Marshalling the Forces
By Grockle et all May 8 2013
Headingley in early May is usually not somewhere you want to go to put your Championship season in forward gear but that is where Somerset find themselves this week. No Craig Kieswetter and George Dockrell still struggling means the younger guys may get a chance to shine. A four day win would be good lads!
The side to face Yorkshire has to adapt to the loss of Craig Kieswetter and the continued absence of George Dockrell. Taking into account that this is the start of a period where we lose players to international calls it is important that the side starts to move forward and takes points. The selectors have gone with;
So Jack keeps his place after his highly creditable first Championship game of 2013 and Arul returns to bolster the batting line-up. Steve Kirby also returns after resting last week. Yorkshire have the strange position of having to face an English batsman while not being allowed to play their own - the ECB need to sort this mess out, it's been going on unfairly for too long.
After winning the toss Yorkshire chose to bat and we got amongst them early with Pete continuing to take wickets and Steve celebrating his return. Thommo also got one and by the time Steve sent Jacques back for 49 (dropped by the skipper prior to that) Yorkshire were reeling at 75 for 4.
Unfortunately, after a morning of focus and wickets tumbling, Ballance and Rashid got their act together and it was the last we saw of Yorkshire batsmen wandering back to the pavilion for most of the afternoon and evening sessions. It was 282 before Ballance went for 107 and nearly 100 more and before Kirby also got Hodd on the morning of Day 2. By then Adil Rashid had put paid to the myth that the Yorkies batting line-up was weak with a storming innings of 138 and Somerset had lost the initiative and any advantage they had from the Day 1 morning activity.
Day 2 continued along the same kind of lines and by lunch, although Pete had removed Bresnan we were looking at a first innings lead of 371 with 3 wickets still remaining for our hosts. 3 for 79 for Trego and 3 for 104 for Kirby were not to be sneezed at but James Overton went for 5 an over from his 11 - some assessing him as trying too hard. Although the rest of the bowlers had stuck to their tasks, consistent scoring from the opposition had the boys from the West looking for breakthroughs that were slow in coming and it is going to be a long push to a winning position from here.
A Tyke 400 plus looks on the cards and unless we can get to that score faster than they did and then get them in trouble once again (but for longer) this looks like we'll be the ones with a problem. It look like the best we can expect from this game is a high scoring draw. A batting collapse could be a disaster but we must expect the men in form (and there are a few) willl ensure that does not happen. Why has there been a lack of penetration from our bowlers? Well last year the problem was early wickets but we had them in this game and then let it get away from us. David Nosworthy blamed it on a lack of persistent accuracy - ain't iit always the way?
A Hot Week in the North
Posted by: Grockles.com (IP Logged)
Date: 08/05/2013 13:38
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:13:12:49:29 by Grockle.
I noticed that last season, even sans heavy roller, about half of the games at Leeds seemed to be played on fairly flat, slow turner type tracks.
If I was Yorks, with Bresnan available, I'd take us on on a seaming track, if at all possible....but then I'd have done the same vs Derbyshire.
I hope we take both of Jack and George up to Yorkshire in the squad. And unless it's a green seamer under leaden skies then I hope we seriously consider fielding both men.
If conditions are at all suitable then Marcus could have the potential to exert terrific control with these two in tandem.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:30:08:53:07 by Grockle.
I assume Arul with come in for Craig aswell so we should have alot of left arm spin options. IMO he has been underused over the years in this capacity.
"I just no desire to se CG play for Taunton.
And his style of play should be limited by the following.
Longer boundaries. Limits on the thickness of bats (in the same way width is limited)."
It's Buttler with two 't's KT - another T20 'slogger' with a big bat who plays on a ground with small boundaries - not sure the likes of him should be playing for 'Taunton' in 'real' cricket (TiC)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:04:30:21:31:41 by Grockle.
I agree with KT's team apart from Dockrell sure to come back in, either for Jack or Jamie depending on conditions.
I think Jamie will be rested regularly during the season and rightly so.
He is looking some prospect and as tempting as it may be to play him in every game I think we need to be and will be cautious in over bowling him at 19 years old.
I too would expect Arul to bat at 5 in the Yorks game, and then move up to open once Compo is taken from us
That's if George is okay. He's not down to play vs Cardiff. If he was 100 percent one might have thought he'd get game. Equally after 40 or so overs in the Warks second dig, one might have thought Jack would get a rest, but he plays.
Derbyshire have bowled 75 overs in the Yorkshire reply. Of these, 34 have so far been purveyed by their spinners.
If the track for our game in Leeds is anything like this one appears to be (flat) then I would rather see us field 3 seamers and two front-line spinners than go with 4 seamers and just the one spinner.
Pressure will be on Nick to score some runs. He's safe for the NZ series, but with Root in such stupendous form would nice to bank some runs too as an insurance policy.
We also need to win to stop Yorkshire putting another win under their belts...and today hope that the Durham run chase falters or gaps will be opening.
Have to say, just being realistic and sensible not overly pessimistic, if we don't win this one then in all truth we are not going to win the championship ( again ) this season !
Too far behind with ( as posted above ) 25% of our games gone.
Yes I know we could this and we could that BUT WE NEVER DO IN TRUTH !
Another year older and without a win another year waiting.
Cue the eternal optimists - perhaps we will win this one and if we do we are back on track for a chance - all very true and I hope we do !
Surely, after Yorkshire, even if we don't win we'll have 12 games left. If we win all of them or most, we won't be far away! For goodness sake cheer up!! And even if we don't quite make it, worse things have happened at sea AND we've got a brilliantly run club!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:02:19:00:43 by old boy!.
Yep I know where you lot are coming from and good luck to you !
Criticise me at your pleasure but please do not call me a less than committed supporter.
I watched my first match in 1953 and have supported both financially and in personal attendance every season since not to mention my very brief flirtation with playing my one match !
If you ever reach the age when you have been there and done it for over 60 years you may or may not understand my comments and attitude. That does not make me right or justified but it certainly gives me the right to post what I think and feel !
Great Rodders! I'm not criticising your views. We may all be satisfied with different results.
I've been supporting Somerset at the County Ground since 1948 - 65 years - and was lucky enough to play on the County Ground for many years with Taunton CC in the 60s.
As they say - Happy Days!
I guess I'm usually numbered by many here among the "eternal optimists". But whilst I think it's too early to be talking about "must win" games, even I would suggest that if we are to have serious championship pretensions, it is already looking like one we must not lose.
