave London, back to the sticks, focus on something totally different after the last few years of madarse work and pandemics. 

Village cricket would be something to do. And a tailender like me would look fucking ridiculous with a bat like that. Hmmmm. 

Stuckfast

I used to play in a pub side where about half of us were decent cricketers and the other half were pissheads. The unusual thing was that the pissheads came from various Asian backgrounds, and every time we came up against a really strong team they were able to put in a few phone calls and get us some ringers who didn't usually play locally. 

One time we came up against the best club in the region in a cup final. Their best batsman came out to bat. The Pakistani spinner we'd mysteriously recruited said don't worry, I'll get him out second ball. And he did.

Heartfeltdawn

The days before some leagues changed their rules were great. I remember a 2nd XI game at home where the 1st XI arrived back rather rapidly. One of my mates was making his way in 1st XI cricket, just a couple of games in the top order. They'd been rather blown away by a ringer who was playing because he'd not long been back in the country, his county stint hadn't started yet, and a mate asked him if he fancied a few overs. Quite a useful chap too, went by the name of Walsh...

sixstringsupplies

Is anyone watching the pyjama cricket?
Dawid Malan has been frustrating to watch in this series but he has enough credit in the bank to carry. But personally I’d much rather see Root at 3 in the Twenty20 World Cup later this year. Root ahead of Hales. 

Actually watching Dawid Malan bat for his whole international Twenty20 career has been frustrating, though more often than not, he pulls it off and accelerates through the gears.

Bet Malan gets 90 not out today now I’ve said that!

crunchman

sixstringsupplies said:

Is anyone watching the pyjama cricket?

No

Heartfeltdawn

Yay to some livestreams and yay to it looking far warmer than it did for the Somerset-Worcestershire warm-up last week. 

rocktron

Forget about trade and vaccine supply deals with India. We need to send in Bojo to bat for England!!!

https://i.imgur.com/sTff3DO.jpg

camf

Heartfeltdawn said:

Yay to some livestreams and yay to it looking far warmer than it did for the Somerset-Worcestershire warm-up last week. 

Excellent. Watched the first 15 overs. Proper cricket... bog-all happened. Twenty four runs for none down. Summer is here!

Heartfeltdawn

rocktron said:

Forget about trade and vaccine supply deals with India. We need to send in Bojo to bat for England!!!

https://i.imgur.com/sTff3DO.jpg

Boris as captain: He'd be giving the shit in the warm up, go in at 3, late cut the first ball past leg stump for 4, then nick off to the slips. Tail end bails him out a bit and gives his team 120 runs to play with. 

In the field, he's dropping them in the slips, blaming the sun, and eventually moves himself to midwicket after the third catch goes down off the same opening bowler, who by now is chuntering. First changers come on, get some wickets, and then Boris misses a crucial chance to run their number 7 out. Team Boris goes on to lose by 4 wickets. The winning side are amazed that those same hands that couldn't catch even the simplest nick are absolutely rock solid around a pint glass. 

rocktron

A future England batsman and captain? Michael Atherton's son, Josh de Caires, hits a hundred for his University team.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/56586817

The lad seems to be using his mother's surname in his cricketing career, possibly to avoid media scrutiny, and comparison to his father.

His mother is from Guyana where many famous West Indies cricketers came from, among them Rohan Kanhai, Basil Butcher, Joe Solomon, Lance Gibbs, Clive Lloyd, Roy Fredericks, Alvin Kallicharran, Colin Croft, Faoud Bacchus, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and Ramnaresh Sarwan. 

Heartfeltdawn

Happy start of the County Championship season day to you all!

https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/2096539/how-to-watch-listen-and-follow-the-2021-lv-insurance-county-championship

Should be interesting to see if this hub works out. 

scrumhalf

I don't envy anyone having to field in this weather. Did the season ever start this early, even in the days of the B&H cup? 

Heartfeltdawn

scrumhalf said:

I don't envy anyone having to field in this weather. Did the season ever start this early, even in the days of the B&H cup? 

1947 season started 3rd May. 

http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1940S/1947/ENG_LOCAL/

1985 season: earliest round of matches were the pre-season uni games (first class status then, not first class now). 4 days games, started 20th April. County Championship started 27th April. 

http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1980S/1985/ENG_LOCAL/CC/

I've had pre-season games start this early but never full league. I too do not envy them fielding in this weather. 

