Those damn Celts
Hero again?
By Grockle
May 2 2011
The first CB40 of the season on a grey May Bank Holiday against Glamorgan. The Indian summer is over and it's windy and cold here in Taunton. Lewis Gregory is named in the eleven and Dibble is 12th man according to the scorecard. Mendis, the man who broke the Unicorn's good start yesterday is also named.
v Glamorgan CB40 @ Taunton Monday 2 May 2011
Commentary (Radio Bristol supposedly)
The sun has gone and the wind has returned for this clash between the sides from either bank of the Severn.
The side named on the scorecard is;
Trescothick, Kieswetter, Trego, Compton, Hildreth, Buttler, Suppiah, Gregory, Hussain, Mendis and Kirby
Adam Dibble is named as 12th man and that is probably how it will stay I think. So what do I know. Dibble plays instead of Hussain. We won the toss and we are going to bat.
A decent smattering in the Botham, Trescothick and CA Stands but the side stands are not as well filled. Early days yet though. Reports of rain in the air about the place and there is white cloud covering as far as the eye can see.
And almost on que the rain appears. At 1:30 we get isolated drops that suggest heavier to come and the groundstaff wheel on the solid covers rather than just putting a tarpaulin over the square. If anything the cloud cover is darkening and this may be a delayed start with hopes being that if we do get some of the stuff suggested it is hard and quick and gone!
Nevertheless the Umps (Hartley and Malone) lead the Dragons out on time followed by Marcus and Craig. Harris will open from the Old Pavilion to the skipper and beats him with the first one and with the second. The Boss puts bat to ball three but the playing and missing returns for the fourth followed by sheer class to flip the fifth to the Somerset Stand boundary...first overs at the moment are scary! Marcus then pinches the strike and will face Wagg from the River as well. This is not necessarily a bad thing as he flips one through a vacant third slip position and takes a single. A much more assured cover drive comes from our keeper for his first scoring shot as he beats the fielders to the Colin Atkinson boundary for four. Two overs down. Nobody out. 10 on the board. Phew!
But I type too soon as Marcus plays to a slanted ball from Harris and is caught in the slips off the first of the third and is gone for 6!! In comes Trego at 11 for 1. He is here to make a statement and starts with 9 off the third including a majestic drive to the electronic scoreboard boundary. He follows this with a six off Harris into the scoreboard seats at the start of the fifth. The last ball is a one ball four to the Gimblett. 32 for 1 after 5 with Trigger on 19.
Man on a Mission
A number of overs of absolute mayhem ensue as Pete goes after anyone who puts a ball anywhere near him. He has amassed 48 by the end of the next 4 overs and goes to 50 off 20 balls! with 3 sixes and 7 fours. We have 95 after 10 overs with the 100 coming up 1.2 overs after. Craig doesn't hang about either and at 127 in the 17th he passes 50 with a six and 4 fours.
On his way to 100, Pete scares the living daylights out of the BBC commentators (especially those on the internet it seems) as he takes out the shed window on the roof and hits one of the radio men in the back with a mighty six that would have cleared the OP if not for that specific wooden structure. Another of his sixes bounces off the concrete of the last row of seats in the Somerset Stand and bounces back on to the pitch.
He is dropped by Harris in the 90's and the poor Glamorgan man then gets tortured for the rest of the innings every time the ball comes anywhere near him. Up comes a stupendous hundred at 176 off 58 balls with 6 sixes and 8 fours before he goes to Harris caught in front of the Caddick for exactly three figures. Try batting him at number 8 now guys!!
With the 200 coming up in the 24th, the Welsh pain is not yet over as Craig moves towards a ton of his won. However at 222 for 2 the clouds finally can't hold on to the water any more and rain takes the players off with Jos on 10 and CK on 95.
It's going to be a while people, the big covers are on and the drops are big. The last time we can get on is just after 6 when a 10 over slog would require Glamorgan to hit 110. If they get out by 5 with 27 overs left the Welsh would need 246!! How the hell does that work?
So - 6:15 start 19 overs. Glamorgan have to hit 196 and Adam Dibble is taking the new ball to Rees. His partner is Petersen the captain.
It starts well with dots for the first two balls of the over after which Rees squirts two boundaries to either side of the ground and then takes a single off the 5th. Needing 10 an over it's OK as long as you keep up with the rate but murder if you fall behind it in any over. They are behind it after 6 balls but only by 1.
Steve Kirby is the first Somerset OP bowler and thinks he has Rees Caught behind after one ball. Umpire Malone does not agree. Nevertheless he has Rees in all sorts of trouble halfway through the over. He still gets a cut shot under Arul to the boundary though followed by another that eludes the diving Gregory for another one. That along with two wides brings the Glams to 20 and a six to the Gimblett puts them ahead of the rate after 2. 26 after 2.....