I also don't read anyone criticising you personally Rodders. If you relate yourself with the characters discussed then that is your choice and yours alone.
Maybe while you are telling us where you are coming from you should possibly think back to an earlier (and possibly happier) time when you still had something you may feel you have lost and that may help you see the other side of the coin rather than criticising that view yourself.
I don't relate myself personally to 'eternal pessimists' but I do know that whether I watch this lot for 60 years (highly unlikely) or not I'd walk away from the whole experience before I lost any seeming enjoyment and became like some of the people I see at Taunton whose only 'enjoyment' in the game and team they are watching is to see them fail and discuss the reasons for it.
There is a lot to discuss on both sides of watching a side you support do well or badly but when all you seem to want to do is concentrate on what they don't do well then personally I feel individuals are missing something.
“They simply like moaning and whinging far too much for it to be healthy or they are really 'closet optimists' at heart.”
Two scenarios have immediately sprung to mind. The first being a September Sunday in 1978 when a friend of mine, who played club cricket to a good standard and was a long – standing member of Somerset CCC, made the journey with me to Taunton for the final John Player League match of the season v. Essex.
The previous day the said member had accompanied me to Lord’s to see our side defeated by Sussex in the final of the Gillette Cup.
And then, we lost to Essex by 2 runs, and thereby did not win that trophy either. Two trophies lost over the course of a single weekend!
On our way home by train that evening, my friend, having over - imbibed as a result of a double disappointment said – “Somerset will never win anything.” He was, I recall, distraught.
Well, up to that point we hadn’t won anything. There had been a number of disappointments in the past, but thankfully the following year (1979), Somerset won their first two pieces of silverware ever within the space of 2 days.
Fast - forward another 23 years to the year 2001, and another Lord’s final. Somerset had beaten Leicestershire in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy, but this time our journey had been made by coach. Most of those travelling on the coach, I had never seen at a Somerset cricket match before or since.
Yes, they cheered when Jamie Cox lifted the trophy, but they soon forgot that they had ever been to witness a day’s cricket at its spiritual home. You see, on the return journey someone requested the coach driver to turn on the radio on which was being broadcast a World Cup qualifying game of soccer between England and Germany.
Oh, how they cheered and cheered when England netted 5 goals in a 5 – 1 victory to the extent that one couldn’t hear oneself think. Cricket, or indeed Somerset CCC, didn’t mean a thing to them then.
Who was the truest supporter? The one who “moaned and whinged” to show his disappointment (and we have had some of that already this season, I would suggest) or those who went up to town for a day out and jumped on the proverbial bandwagon?
I know what I think, having been a supporter and member of the club for 6 decades.
You most certainly are a “committed supporter” Rodders12, and are entitled to post on here and express your opinion, and I most sincerely hope that you continue to do so.
And it is a damn good job that no-one is questioning the right of anyone to do that or stating at any point that Rodders is not a true supporter of the club in any way.
So well done Clarence for making that clear
But in some cases CP the duration of the time you have served at Taunton watching games is not necessarily an indicator of the passion you have for the county whose colours you wear.
Passion does not have to be earned by time served and it seems from Rodders statements it can even be diminished by it.
"But in some cases CP the duration of the time you have served at Taunton watching games is not necessarily an indicator of the passion you have for the county whose colours you wear."
No doubt. But once again no-one suggested it was any other way in your case or in Rodders.
But there are those who think unless you saw Botham, Garner and Richards and experienced Shepton Mallet you don't understand this club and have no right to be optimistic about the future because you haven't experienced the past.
I'm also a time served supporter of this club (in my case a 'mere' 20 years) and I would be if I'd followed them for a year or less, (as long as I'd followed them and not just turned up when they get to a final). I also have the right to express my notions of support and my view of the club on these pages.
If someone wants to question that view then they are welcome to but they will have to expect a robust response without taking it personally if it varies from their own perception it's a forum for those kinds of meetings of views.
I also think you need to revisit the post where you quoted the 'moaning and whinging' reference. You will notice that I was referring to the 'eternal pessimist' with that reference.
We both know that the true disappointment of your side failing in a game you have watched and hoped they would win is not what I was referring to and those kind of people are not in my definition of the 'eternal pessimists' so please don't quote me out of context.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:02:22:19:49 by Grockle.
I was at Lord's in 78 and 79, Taunton in 78 when we lost to Esses, Lord's in 83 and 01, and had a puncture on the way home as I listened to germany v England on the radio. I've hardly been to Taunton in the last 15 yrs (for a variety of reasons, mostly to do with distance).
I'm an idiotic optimist and happy to be so. I get very down when we lose (or don't win when we might, as last weekend).
I recognise the legitimacy and right of those who are more pessimistic than me, whether they're followed the county for 60 years or 60 months (or less). I have a bit of a moan on here when I think posters are unrealistically hard on the team / staff / management, as I tend towards the view that those who turn out on the field of play are trying their best or making the decisions they believe best for us to win a session / day / game / trophy.
But if it doesn't work, I also recognise that there was another group of players out there also trying their best for their team, and on the day they may have been better (or had more luck). As long as the game wins in the end, I don't mind too much.
Since we are veering off thread here I'll go even urther and post this link. Its about football, and the transfer window but I think we can have a look and see which categories we would all fit in to
I've been present at most of the failures and none of the victories at the end of major contests since 1999 so probably more than our 60 year men even. I tend to have your view Shepton most of the time and usually after a period of sober reflection.
Dwelliing on past failures seems counter productive to me and they don't strike me personally as any indicator of future possibilities with any level of certainty.
But maybe that is just because of my sunny disposition.
I'm happy as a pig in muck if the sun is out, the rain stays away and there's a days cricket at the County Ground.
If Somerset win it then the day is just better.
If they lose then there is always an evening on Grockles to talk about it and sometimes the sober reflection happens here with others.
The summer is better for it all and one year the summer might be considerably improved. We can but hope.
Well, as the natural habitat of the "Committed Pessimist" is stated to be a "Football Forum", perhaps everyone who posts on here falls into that category?
1 BJ
2 AG
3 LoL (sort-of)
4 Rodders
5 Railboy?
6 I think he's banned now
7 AG (again)
8 The Realist who really does know what they're talking about: Bagpuss
Apologies if I've offended anyone - I sincerely haven't meant to - and I have a raging toothache, that's my excuse.
Well, Grockle mentioned 'dwelling on past failures.'
If I was responsible for SCCC cricket and I thought the sine qua non was winning one day stuff, then I would conduct a close assessment of all knock out games played over the past 5 or 6 years - QFs, SFs and Finals - and make decisions about future employment on that basis.