Heartfeltdawn

So far at 1147 the biggest stand for the first wicket down is Hampshire with 37. A measure of how hard things are for opening batsmen is to go through every game and to put the score down at the fall of the first wicket

(Edited now Cookie is out for Essex)

30
5
0
8
37
17
3
14
8

So across the 9 games that have lost a wicket, the average first wicket stand was 13.5. Not a single half century stand. 

So having the games start this early does fuck all for opening batsmen, it does fuck all for spinners, and it makes it easier for average seamers to take wickets. 

Stuckfast

It's not ideal, for sure, but given that the English climate only gives you a five-month window to play cricket, some of it has to go at the start. Not sure these conditions would be much fun for T20 or 50 over matches.

Have there been any minefields out there this morning? I've been watching the Northants-Kent game and the pitch has been slow but pretty true. And it's too cold for the ball to swing.

Who do you fancy for the Championship this year? Lancs look very strong to me.

Heartfeltdawn

Stuckfast said:

It's not ideal, for sure, but given that the English climate only gives you a five-month window to play cricket, some of it has to go at the start. Not sure these conditions would be much fun for T20 or 50 over matches.

Have there been any minefields out there this morning? I've been watching the Northants-Kent game and the pitch has been slow but pretty true. And it's too cold for the ball to swing.

Who do you fancy for the Championship this year? Lancs look very strong to me.

The lack of temperature is the big thing. No temp = no swing. One of the Somerset pre-season games, Sonny Baker was getting some right hoop going. Definite shades of Simon Jones in the action and pace. 

https://mobile.twitter.com/SomersetCCC/status/1376495654822940673

The game against Glamorgan with sod all temperature, it looked horrible. 

Some centurions out there, both openers which is good. 48 wickets fallen today at time of writing. Only 1 of them has fallen to a spinner (Leach). 

Heartfeltdawn

Stuckfast said:

Who do you fancy for the Championship this year? Lancs look very strong to me.

I know who I don't fancy based on their top 6. Sussex and Glamorgan look very weak. 

For all round balance, Essex and Somerset are still top. They have the bowlers, they have a good lead spinner, both of them have some real old head experience in Hildreth and Ten Doeschate, Essex ahead on the batting front but not by much. Cook is an onbious standout man but Tom Lammonby looked bloody amazing last season and carried this on in pre-season this year. 

Lancashire are a work in progress. The bowling line up is not hugely experienced outside of Tom Bailey but they have got some batting experience. I hope Josh Bohannon will have a good season as I really like the look of him with the bat. 

Surrey: man, you look at that side and you wonder why they aren't being tipped to hammer people. You look at the side today and they've got the closest thing to a Test match top six in county cricket with one international bowler, one quite possibly international this winter in Jamie Overton, and one future England spinner in Virdi. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/scorecard/ECKO49936

And that side today doesn't feature the like of Will Jacks, Ryan Patel, Conor McKerr, Rikki Clarke, Gareth Batty, Dan Moriarty, Kemar Roach coming in soon, Jason Roy, Plunkett, Dernbach... the combination of youth and experience in that squad is just mental. 

But ultimately for the title Essex are the clear favourites as they'll only lose Lawrence to England (maybe). Somerset losing Leach over the summer is a blow. 

Stuckfast

That'll be the Surrey that have just scraped past 200 against a thoroughly pedestrian Gloucestershire attack... underachieving as ever. They must think highly of Gus Atkinson, whoever he is, if they picked him ahead of all those others.

Essex and Somerset will be up there again for sure. That Baker guy does look handy, shame he couldn't get a game today.

Heartfeltdawn

Stuckfast said:

That'll be the Surrey that have just scraped past 200 against a thoroughly pedestrian Gloucestershire attack... underachieving as ever. They must think highly of Gus Atkinson, whoever he is, if they picked him ahead of all those others.

Essex and Somerset will be up there again for sure. That Baker guy does look handy, shame he couldn't get a game today.

Exactly, hence my sort of open-ended exclamation which wasn't strong enough. The squad, the venue, the money... and yet it's like this. The Tottenham Hotspur of cricket strikes again. 

Interesting seeing how a number of sides today has revived their fortunes with a good bit of tail wagging. 

scrumhalf

Darren Stevens starts the season with a ton. He'll doubtless skittle a couple of Northants batsmen out as well.

I don't know how he does it, I'm just glad rhat he does.