Another six halfway through the 3rd takes them to 37 so they are still keeping ahead of the rate and Gregory is replacing Kerbs at the OP. The skipper is showing faith in his younger bowlers which is good to see. Let's hope they repay that faith. Presently they are swinging and the ball is falling luckily for them in open ground so the score is still moving too fast.
To emphasise that point (as if it is needed) the Glamorgan total is 3 off 50 by the end of the 4th with the D/L asking for them to get one run less after another over! Peter Trego is on at the River for the 5th and decides to go around the wicket to Rees for the 4th ball. It is shoved out by Rees to Arul who fires it back in to Craig and Petersen is well out as the keeper reverse sweeps the stumps into a bloody mess - 48 for 1. In comes Allenby and Pete finishes his over with 2 runs and a wicket! Is this bloke some kind of allrounder?
59 at the end of the 6th is required and Mendis is on at the OP with a bowling powerplay being employed for two overs. A flash at the ball with no slips and no sweeper gives them a four off the first through "second slip". Then it's singles but they have 60 by the end of the 6 and the rate is back to normality.
74 by the end of the next and this is not looking good with the visitors still ahead of what is needed. The Boss tries Adam at the OP and lo and behold his first is snicked behind by Rees and we are in the wickets!! An excellent over is then marred by a superb piece of fielding by Arul who takes the last ball off the ground and fires a huge ball into the stumps at the OP with the Glam bloke just in...unfortunately it goes straight through the stumps and out to the Ondaatje boundary for 4 (daft rule daft daft rule)! 79 after 8
Well it worked at that end so the skipper transfers Lewis to the River for the 9th and he does his job with 84 followed by a pearler from Dibble leaving them 20 behind at the rate at the start of the 11th (89 up needing 109 by D/L). Mendis is back and after an over of singles his last ball goes into the Tone over the Trescothick. It's still squeeky bum time!! 102 after 11 and Steve Kirby on for the 12th who gives away 12 - they just keep coming back!
But so do we!! Lewis and sub Barrow combine to remove Allenby who smacks one down to the CA and goes to a smart low catch from the young man. but that simply drives the new man O'Shea to try some desperate stuff and fire consecutive fours to the corners before he is trapped LBW ball 5 and Glamorgan are 123 for 4 at the end of the13th. The last Mendis over goes for 9 so we go into the 15th with the opposition 132 for 4 needing 64 off 5 - gettable in my humble opinion.
Trigger takes over 15 and leakes three consecutive boundaries off his first three deliveries....the over the Welsh wanted seems to have arrived. He ends with 146 and the team now look to Kirby. One thing about Steve is that if he can deliver he will and one of the greatest things in watching cricket happens ball 1 when he absolutely destroys Wagg's middle stump with a jaffa!! 146 for 5 becomes 152 for 5 by the end of the 16th. 44 off 3 and they need 173 by the end of Peter's last one.
Disaster!! They get to 172 as the batsmen flail at everything and almost everything goes!! It's back to Kirby again and ball 1, again, he delivers as Nick Compton takes a boundary catch that the batsman did not quite get hold of to put them on the backfoot again. In comes Owen and looks to have pulled a vital boundary which Gregory saves by patting down the ball turning a sure fire four into a double instead. They need 18 off 7 and a single means 17 off 6. Three boundaries would do it. Trescothick turns to Gregory - what a job!!
Ball 1 seems to have gone for two but the Welsh guys have run one short so it is a single. Ball 2 is also a single - boundaries are necessary to keep them in it. Ball 3 batsman plays and misses and takes a streaky run. Now boundaries are essential but a win is still on. Ball 4 two runs but it simply is not enough and we feel we can breath a little. Ball 5 and Lewis wins the game with another single only. Ball 6 no score, no-one cares, Gregory stands defiantly after showing how large his spherical objects are and what a find he is. Brilliant from both the young bowlers after quite shaky starts but I don't know who is going to make way for this man but he has to play in most games if this is what he can do.
Shakey but the right result. We could have totalled 350+ in a 40 over game and the D/L nearly sank us but we worked at it and came through with vital performances at vital times
Pete and Craig with 195 off 188 balls and then Steve with vital wickets at vital times and then Adam with 1 for 30 (7.5 and over when they needed 10) plus Lewis with 2 for 30 off 4 he did the job and took the responsibility when it was handed to him. (Cricinfo had him bowling 3 and Trigger bowling 5!!)
A good game, the right result and on to Worcestershire on Wednesday.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:04:11:43:59 by Grockle.