This would, I think, involve reflecting upon previous 'failures,' and taking appropriate action rather than wallowing in failure for the sake of being miserable.
If your process was to be successful IMHO and help make 'decisions about future employment' AG then I assume you'd also, I hope, reflect on individual lessons learned and positive aspects that would exist within those failures.
That would not be 'dwelling' but 'assessing' future strategy.
But although it may be useful it may not provide answers with any certainty because although it would have still moved us to let Mark Turner go elsewhere for example it would probably also have moved us to retain Ben Phillips for one year more than the player could physically manage.
It cannot be done in isolation of the rest of the performances in other formats and is not valid if it dwells only on the negative while ignoring the positive.
Again IMHO.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:03:04:46:05 by Grockle.
The Mirror article shows there are certainly more than 7 varieties of character and at least two definitions of 'apathy' on this site.
We have more complexity than a football forum and thank heavens for that. If Grockles ever became such a creature it would be last seen wandering into oblivion swearing at itself with me waving it goodbye and turning out the light.
When I glanced at no7 of that article I thought to myself did I think I just saw that. Of course when I read it again I hadn't but for one moment......
Cider is most certainly not a panacea for the real PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder), but it may possibly help in the case of your intrepretation of it Grockle.
SheptonPaul Thanks Baggy - can I nominate:
1 BJ
2 AG
3 LoL (sort-of)
4 Rodders
5 Railboy?
6 I think he's banned now
7 AG (again)
8 The Realist who really does know what they're talking about: Bagpuss
Apologies if I've offended anyone - I sincerely haven't meant to - and I have a raging toothache, that's my excuse.
You really will have to withdraw that one, SP. "Jaded" and "cynical" simply do not feature in my love for Somerset cricket. Daft as a brush and absurdly optimistic (even if I have to live to a hundred to see my optimism hustified) are much nearer it - and I identify very strongly with sentiments expressed on this thread in more than one posting by Grockle: simply to be at the cricket is pleasure of the highest order; winning is a glorious bonus.
... by pressing the wrong key. The marks on my ancient keyboard are gradually wearing off and I sometimes rely on fallible guesswork. I'm an increasingly daft of buffer ("f" and "g" are next door and I hope I pressed the right one...
I apologise to all forum posters as I never had any intention of sparking a philosophical debate on the various merits of differing supporters. As far as I am concerned anyone who bothers to read and post on this forum is by definition a true supporter of SCCC.
I agree with Grocks that time supporting means nothing in terms of passion and intensity of wanting the best for the club. I guess it depends on your personality really. Some of us are so anxious ( wrong emotion but beyond our control ) for success that lack of it results in savage disappointment which sometimes expresses itself on the forum in vitriolic pessimism.
When we all calm down we revert to our normal relatively sensible comments and opinions.
The only thing with all the years is that the likes of me and LoL have been waiting for the ultimate trophy for a lot longer than most.
No excuses but perhaps we deserve just a little slack due to that.
In any event I think every poster on this forum is always worth a read - other than when the debates get personal, something which I think I can honestly claim cannot be levelled at me.
Onwards and upwards and let us beat Yorkshire ( please God cos it is where I now live !! )
seems perfectly understandable to me Rodders and we had little else to do for a while so there's no reason too apologise for an interesting (well I thought so) discussion about Supporter motivations or lack of them.
But yes- Unicorns first and welcome back the real KP and then stuff the Tykes.
Some thoughts about the CC before the Yorkshire game.
Despite it being a somewhat disappointing start in that we have not won 2 matches v Durham and Warwicks that we probably should have done, there are some encouraging signs:
1. We seem to have found two young bowlers, Jamie O and Jack L, who can contribute well and have the ability to be integral members of the attack.
2. We appear to have gained a gem in our overseas signing, Alviro P.
3. No-one, presuming Middx do not gain an unlikely win today, appear to be running away with the title so we are very much still in contention, although we need that first win quickly. Indeed everyone, bar Derbys appears to be evenly matched and can defeat one another.
On another point it does appear, looking at the long list nominated for the Unicorns match today that Gemaal and Andy D are not in our immediate plans. Perhaps for all parties a loan deal to one of the 2nd division sides with injury or form difficulties to their seam attack, Glos, leics and Worcs spring to mind, could be in everyone's interests.
It would be good to give Dibble that kind of opportunity for cricketing reasons.
If such areangements involve the recipient of the player also paying some of the player's wages, then I expect that the SCCC Treasurer would like to see Hussain go out.
I would think that Leicestershire are, indeed, prime candidates.
I wouldn't rule out Kent, either.
I don't think they are beset by injuries but they seem to have had a fairly chastening start to the season on the bowling front.
Quite a few showers forecast throughout the match at the moment.
So unless the pitch is somewhat 'sporting,' we may not get a great opportunity to grab that win that we urgently need.
I think CC winning teams in most seasons tend to win at least 8 matches ...and we'll only have 12 to go after Headingley.
Admittedly 7 of those 12 will be at home but, with the heavy roller back, then it seems unlikely to say the least that every match at Taunton will have a result, especially given West Country weather.
It's the sort of arithmetic which makes we say that we must win this game, whatever others might say about it being early in the season.
To put it another context, 4 CC matches in equivalent to 9 or 10 matches in soccer's Premiership. And teams that are in the bottom half of the table after 9 or 10 games do not end up challenging for the Title.
Sorry 'Nailsea,' but thinking along the lines of 'we've only just got under way,' is redundant. More than 20 percent of our CC season has already been played. By Friday evening, 25 percent will have been played.
It's obvious to anyone with a brain that starting slowly (in terms of picking up wins) is not conducive to maximising a team's chances of winning the CC.
I also tend to believe that you have to take advantage - in these days of central contracts etc - of the periods when your England player (s) are available.
Perhaps you'll be content with another draw in Leeds and expect a CC challenge to still manifest itself later on?
But it really does not seem very likely.
Personally, I'm not 'hand-wringing,' as it was not my expectation that we'd win it this season anyway. I never thought we'd just plug in a new cricket boss and then magically get over the line.
I said before this season that I thought our chances may conceivably be better in 2014 once DN has had more time to both work with the existing crop of players AND assess the strengths and weaknesses of this squad and had an off-season in which to try and recruit to build on strengths and mitigate weaknesses.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:05:10:18:08 by AGod.
