Blueronron
Manager
It will be by 8.35 pm tonight
I also believe the two tier league doesn’t help.
I know it adds a dimension to promoting and relegation, but Denly was division two and I suspect not the greatest bowling he faced, similar the year we won div two Porter was getting wickets for fun ( And yes I am a huge fan of him) but did it educate him ?
The league needs to be combined imho and something in the structure needs to be assessed so even mid table have something to play for, not sure minor leagues have the facilities to come up which would add a dimension to relegation
The three wicket keepers I agree madness, and I wouldn’t write off Curran still young and will learn, and of course we won’t have Jimmy Anderson for ever so who is pushing for his place ?
Good wake up call for selectors in coming months, but I think we need to give W Indies a pat on the back, their bowling was impressive and made the ball move and bamboozle our players, disappointed oh yes, but was good to watch the W Indies looking in the groove
Agreed with this. Not sure why people get annoyed about the 3 keepers thing. Bairstow and Buttler would play even if they never kept wicket in their life, and Foakes is the best gloveman in the world who was picked as a reserve for the Ashes on his batting. Curran is in the team because he performed so well, but it is hard to ever see him playing regularly in overseas tours unless he becomes a top 6 batsman which, incidentally, Alec Stewart views as being his future.It educated Porter enough to be the best bowler in Div 1 the following season!
Curran is in the team way too early but otherwise we’re not picking inferior all-rounders. It just happens that nearly all our best batsmen also can keep wicket (as do Joe Clarke, Olllie Pope, Duckett who missed out) and our best bowlers generally bat.
Agreed with this. Not sure why people get annoyed about the 3 keepers thing. Bairstow and Buttler would play even if they never kept wicket in their life, and Foakes is the best gloveman in the world who was picked as a reserve for the Ashes on his batting. Curran is in the team because he performed so well, but it is hard to ever see him playing regularly in overseas tours unless he becomes a top 6 batsman which, incidentally, Alec Stewart views as being his future.
Regarding an earlier post, merging the two divisions is not the answer in county cricket either. Calling out the standard as not good enough and then wanting to get them playing against the cream are two conflicting ideas. Two division county cricket actually makes selection easier as you can chart a player's ability to progress and step up. County cricket's main issue is that it is nearly all played in April, May and September, meaning bowlers do not work too hard for their wickets and batsmen are always playing on pitches where one will have their name on it.
There are no easy solutions here. England have picked a lot of batsmen who have failed since Strauss, Trott, Bell and KP left the team. Back then we had 7 batsmen averaging 40+, what a luxury that was.
Very good point but of course cricket is in the entertainment business and the ECB need bums on seats. High summer, long evenings is ideal for the one day stuff and the argument is it does more harm than good for batsmen who keep having to swap from one day mode to first class week in week out. Didn't seem to do players like Gooch and Richards to much harm but there you go.
On Foakes, tad early to start calling him the best glove man in the world just yet.
I think the gap has grown between fc and limited overs cricket since Gooch and Richards’ day. They were trying to score 250 in 50 overs now it’s more like 250 in 20 overs.
My preference is still for a county championship played Fri-Mon and a midweek floodlit game. At the heart of the debate is who County cricket is for: is it for the retired and those rich enough not to work or is it for the working man or woman outside of their Mon-Fri 9-5?
Yep it is hard to argue with the financial element of prioritising white ball cricket.Very good point but of course cricket is in the entertainment business and the ECB need bums on seats. High summer, long evenings is ideal for the one day stuff and the argument is it does more harm than good for batsmen who keep having to swap from one day mode to first class week in week out. Didn't seem to do players like Gooch and Richards to much harm but there you go.
On Foakes, tad early to start calling him the best glove man in the world just yet.