Weather is looking pretty groovy here in TA1 for my favourite fixture of the season
And what a difference 8 days has made
The team seem a little bit like they did last season
![[:wor kid:] [:wor kid:]](/phorum-5.1.15/mods/smileys/images/13.gif)

No Cosgrove or Maynard for Glamorgan, arguably their best 2 one day players last year, plus MT cant do any worse than 1st 2 games yet we've still won 2 out of 2
Roll on 1.45...
fingers crossed!
Quote:yes but please dont reveal my identityold boy!
From your seat near the new scoreboard you will be able to witness Tractor giving his usual wholehearted support!
might see you later OB

W. Owen (a new name on me) 1-0-28-0
Quote:wsm fan
No...Maynard for Glamorgan
Hardly surprising, as he is now employed by Surrey!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:02:14:38:29 by Frome Exile.
Visions of last year's nightmare and 1990 flooding through the minds of Welshmen..
Sounds like he's hugely impressed with Lewis Gregory.
Ditto with Callum Haggett, although he admit he is biased in that case.
He does not sound particularly impressed with Barrow or Meschede, saying that he's not sure that they have really developed that much.
I know it's a different form of the game, but you sense he is on a mission to make a point or two, to both SCCC re batting position & of course the England selectors !
What are the prospects for a resumption over there ?
Grizzzly
Wurz
Wurz
Very annoying to lose a game against a low quality opponent to the weather.
I hope that Essex and Lancs (who are likely to be our main rivals in this group) also get their games with Glamorgan rained off.
On the bright side, both Pete and Craig have had very, very good weeks and must now have a lot of confidence to take into the Worcs game.
Wurz
Wurz
SLC - those were my thoughts entirely. Glamorgan have been very, very lucky. If Jos had got going, they would have been chasing more than 350!
Sounds like it has been an utterly witless team bowling performance in the field so far and we badly needed that.
Privilege to watch Trego and Kieso today and had a nice chat with Mike and Bagpuss freshly down from sunny Scouseland.
Until we get Kartik and Alf back, the batting is going to have to fire, big-time, in every one day game at Taunton, because economy rate is not going to be a strength of this attack.
Truly shocking from Somerset.
24 off 2 needed, so likely to lose.
Kept his cool to allow us to scrape home.
He and Dibble sounded like the least bad of our bowlers today.
It's a damn good job Pete and Craig were as destructive with the bat as they were.
Sounded like a 10 with the bat and 1.5 in the field kind of day.
Come on Somerset
Wurz
We deserved to win on the basis of our batting as these shorter games favour the side batting second so much. Now thoughts can turn to Fratton Park!