Sorry 'Nailsea,' but thinking along the lines of 'we've only just got under way,' is redundant. More than 20 percent of our CC season has already been played. By Friday evening, 25 percent will have been played.
Couple of things.
By that logic as of Friday Evening there will still be 75% of the Championship season left to be played
We have got something from the 25% of the season already gone we are not starting the other 75% on zero points
Based on that an A* grade in any examination would still be possible if that was the case because I don't think it is the case that a winner of the Championship has to achieve percentage of points over the 80% mark very often.
So season still alive AG - even if we don't win at Leeds. Yayy!!
Thanks for putting me straight in a slightly condecending manner. I'm glad that there ate wise owls left in the world.
I do actually agree that a slow start doesn't aid a CC win and i wish us to win every match but i refuse to write of our chances just yet which is the essence of nearly all of your posts on the CC since we didn't win the first one by an innings.
Just to reassure last time i looked my brain was fully functioning
But if we don't win in Leeds, we will be starting the final 12 games with far fewer points than some of the other Counties
And logic suggests that if we improve our position at their expense then that position will be turned on its head in the last 3 quarters of the Championship season
As I said;
So season still alive AG - even if we don't win at Leeds. Yayy!!
Today's match v the Unicorns showed that Craig M would make a more than adequate 4th seamer, which could be important if we want to shorten our tail, or if we want to cover all our bowling options by playing 4 seamers and 2 spinners. That option is even more viable given that PT bas shown some batting form. Of course that presumes that Geoge D is fit.
Root and Bairstow, neither of whom will be available vs Somerset, have between them scored 50 percent of the runs that Yorks have off the bat (i.e. not including extras) this season in the CC.
I've come to the conclusion that previous form is counting for nothing so far this season though. Hants hammered Essex in the 40 over, yet nearly stumbled against Scotland. Essex beat Durham convincingly and Durham having chased 180 in 21 overs in the Chanpionship without the 40 over fielding, bowling and wide regs struggled to 210 in the 40 over game. Yorkshire no scorers will discover their runs, Pete will play a wonderful innings....
Tops Today's match v the Unicorns showed that Craig M would make a more than adequate 4th seamer, which could be important if we want to shorten our tail
I agree about Meschede. IMO I think that of all his generation of our young aspiring lads - Jove, Cove, Gregory, Leach, etc Meschede (to my view) may well turn out to be the most successful as an all-rounder. I like his economical bowling action and his control, while being pleased with the little cameos he has produced with the bat.
Yorkshire rested three of their front-line bowlers - no Sidebottom, no Brooks, no Plunkett (and Rafiq injured) - when they lost to Glamorgan in the YB40 at Colwyn Bay yesterday.
But, strangely, they didn`t give any reserve batters a run to challenge for the gaps left by Root and Bairstow (both away with the Lions this week) when they play Somerset tomorrow.
Opener Adam Lyth will probably take one, but the second looks up for grabs based on Second XI form.
STOP PRESS:
Yorkshire have now named their 12-strong squad, with former Sussesx keeper Andrew Hodd coming in for Bairstow, Joe Sayers competing for a batting place and Liam Plunkett rested:
Sidebottom is unlikely to appear in 40 over cricket much, if at all, this season, as per Andrew Gale. I suspect that Brooks will not, either.
In terms of SCCC team selection the following thought occurs....management may be interested in deciding between the claims of our various bowlers, in part, on how well they tend to bowl to left-handers?
Sayers, Jacques, Gale are all 'sinister.'
Is Ballance too?
Jamie Overton's stock ball comes into the right hander so he might be particularly useful vs the Southpaws?
The Yorkshire line-up has no pure batsmen at 6. From the squad, they will have an all-rounder such as Rashid or Bresnan.
Then again, with Jos out, we will also have an all-rounder at six in Pete?
Tres, NC, AP, Hildreth, Suppiah and then Pete.
Length of lower-order batting for us does look like a bit of a concern ... Though not as much as it did before Pete found form yesterday. I think I would like to see Craig M come into the side to bat at 7 as he presently offers more with the bat than Craig O
No reason to think no Jos, he seemed fine yesterday (except getting out first ball!), is not in lions (to my knowledge) so he's in at 6 for me, Arul straight swop for Craig at 5.
Somerset will pick their final line up from the following 13 man squad who travelled to Leeds on Monday morning-Marcus Trescothick (capt), Jos Buttler, Nick Compton, Lewis Gregory, James Hildreth, Steve Kirby, Jack Leach, Craig Meschede, Jamie Overton, Alviro Petersen, Arul Suppiah, Pete Trego and Alfonso Thomas.
Still no George Dockrell and the silence is deafening.
Not sure, Sidebottom will be that much of a miss for them, being as they have Bresnan available.
And Bresnan will certainly be ultra fired-up, one would imagine, as the selectors are sure to want to watch him vs our "Test," top three, as they consider whether or not to recall him vs New Zealand.
Sounding like a rather long afternoon for the boys.
We to seem to have issues with penetration with an older ball.
Strange, because it was only a couple of seasons ago that we consistently fought back well, but had all kinds of trouble (especially away from home) with getting early wickets.
Presumably, our new ball bowling has improved markedly but, perhaps, the old ball bowling has gone in the opposite direction?
I hope this won't get me lumped with the hopeless pessimists (category no. 4, was that? Can't locate the thread it was on offhand) - but it does rather seem that at present we have, as someone said a little while ago, something of a tendency to make inroads with the new ball and then find ourselves unable to drive home the advantage.
Not that I have any suggestion as to what we can do about it.
Did Jamie O have the shocker his figures would suggest or was he unlucky?
From the little bits of radio commentary I heard and looking at Headingley's games so far this season, I'd say we did very well to get four wickets before lunch and it's a very slow flat track which will be hard to take wickets on.
... and from the commentary I heard, it sounded as though Jove was trying just a little too hard, perhaps to impress Geoff Miller who was known to be there. Maybe Atherton's predictions of selection for a winter tour were just a little previous.
Under heavy cloud things are normally quite different.
There seems to be quite a bit of wet stuff forecast for the next couple of days but if it is instead dry but overcast, we may find batting rather tougher than it seemed today.
2 things from watching the ball by ball on cricinfo.
One was that I did wonder after the JO hype last week whether there was a Yorkshire move to target him early
The other was the seemingly high proportion of boundaries. Any reason?
I would have been satisfied with 5 wickets- the trouble is that having got 4 early expectations are raised
In answer to the second question, Dave N says insufficient accuracy/consistency with the ball in sessions two and three so that's presumably why there were lots of boundaries.
The Overtons are, of course great young prospects, but IMO Meschede is ahead of both of them and I would have preferred to see him in this time ahead of Jove. Jove is potentially very quick, but I'm wondering who is advising him. During the unsuccessful attempt to shift the last two Warwicksire batsmen, I got the impression that at least 50% and may be more, of Jove's deliveries were balls which the batsmen could just leave. In a situation where you are looking for one wicket I would have thought the ideal was bowling balls which the batmen had to play. Of course, he may well have been bowling to instructiomns - bowl as fast as you can, and never mind the accuracy.
I'm nor sure but I think Jove may have struggled a bit for rhythm on the hill at Headingley. After hisfirst two expensive overs downhill from the Kirkstall Lane end he was taken off, and brought back a little later uphill from the rugby stand end where he looked more comfortable. This was all before lunch. He did bowl from either end in the afternoon but by this time both batsmen were well set.
Batting conditions were very good, the pitch offered nothing in the way of help for the bowlers. I can only think of one real chance that was put down in the whole of the last two sessions, still it was a difficult one to Peterson at slip. A bad toss to lose with the rest of the match due to be played in very unsettled weather.
Yes, Old Boy..... Jamie conspicuously changed his approach for the final over vs Warks - bowling yorkers at the stumps.
I don't know whether that was his own idea or somebody else's.
However, if it was somebody else's idea then that idea should certainly have come far earlier in the piece. Senior players, including captain, should have been asking for bowling at the stumps at a number 11 as a matter of course, IMO.
Of course, it's possible that senior players asked but that Jamie, having induced one nick behind, thought it a better idea to bowl for another one.
I'm also coming to the view that we should probably get Craig M into the first (CC) XI.
I haven't checked the numbers on this, but I suspect that most Counties have more than one bona fide all-rounder in their first XIs... for example Warks picked both Clarke and Woakes vs Somerset, and Yorkshire have Rashid, Bresnan and Pyrah playing in this game.
SCCC have, for quite some years now, been very heavily reliant on Pete as the lone real bona-fide all-rounder in first-class cricket. For the balance of the team, I suspect we could do with a second all-rounder in there and I see Craig M as the obvious candidate at the moment (track record in CC thus far is quite a bit better than that of either Craig O or Lewis Gregory with the bat).
"However, if it was somebody else's idea then that idea should certainly have come far earlier in the piece. Senior players, including captain, should have been asking for bowling at the stumps at a number 11 as a matter of course, IMO."
Of course they should, and not having witnessed it, I would be truly appalled if that had not happened.
At this stage of day two, I think we can confidently say that Yorkshire are not going to lose this match. Best we can hope for now is a comfortable draw with maximum batting points.
That is the trouble with cricket I guess - being realistic we are less than 50% through a fc match and the odds are strongly on a draw. Don't know the answer I admit but it is why the four day games will never pull in the crowds like the guaranteed win or lose does !
If the pitch was flat before, I'm sure the heavy roller has pretty much sent it into a coma now. Bat long enough to ensure the draw and if we get a lead all we can hope to do is knock them down cheaply like they did to Derbyshire last week.
I presume Rashid will be given a bowl soon - at which point either a wicket or two might fall or the scoring rate may leap.
At the moment our scoring-rate is not very helpful, bonus point wise, but I assume that we are aiming for safety first ie avoiding defeat rather than worrying overly about bonus points.
I think he's still searching for his best form. He won't have to face an off-spinner in this match so has a bit more time, in theory, to sort something out there.
Having said that, do SCCC possess an off-spinner worthy of the name to bowl at the boss in the nets? I think AP is all we have on that front?
Tomorrow looks like awful weather.
If tomorrow is a wash-out then hopefully we'll attempt to push on for bonus points on Friday, given that it would be tough to lose 19 wickets in a day and so thoughts of caution shouldgo away!
Meschede is a good prospect and we hope he will develop into a frontline bowler. After all that is what we need on the evidence of this game.
But to puthim forward in the place of Jove is very premature. Jamie has generally bowled well this season where Craig M has no such track record.
Really it's the same old story, so familiar in Somerset's history, the failure to bowl teams out.
Pitches like this kill cricket. The heavy roller rule could have been invented to disadvantage us as we have to play at Taunton.
And yet Yorkshire have bowled better than us this game. Our openers were mu h more restricted, though they stuck at their task well.
Cricket is a balance between bat and ball. Last season that balance was in sync and the cricket was thrilling. Our season is over and it could be a fight against relegation.
Where is the competition for seam bowling places. Are Hussain and dibble really banging on the door.
With two days left, looks like we'd go safety first and bat to avoid defeat, so leaving bonus points on the table.
But if there's no play or virtually no play today, then there should be no excuse for not giving the bonus points a good go tomorrow?
I mean, surely, we couldn't enter the final day of a match, with NINETEEN wickets in hand, and be thinking "safety first,"? That would surely be an absurdly negative thought?
Blimey, it's only 9th May - I'm still looking forward to summer.
We've played 3.5 out of 16 CC matches, 1/12(ish) YB40 matches (which we won!) and the T20 matches haven't started yet - and already "our season is over".
Kentish Townie Meschede is a good prospect and we hope he will develop into a frontline bowler. After all that is what we need on the evidence of this game.
But to put him forward in the place of Jove is very premature. Jamie has generally bowled well this season where Craig M has no such track record.
Jove is a very young man, who despite appearances is still developing physically as well as emotionally and technically. As such his workload and exposure needs to be well managed and I think one important way of doing that is to pick and choose games where conditions are likely to suit him. All the early season indications were that bowlers were unlikely to receive much help from this wicket so maybe a rest would have suited him better, and maybe Mesch's bowling would have been better suited to this sort of game?
Fair comment LoL but you have to see his point - as I posted earlier this match was not winnable by us halfway through the second day. Once a team gets over 400 runs the chance of them losing ( other than via a contrived result ) is pretty much zero !
I have to go out now for the rest of the day (but don't expect I shall miss much cricket). We all know what a score of 24 will signify for Hildreth. If my calculations are right, a score of 63 for Petersen will bring his season's total to 500.
I'm not sure we can say early season indications were that this would be a difficult pitch to bowl teams out on - there have been 2 CC matches at Headingley so far this season, in one of them the home team were bowled out in their first innings for 96.
rodders12 Fair comment LoL but you have to see his point - as I posted earlier this match was not winnable by us halfway through the second day. Once a team gets over 400 runs the chance of them losing ( other than via a contrived result ) is pretty much zero !