Please could you give spectators an idea of the match permutations when there's a rain break, as many spectators including my family left, not knowing whether the game would start again.
Please also note that the pa cannot be heard under the Botham stand, where many spectators shelter during rain breaks.
No way they'd have got close to our impending 340+ total so only fair we won even if bit close for comfort, if we can get the next2 sundays then Alfie and Murali back for remainder of campaign, roll on Wednesday...
Answer: take the runs scored by the team batting first, take away how many wickets they lost and the number you first thought of, then halve it - if that's not easy enough, subtract 30...ect ect
Also does anyone else agree with me about the choice of "music" after every boundary, wicket, over etc. I'm probably doing my best Victor Meldrew impression but it did nothing for me. Quite the reverse.
Max Waller could come in on the slow side, as could Dockrell when he has recovered from injury.
SP - D/L favours the side batting second much less than the old system did! We did win the toss in this one and choose to bat even though some rain (not as much as actually fell) was forecast.
These rain effected matches are often like this match runs easy to get, bowlers will always get hit for runs the main thing to do is keep your nerve, and that goes for the spectators.
The pitch was a good batting pitch, the ball coming onto the bat and stood up to be hit.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:02:21:48:12 by Mike BOS.
Granted we are missing Alfie (and i'd say Ben too) but great experience for Lewis and Dibble, and can only be helping them.
Max will be in for Mendis soon too and think we've yet to see Kirby at his best in 1 day stuff.
We have won 3 out of 3, (2 of which away) without Alfie and with Tres averaging a shade over 1 so far.
My glass very much half full so far, roll on the local derby Sunday.....
Kirby has always been a better CC bowler than a one-day bowler. He's gone for 5.6 an over in his one-day career which is certainly high considering he's never had a home track that is routinely flat.
A very cold and damp day probably made things difficult for Mendis.
Based on what they said to the radio, it sounds to me as though Mendis's personality would make him much better suited to a long spell as an overseas player a la Mushtaq than as a locum.
They said that the word from the club is that he's a really shy guy that takes time to settle in and feel comfortable in a new environment. And time to settle in is precisely what a four or five CC game locum does not really have.
If that aspect of his personality was known to the club, then I'd think they might possibly have looked elsewhere for someone whose job description as locum necessarily demands somebody who will hit the ground running.
three out of three is good going. Especially given the other results around the country with Essex and Derbyshire looking in-form teams.
Tres will only get better and the rest of the batting line up seems to be going well.
The bowling: it is good that they are bloodying new bowlers now early in the season and with Thomas and kartik to come it will strengthen the side.
If we can beat worcestershie (who have a decent batting line up) and defeat gloucestershire then we would have a better start to most seasons.
Notts are winning games on the second innings (look at their bonus points) which i would be surprised if it continues. Lancs won't last. Durham are the team I would recognise as the best challengers as they are now winning games with their spinners.
anyway, still think it will be a good year.
C Kieswetter hitting a single for his 50. I was trying to think of a caption for this photo.
G Wagg looking to hit this ball from S Kirby.
All he ends up doing is losing his wicket.
Peter Trego celebrating his 100 runs, he made a special point of waving several time in the direction of the player’s pavilion.
1. Pete Trego's innings was one of the best you'll see in a 1 day game.
2. Lewis Gregory's last over was terrific. Full and straight and very difficult to hit boundaries off with the field back.
3. 8 of the overs Glamorgan faced were Powerplay overs and a swing through the line reaped rich rewards. That's exactly what Trego did to Owen who went for 40 off 2 overs and one of those wasn't a Powerplay over!
A good week for Somerset with 2 more Academy products making their 1st XI debuts in winning sides.
Lewis was brilliant. Glamorgan were swinging at everything and had more luck than any side really should expect in 19 overs.
Adam nearly had one first ball. Steve nearly had two with his first two balls. Ump Hartley seemed to be watching some other game or working with a different set of rules at times.
We would have posted a total well over 300 had we been given 40 overs. Peter was Craig was not that far behind him.
Boundary fielders took NO chances going for half chances. they closed down the single and didn't try and catch balls that, had they been missed, would have gone for four.
Glamorgan did really well to keep up with the rate but our young newbies were there for all of you and you have to be grateful for that amount of talent available to take the weight.