Unless, of course, you are Derbyshire, Rodders, who made about 475 batting first, last time out in Leeds!
To be honest, on paper at least, SCCC boast one of arguably very few batting line-ups in the country that could conceivably still win a game after the opponent has made 400+ in their first dig (by scoring quickly enough to build a big lead and leaving enough time to bowl the opponent out in innings three).
Holy cow. You aren't suggesting pitches vary with weather conditions are you Bagpuss?
But Rodders is right. This pitch plus the weather was almost making this a draw by the end of the first day. You certainly don't need any more things to flatten it down like heavy rollers.
Headingley is killing cricket - not a lot of hope for it then.
Though I think KT suggested pitches like this are the murderers (not that Headingley usually produces them - that is Taunton's job I think in "KTworld") and you really can't argue with that if this was the usual strip the game was being played on.
That game on the result track already feels like it was a long-time ago!!
I think it's reasonable to already be concerned about how many serious opportunities we will have to win CC games this season.
I suspect that all that rain last year has helped to suck pace out of squares and that that has combined with the garbage heavy roller to produce too many early-season pancake pitches (those at the Oval were not clever, either).
I do also wonder if there is a period of re-adjustment for bowlers, after 3 seasons without the heavy roller, to being back to bowling on flat tracks?
Grockle said at some point after the Warks game that Rehman could not "get here soon enough."
I understand that sentiment though, of course, there is absolutely no hurry for Petersen to go anywhere...
Unfortunately that does not actually define the competition as 'not serious' except in your view.
To a cash strapped cricket club trying to maintain itself as a centre for four day cricket T20 is a financial life-line and if you don't take it seriously you will not provide the game that the majority of ticket buyers want and it will be 'bye bye county cricket' as you know it in that area..
The majority of paying punters in the season watch short format cricket so it is serious business to nearly everyone in the game.
The CC is the pinnacle of achievement and the purest form of the game. It is NOT to the majority of people involved in cricket the only form of serious cricket.
Plenty of runs for not all that many wickets around the country so far today. And that's with some fairly filthy weather on the way. Raining at Worcester now, so the bad stuff it's on its way across the country.
But, seriously, if we resume tomorrow with 15 wickets in hand (for the match) then we really should, surely, not expect to be in very much danger on this track?
On these pitches a leg spinner is useful!! I wonder where MAX is ??? Unless James and Jos have a double century stand, I suspect Tres and Nick could be in again before the close!
Unless you know something that I don't (such as the game being switched to the South of France or something for the afternoon), I think I'd give you pretty long odds against Tres and Nick being in again before the close, Old Boy!
AGod I think I'd give you pretty long odds against Tres and Nick being in again before the close, Old Boy!
Well Archie (William Hill's brother!!!!) give me a price and I'll see how many shirts I've got!! - you could be right or you could be wrong and, of course for me it is vice versa!!
Beyond James, Jos and Pete I couldn't risk a lot of your money on Steve, Alf and jamie lasting long!
Of course, you may well cheat and start getting out your prayer mat and hoping for thunder and lightning etc etc!!
Somewhere in the county game, I am confident MAX has a future - unfortunately after this season, I don't think it will be with us.
Unless I've missed it here, I seem to be the first to congratulate Hildreth on acquiring 10,000 first-class runs. He has the class and fitness record to score 10,000 more and I'm hanging on until he does.
Hope that Hildreth spends some considerable time at the crease to get him into decent form. And then, romp vs Unicorns notwithstanding, ditto Mr Trego.
It's on days like these that I give thanks for the fact that the home-grown batsmen in our top seven are so much more "proven" than our seam bowlers!!!
I would say that it sounds as though the team are mentally already on the coach back to Taunton. Except, we won't be getting that coach until tomorrow night or even Sunday morning.
Follow-on looms.
Sounds like a third fairly poor dismissal of the session.
What amazes me is - has the pitch got so much worse than when our lads couldn't shift anyone? or is it now swinging all over the place, or is it a mental thing? A good job Gale hasn't inflicted his leg spinner on us, or it might now be all over!
At 4 down I was smiling at the idea of our crafty tactics to look inept (aside from Marcus who isn't available for international selection) & make sure we keep our best players for the majority of the season. Now I'm not smiling.
I think at this rate we need to make sure we secure 7th place in the table!! Still Yorkshire were considered hopeless after Sussex earlier in the season. I'm sure the lads will recover their composure - particularly as it is looking more and more likely that we won't be losing any of them to England, if the teams are picked on current form!
Well I know that many of you have me down as the ultimate pessimist which I do not think that I am - I class myself as the ultimate realist BUT that was very poor, beyond belief, gutless, taking the p*** out of the supporters and just thinking we can't lose so why bother ! Take the wages and lose no sleep I guess - just not acceptable in my view but am sure you will all tell me otherwise very shortly.
Anyway a pair for AS who I never rated and youth not on his side any more - time for new blood ?
Jack Brooks has been named in Yorkshire`s 14-man squad for tomorrow`s YB40 match at Headingley, but left the field with a damaged finger after taking the first four Somerset second innings wickets and may not be fit.
I can only go by conditions I saw at Headingley - day 1 was blue skies, little wind and what you would think were perfect batting conditions. Day 2 was overcast and the sort of day that you'd usually like to be bowling at Headingley. I didn't go on days 3 or 4 so can't comment on experience but I don't think the skies were exactly clear.
Having said that whatever the overhead conditions I don't think it excuses going from 2 wickets in hand in the first innings to six down in the second in the space of about an hour and a half. For goodness sake I only went out for about an hour, I didn't realise continued hand-holding was necessary.
For my sins I now live in Huddersfield and have been to the whole match.
Believe me it was very sad to watch and with the possible exception of MT I would say not one of them took the game seriously.
Having said that I suppose you could say I am talking rubbish as we did not lose and who cares.
Just for me a lack of pride in the shirt / badge / cap I guess - get to be a sad old fart when you reach my age !
That's fine rodders - seems like we don't have to say anything at all now, you already know what we think.
My view is similar but not as extreme as yours - very bad day at the office (in body, if not in mind) - agree with Baggers that conditions for batting must have been much worse after day one, that was always possible as AG told us from the forecast about a week ago - need some serious bucking up of ideas now.
The season is NOT over, but CC form currently quite poor, especially our illustrious batting line-up, and we could do with another good YB40 performance tomorrow to get spirits back up - amongst players and supporters.
Look what happened to Wales after they failed to turn up against Ireland in the first game of the Six Nations...these things happen, we drew, it's not the end of the world, or our season.
Upwards and onwards.
Yeah just can't leave it alone when someone questions your courtesy and others agree can you Naxx... little sad
Seems to have been a very bad day at the office.
Maybe we ought to be realistic as Rodders says about our illustrious batting line-up.
It hasn't been living up too its potential for a number of years expect in fits and starts from single individuals on a very irregular basis. Beside Marcus, Nick as of last season and James H in one season in what seems times gone by now we rarely see it in consistent form and I would be very nervous to bet on its stability from game to game in any of the last three seasons.
Very concerned about the four day batting form of Pete and it looks like another lightweight year for Hilda
I'm glad AS will probably take as much notice of your assessment of his career as Nashy will of your assessment of his book Rodders. I'm very glad to have seen him play for a number of years at Taunton and away from the ground on many occasions though you may now be right about his age being against him.
He doesn't move like the Arul of old who was a joy to watch batting bowling and fielding.
A fitting benefit recipient and a loyal servant to the club.
Did we have the heavy roller at the end of out first innings??
I thought it was supposed to quieten the wicket for at least an hour? Do you think their groundsman slipped in the light one when we were having tea?
In fairness to the DOC, he arrived with everything set in position for the season. The 2 overseas signings were already in place (a batter for the start when traditionally bowlers are on top..hmm), the captain was in position, the contracts were all sorted and bids had been tried and failed to sign players departing other counties (never mind, we're getting a new stand at least, and maybe an England international, so the money's not being wasted).
So he arrived in a new country, with a new squad to get to know, and no chance to change what he inherited.
I'm sure he will settle in and do well, although so far his tweets don't seem to match our on-field potential. Early days.
Out of interest, does anybody know who was on the panel that interviewed him..were there any ex cricketers or was it only administrators?
I have always been a fan of Arul, but am now becoming ever more convinced that I have been fooled by style over substance and that he has flattered to deceive.
A first class average of just 33, with only 8 hundreds from almost 100 matches over 11 years is simply not good enough, and I fear his time may have come.
If we do reach a point where we are unlikely to either win the division nor drop out of it, I would rally (albeit with some sadness) for his place to go to one of the young bucks.
I think Vic Marks was involved in choosing DN. Not such a bad idea to choose an overseas batsman early season if you think the seamers you have are good enough, or as good as you're going to get...and it's not like AP has failed!
I think Chris Jones will be looking to make a claim mid season FE and AS may have to up his game to keep him out.
May be worth remembering that Arul has not had the opportunities he has now for the whole of his 11 seasons. He suffered in the same way Wes suffered in the perception that he was the fill in guy.
I think when Wes and he were considered, the only reason he came out on top in some cases was his bowling.
Still I have enjoyed immensely his larger scores and wristy batting style and he was a phenomenal fielder before his knee problems
With Nick Compton likely to be absent with England I don't think it was such a bad idea looking for a top-order batsman as our overseas player. And to be honest it has been more often our batting has failed than our bowling this year.
This is the same squad that took Somerset to runners up spot in the County Championship and T20 finals day. Has something changed?
The AS pair was unfortunate but has he actually played much recently, apart from a benefit match or two? I didn't think he was in the second XI team last week.
Otherwise, poor batting again and the bowling is looking problematic (somewhat worried by the tiredness claim the other week coming so early in the season).
Look on the bright side, it still isn't as bad a start as 2011.
The middle order has no confidence for some reason.Arul ,Tregs,and Hildy can't buy a run . With CK out ,who batted really sensibly lasy year at 5 or 6, we just seem to be very fragile particularly in early season conditions.
Nope the bowlers overperform and one batsman usually steps up most games Baggy.
Though predicting who it is going to be is always a bit of a lottery.. Also last season Nick was as solid as a rock. Thhen there was that Adbur factor at the end - let's hope that happens again.
I'm not saying it isn't fun but we've been talking about the inconsistency of our potential match winning batting line up since the days of Ian Blackwell and little has changed. Makes for a frisson of uncertainty and there's nothing wrong with that as long as it comes right occasionally.
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Poor start to the CC, especially the batting. The squad looks bowling and all rounder heavy with no one battering at the door for a batting place, sadly. With CK out for a bit and losing Compo for a lot of the summer (form permitting) and Jos for one dayers, we are going to need some folk to stick their hand up and get some runs.
Getting Jones back will help, but we may also need someone like Barrow or Lewis to kick on as batsmen.
Lets hope that the current drought of runs for Hilda, Suppiah and Trego turns into a glut later on.
At the moment its a mini crisis. We need to sort it soon though. Turning some of the <10 scores into 15s or 20s would help ;-)
We are not a bad side - we are simply consistently under - performing.
I read the following recently concerning Brian Rose, and which was penned by the club's President, Roy Kerslake :-
"It is to "Rosey's" enormous credit that he possessed the ability to mould a side containing both artists and artisans into a unit willing and able to run through a brickwall for each other."
Mr. Kerslake was of course referring to the much - vaunted "Glory Years", when Somerset enjoyed much success in one - day games under Brian's leadership
Sorry, but I have never seen that quality in our present captain - admirable man and batsman that he is. We have failed too many times to get over the finishing line, and I see no evidence that things are going to change in that respect this season.
I may well be wrong, but I sense (admittedly nothing more tangible than that) that all is not as it should be behind the scenes.
Can a leader instill an inner belief and winning mentality into a team?
I think so, but it is simply a personal opinion as always.
I look at all of this and .... Sometimes guys fail outright. What frustrates the hell out of me is guys like JH getting in...and then getting out. I think JH has done this in every non-Taunton innings this season? Mega frustrating!!
Sadly the match today confirms a disappointing start to the season. We can only admit that we escaped with a draw thanks to the weather and we must stop using the excuse that we had the worst of the conditions. good sides overcome such problems.
Up to now the poor start has been the responsibility of the players, but the DoC must start to demand improvements, reminding those chosen that he demands more than reasonable bowling figures or a few runs once in a while. I would like to see Dockerell, Meschede and Gregory seriously considered.
It is time for experienced players like James H and Pete T to get runs and, although the Overtons and Jack L may be the future, they need some time away from the firing line.
Finally, with Nick C almost certainly away, it looks as if Arul will open, but he is playing for his future with Chris J back soon.
We must show that we have too much ability to be hanging around the bottom of the table
Interesting comment by Roy Kerslake; that person responsible for moulding such disparate individuals into a team has disappeared from today's behind the scenes environment.