Adam and Lewis started at the wrong ends and the moment that was sorted they were among them.
Steve is never going to be the tightest we have but he does take big important wickets at vital times.
Mendis stopped the boundaries and was hit for two extremely llucky boundaries.
Glamorgan would have been dead and gone 2 overs earlier if not for a bad 17th from Pete (who had also gone for 2 wth a wicket in an earlier over so forgiveness is allowed).
D/l totals take into account that the second team know what they have to do in the shortened game while the first side were working on batting for 40 overs.
We took 7 wickets in 19 overs against a decent one day batting side looking to tonk at 10 an over with two relatively new men in the side.
Lewis Gregory went for 6 in the last over when they needed a gettable total in the teens. Despite the fact he has ice for blood I doubt Alf, Charl, Ben at his best, Zander or Kartik could have done as well.
You say weak I saw excellent promise.
I saw no-one in the Mark Turner class. I saw no-one stop working at it. I saw many slashes and swipes that went between fielders.
Where did the weakness lie? We needed bowlers to go for less than 10...
Lewis Gregory and Adam Dibble went for 30 off 4 (LG's Cricinfo figures are wrong) 7.5 and over
There are plenty to choose from and Alf and Murali may strengthen a developing bowling attack but Alf may find it hard to get back into this if some of these guys continue to move forward.
And I'm sorry AG but you do sometimes post some baseless negative tripe.
Just a couple
No spinner was ever going to be 'trusted' with the final over of this game. It wasn't that kind of game and the light was very poor by the time it came around.
Kirby was sent back in to take the batsmen on. Both times he took the wicket we needed and the new men had to start from scratch. That's what he was tasked to do and he did it. No control? Well I think Wagg may disagree with you (I think they found the middle stump eventually).

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:02:23:00:31 by Grockle.
3 out of 3 must be good.

If I'm not imagining things, D/L was 'invented' pre 20/20 format & one wonders if it needs revisiting in the light of that.
As for SCCC, I do like the sound of our youngsters. Makes the future rather 'Rosy' don't ya think ?!
Grizzzly
I'm afraid that the idea that Glamorgan are a good one-day batting side is lost on me. Where's the evidence of them having had any kind of consistent recent success with the bat in one-day cricket?
Yes, we got stitched up in that we would have won by a country mile if Craig and Jos had been able to go on with it.
But from what the radio guys said Kirby displayed zero maturity in losing his rag after a bad umpiring decision at the start of the game and bowled short rubbish which encouraged the Welshman at the start of their chase.
I think the 40 over side is currently some way off where they were last year. Gregory and Dibble somewhat encouraging but the rest of the attack not really where they need to be.
I think we got out of jail, somewhat, in both Pro 40 games this weekend.
However the points about the individual performances is correct - the lads who made the big scores were terrific, albeit, I still believe that Compton's style of batting is better suited to crisis management, and it appears that Tres is doing the right thing in being flexible with the batting order depending on the circumstances.
On his personal position it is becoming apparent that he is becoming less and less successful opening in the limited over game whereas he continues to be able to turn it on in the CC. I wonder whether that is because of the different priorities - having look for runs early in LOI hence very often caught in slips or wicketkeeper in his main weak area just outside off stumps. In CC he invariably tends to play himself in by leaving that type of delivery early on. My suggestion - in LOI he should drop down and fit in where needed. His skippering of the side is as far as I'm concerned fine.
Finally, I find it brilliant that the selectors are fulfilling BR's promise to give the youngsters opportunities - and I think it is proving to be very successful with the performances the young players are giving. I repeat I think we have something special in Dibble, and I do hope that he is continued to be encouraged, particularly in the CC, where I think his real worth may be found.
And yes, I'm afraid that what I have seen of Hartley and Nick Cook in previous seasons, makes me wonder why they are still in the umpiring line ups.
Glam are seen I think more as a bowling side than batting..based on their winter recruitment..but how we made them look ordinary!! Pete coming in at 3 has really worked this season (witness Trent Bridge too when we were 0-1) and how he must be relishing batting high up the order as opposed to getting stuck with the tail in the CC. Brilliant knock. Well Done Craig too..consistently he looks our best batter so far this campaign...
As for the bowling...we all know without Alf and Murali, our one-day attack lacks consistency and economy. I guess the hope must be that our batting gets big runs and at least something to defend! That must have been the thinking yesterday because I wondered if we'd bat second considering the weather. At times the attack was not very good at all yesterday but what character was shown by them to bounce back...esp considering it became almost a T20! Impressed with Dibble's second spell, Kirby getting wickets at the right time and Lewis as I've posted before is the future of this club
We were also rather unlucky with one near run out that hit the stumps and went for 4 overthrows.
To win 3 out of 3 without our 2 best one-day bowlers is no mean feat..Our best one day batsman's hit just 6 runs in 3 innings but the next 3 in the order have all hit tons! And the two young players we've blooded have both emerged with credit.
A side bowled out for just FITY three weeks ago has now won 4 matches in a row!!!!!! Rejoice..enjoy..and see you on Wednesday

Watching him bat yesterday he didn't seem comfortable at all, when the ball was bowled just short of a length lifting waist high he looked all at sea on how to deal with it.
I hope I am proved wrong and it just a phase he is going through.
Old Boy - based on your own analysis another possible "solution," comes to mind;
a) Marcus is capable of scoring very quickly.
b) So too are others, notably Pete, Craig and Jos above all.
sooooooo... If this issue is that Marcus isn't quite where he needs to be in the 40 over stuff because he feels under pressure to play shots all around the wicket, from the off, then perhaps he could be a bit more conservative at the start and play himself in with a view to "anchoring," the innings?
Because the one-day side is operating without Kartik and Alf, it's possible Marcus might feel under extra pressure to help us get huge scores that can comfortably be defended. Then again, Pro 40 went badly for him last season, too, when Alf and Kartik were here.
Might just be one of those things.. he went okay in the T20 last season, if I remember rightly?
Two seasons ago he could barely buy a run in the FP Trophy. So it seems there is one one-day competition in a season in which, in recent years, things just do not run for him?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:03:10:19:17 by AGod.
Great result, so pleasing to see the young bowlers perform so well, not forgetting Kirby and the rest of the team.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:03:10:10:41 by bloke.
"He will be one of the first names on the team sheet for a long while to come."
On a side note I picked up my new copy of the yearbook yesterday, where have all the scoreboards and the history of stats gone from the back of the book.....

I think the problem for any system is that it's difficult to take account of the exact match situation when the rain comes?
For example, the system took into account that we had scored 222 runs for 2 wickets, from 27 overs at the time that the rain came. But the system presumably does not take account of the fact that one of our openers, who has capacity to score quickly, had nearly 100 runs to his name at that time.
Nor can it have taken into account Jos's terrific average (more than 60) and amazing strike rate (more than 150) and the fact that he was in at the time and just playing himself in.
The system also does not (to my knowledge) take into account the quality of the bowling side. How do you build into the system, for example, the fact that this lot had only very recently been murdered at Taunton for a humungous total? That hammering would have been in the back of their mind anyway and now they were taking another fearful tonking, so we could have ended up with almost any score you care to imagine as they completely imploded.
Despite its shortcomings, I don't know that I have seen a better system than D/L. Has anyone else here?
As I said earlier, 3 weeks ago we were a total embarassing shambles! Now we've won 4 in a row! Enjoy

However Net Run Rate is, I think, the first tie-breaker? The rain yesterday cheated us of what would, no doubt, have been a huge boost to our NRR figure, had the game gone 40 overs.
We avoided the banana skin of losing to either unfancied opponent, but our NRR will not have increased greatly as a result of the wins.
Unicorns seem to be quite a competitive side again this year (although possibly not as competitive as last season, now that they lack Wes.) Therefore, it's entirely possible that Unicorns will push other teams - including the good ones in our group, such as Essex, close, and possibly even win one or two along the way.
I do not have such hopes for Glamorgan. THey got hammered regularly in Pro 40 last season (winning only 2 of 10 games) and I would think they will get thumped over 40 overs by the other better sides in this group, too.
I'm just saying that the side has come a long way in 3 weeks so lets enjoy!
Plus it made yesterday (and for those who went on Sunday) a really exciting match! I remember Glamorgan last season when they rested a few for the Championship and we hammered them..while I was obviously very happy we won, I left the ground feeling cheated and that the last 2 hours had been an anti-climax! Would prob have been the same yday had we scored 350...
(Note to mathematicians out there: yes, I know it's not that simple - but as an arts graduate, I can't see why it can't be that simple!)
Quote:Naxxar
Plus it made yesterday (and for those who went on Sunday) a really exciting match! I remember Glamorgan last season when they rested a few for the Championship and we hammered them..while I was obviously very happy we won, I left the ground feeling cheated and that the last 2 hours had been an anti-climax! Would prob have been the same yday had we scored 350...
Yes, my dad enjoyed the game.. texted me to say it was worth hanging around after the long rain stoppage.
In the T20 games that I saw last season (other than the famous one at Lord's) Somerset also batted first and made big scores and then the opposition never seriously threatened. If I was a neutral, I suppose I might have been underwhelmed with those contests. However, as I am not and the sides that we beat in those games, such as Middlesex (at Taunton), Essex and Kent are generally pretty good one-day sides, I actually took enormous pleasure from the comprehensive nature of the victories.
We usually have a decent game against Glamorgan with the bat and in the past Mr Cosgrove and the likes of Mr Cosker have saved their best for Taunton.
But please take the BBC viewpoint if you want. I'll counter the view of the press in the box who also disagreed with that assessment and looked at this as a banana skin that Somerset could only slip on. They were willing to give credit to the fact that our bowling attack didn't and the young guys controlled the end to a great extent. If you don't like Kirby getting fired up then you'd better campaign for him to be dropped as soon as possible. Marcus certainly used that drive quite effectively at specific points in the game - I can't see the "immaturity" criticism myself but he was certainly keen to take wickets. However it must be true if the BBC said so. Crowd seemed to like it quite a lot...hmm
Tell you what. Maybe in future it might be worth asking whether the other people actuagestlly at the game agree with the assessment of the great and glorious radio punters rather than stating their one view as if it is fact without peer.
It would also be refreshing to see comments about what is GOOD in a game rather than seeming to only state what you hear other people percieve is going wrong coupled with your theories on what that means and why it is happening. Sometimes it simply isn't.

PS. it was good to see Phil Tottle yesterday, I never had a chance to speak to him he was in a rush to speak to somebody else.
By the way did anyone notice the catch took by a spectator in that stand of Kieswetter.........it was me a god it stung for a while!!
Great win a great entertainment.
COACH
Of course the crowd liked it, Grockle, crowds always like panto.
However, whenever I have seen Kirby bowl he's always bowled much, much better in normal bowler mode than he has when he goes into his "rage," mode.
I know some sportsman think that getting wound up into a rage helps their game. However, I'd suggest that if Kirby thinks that, he is probably mistaken, or at least it has not helped him in the past whenever I've seen him.
It was the Bristol lot rather than Wales.
But I didn't base my impression on some kind of summary that they made. I based it on the ball-by-ball commentary and the impression gained from that. The impression from that was that Dibble bowled some good balls at times and that Gregory bowled an exceptional final over but that much of the rest of it from others was really loose.
Unless their actual ball by ball commentary was factually incorrect i.e. when they were saying 'short and wide,' the ball was not actually short and wide, then this certainly constituted poor bowling.. especially at the start of the innings.
For example, there seemed to be a stream of short stuff bowled at Rees, even though the occasional ball that was pitched up seemed to be too good for him, based on what I heard.
And BO, I watch you caught that ball you had on a light coloured jacket and I believe a blue hat. I did wonder if his family was over in that direction, he did seem so pleased.
Still a good effort by both teams.
he certainly ran like him.
I am off to watch the seconds play for a while.
Quote:Brother Of
Pete's wife and kids plus me and my little girl were in the new seats below the pavillion so thats why Pete gave a good old bat raise towards that direction.
By the way did anyone notice the catch took by a spectator in that stand of Kieswetter.........it was me a god it stung for a while!!
Great win a great entertainment.
Well caught Bof. I was very close to you and had it been me, I'd have dropped it, as I did Graeme Smith in the 20/20 Final at the Oval, mind you cider intervened that day! Rees had a good laugh at your catch, so I'm sure he expected you to drop it.
If you noticed Pete saluted me with a wave of his hand when he saw i caught it.
I dont drop many!!!
COACH
This may well be true, but I think this should be seen as a very positive trait, as this is a professional sport and it is very rare for a side to be dominated for the whole game. Therefore there will be times when a team gets some momentum, and perhaps starts to wrest the initiative from the other team. This is where the skill shown by Somerset, and various individuals within the team, comes to the fore. Kirby’s wickets, Dibble’s last over, Barrow’s catch for example.
It is similar to Clive Woodward’s maxim for his WC winning team; TCUP – Think Clearly Under Pressure. It is the ability to do this that separates the best teams, and we are showing this, as indeed we did last season also. We resist spirited, skilled and (probably) lucky thrusts/comebacks from the opposition, and this is far more to the team’s credit than dishing out summary hammerings.
Although the hammerings are fun too!
A bit of a see-saw game in terms of expectation.
The Unicorns game I was less sure about it because it was away from home on an unfamiliar ground against a team that was feisty last season (as opposed to being supine like Glamorgan were in 2010.)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:03:14:35:53 by AGod.
Shame you missed the commentary when he totalled Wagg or forced Wallace to scoop one to Compton why do you always seem to be making tea when players do their jobs?
Well I don't know what you heard but I saw our bowlers beat Glamorgan...maybe your commentators were watching another game on TV in the OP and got confused...
The weak, poorly controlled, immature bowling attack where some people bowled 'some good balls' and only one bowler (it seems) bowled 6 good balls in a row took 2 points and 5 wickets to win a 20/20 game.
Can't wait until this lot actually play WELL and win - won't that be a day?
Hope you're there to see that one rather than spending your time telling the rest of us spectating what we saw and why we are such a bunch of poor performers.
You must be really worried about tomorrow....... surely this wining streak of 4 from 4 must soon come to an end? How can we continue to flatter to deceive?

Bevan gets a ball in the Balcony


I bet the guy is 'shattered'.
Sorry................
Grizzzly
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:05:03:21:29:13 by Grizzzly.

And I don't make tea when the wickets fall, but I do go on an overall impression of how a performance sounds from the ball-by-ball commentary and the overall impression generated from that was not a good one against Glamorgan.
Somerset beat Glamorgan, 2 points won and most Somerset supporters went home full of positives...
Craig is back to his best
Pete's bat is now an offensive weapon in the principality
Two of our youngsters bowled brilliantly with a wet ball
There is too much over analyzing at present. I don't care about the loose balls, it happens. Fact is, this team have got back into the habit of always having someone who can deliver the goods when it needs to be done. Perfection is something to be treasured once in a while, not something to be demanded or expected as a given.
Hear, hear.
One more thing to consider - good balls sometimes get hit for boundaries in modern cricket by talented batsmen with excellent bats.
And sometimes, rather surprisingly, loose and bad balls get wickets.
That's the beauty of the game I suppose.
Perhaps the commentators have no idea what they were talking about? But it's not surprising that a comment such as "Reece has made it to 30 entirely camped on the back foot facing bowling that is far too short," and "If Somerset had bowled anything like, this would have been a no contest," being repeated at regular intervals do not create a great impression of the bowling.
I'm sure I wasn't the only one to hear this. I recall somebody else on the board commented that "That was not easy to listen to." I assume that poster found Pete destroying Glamorgan's bowling to be very easy listening.. I know I did!
I wasn't at the match, but those that were seem to think that Somerset bowled pretty well with a wet ball. I'm happy to take their word for it and enjoy another victory.
Onwards and upwards.
Edward Bevan Interview

Christ AG get someone to donate a "humour organ" to you for heaven's sake!
I'll tell you what may have affected their opinion of the game...the BBC team had been sent to Wormsley to commentate on the CB40 game only to find that no-one had done a recce and there was nowhere to connect to the BBC and they couldn't do their job.
They were in a foul mood still at 1:30 on the Monday and deeply unimpressed with their employers and the lack of sympathy from the Somerset media and club. I'm sure they were still entirely neutral of course but their mood was certainly not condicive to spontaneous positivity of any kind - even more than usual of course ;-)

That's an awful lot of divinity in a short space.