Grockle Nope the bowlers overperform and one batsman usually steps up most games Baggy.
Though predicting who it is going to be is always a bit of a lottery.. Also last season Nick was as solid as a rock. Thhen there was that Adbur factor at the end - let's hope that happens again.
I'm not saying it isn't fun but we've been talking about the inconsistency of our potential match winning batting line up since the days of Ian Blackwell and little has changed. Makes for a frisson of uncertainty and there's nothing wrong with that as long as it comes right occasionally.
As much as you'd like to try CP you can't lay this at the feet of Marcus entirely. Unless of course you also want to lay it at the feet of Justin Langer, under whom many of the same individuals provided the same conundrum of potential v performance
Indeed. Ultimately individuals have to look to themselves and their own mettle vs their own foibles.
Marcus cannot bat for people. And neither can Dave N or Andy H.
George Dobell said that we attempted to sign Ashwell Prince. Prince is a nuggety type and, if GD's story was true, then it suggests to me that Dave N feels that the balance of our batting line-up is not quite right i.e not enough ballast.
I can say already that I would think that DN will seek to be active in terms of player recruitment in his first proper off-season.
Follow the Warwickshire model. Keep below the England radar as much as possible and follow the 'Moneyball' principle - pick up the consistents and add the odd star to put you over the top.
We have one great player. We then have a number of 'could be' great players but some of them are starting to move into the 'ought to have been' great players category.
Personally I think Peter's allround status should be allowed to be questioned by Craig Meschede.
I also think Chris Jones should seriously question Arul's opener status and Arul should fight James Hildreth for his number 4 spot while Craig is out.
Lewis Gregory should start to become a serious contender for a top 5 batting space or look for a move and Adam Dibble has to start to look like an alternative to one of the seamer positions or he will find himself going the way of Gemaal at the end of the season by all indications.
Max has to want more than second string glory with the odd one day appearance or he is no use to us and BOTH the Overtons need to start knocking on the door.
One thought re:Arul - back in the days when almost every County awarded a benefit almost every season, I seem to recall that it was almost traditional for the beneficiary's form to head south during their beneficiary year - especially if they were a batsman.
To be fair all Arul probably needs is my presence on the ground as he invariably succeeds when I am there!
Can't make Middx, I'm afraid, Arul, but if you can cling onto your place then I am likely to be at Horsham.
Seriously, though, tend to agree that it's time to give Chris Jones a little run. He certainly looked nuggety when I saw him bat for an hour on a minefield at Trent Bridge in 2011.
I'm pleased that DN has at least admitted that what went on yesterday was not good enough. I find that more re-assuring than what Marcus had to say, post-Durham, namely that on a track like that we should 'expect a collapse to be around the corner.'
Andy, Marcus and Brian (and now Dave) have always honestly said 'it is not good enough'.
Yet it continues to be not good enough.
We can continue to blame the management, the coaches, the DoC, the captain and they are all part of the solution but when all that fails to change a situation there is only really one other place to look and that is in the dressing room at the people wearing the kit and leaving the room to walk on to the pitch.
They can all nod and agree that it is not good enough but either some of them are paying lip service or they have no faith/pride and little commitment to making it better.
I've always said I don't mind a side that loses after giving everything or by a twist of fate outside of their control.
Somerset have the playing resources at their disposal. But do they have what it takes on and off the field to take control of this situation?
From what I'm reading, if they do they need to do so immediately and decisively...
do do do do
do do do do
Entering the Twilight Zone
Experiencing deja vu
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:11:07:22:05 by Grockle.
Still think it was far from ideal that it took so long to get the work permit sorted so that we could physically get him into the dressing room. Nobody's fault, I guess, but there it is.
It's going to be interesting to see how DN approaches this...outside of AP, whom DN knows extremely well, DN does not have the emotional investment in certain players that Brian Rose may have had. DN did not bring any of the other players to this club...so it will be interesting to see if he wields a sharper axe...
...And whilst you and I can argue until the cows come home, Grockle, about whether or not the young guys have only been there as reserve batsmen, it is possible that if some of those guys detect a change of approach under DN...i.e. get the feeling that DN sees them as competing on an equal footing then that may have a beneficial effect on their first-team performances.
My understanding, based on what I read as quotes from Andy, Marcus and Brian, is that your last sentence selection process has been the case for a number of years. Somerset selection was a meritocracy.
If that wasn't the case then if Nosworthy is the character many here have expressed the hope that he is, it should now be the case.
Yeah, to clarify what I meant is that Jones, Barrow and Gregory have never previously been actively preferred for a place in the team to any of the guys currently occupying a top six place. Instead they've played when Tres was injured or James/Craig K were playing for Lions etc.
I meant that if DN were, for example, to select Chris Jones in preference to Arul Suppiah (despite Arul being both fit and available) then that sort of vote of confidence might actually be a real help to the young player.
I did not mean that selection was based on favouritism in the past.
They may still not be, they may not be good enough.
It's not the fact that they haven't been first team picks that was the issue it was whether they believed they were being given equal opportunity and would come into contention if they provided performance evidence.
Two years ago Jason Kerr had a meeting with all the second team players and spelled out to them that they were now first team players in all but name - one step away.
That is the ethos that the club should have (and has had according to the people in charge).
It is whether the newish regime will take that to the next level and add the brutality of honesty that goes with that process to the tools for selection and release of players.
Yeah, we've a situation where we have quite a few players who are young in calendar years but who have, nevertheless, appeared in more than just three or four CC games.
Lewis Gregory (or Hamilton as Atherton called him the other week!) is, I believe still only 20?
But he and Alex B and Jones (albeit only for half-seasons in Jones's case) all seem to have been around for some while.
One assumes/hopes that there are currently other young batsmen in the Academy that the club deems highly promising so room may soon be needed in the first-team squad for some of them.
I think there are going to be some changes. Anthony Gibson seems to believe that there's a high chance that Craig K will leave for London as the solution to the 'keeper,' conundrum. If he doesn't find form then it's possible that Arul might find himself no longer required at season's end.
I suspect DN will want to bring in one or two new batsmen of his choice in the winter.
With DN having arrived so late in the piece, I wouldn't be shocked if the team for these first few games reflected the fact that DN had gone with what Marcus and AH had told him about what they thought the team should be. But DN's 'sponging,' phase may need to end soon. He will be forming his own opinions and they may not be the same as those of MT/AH.
Why do people keep linking Kieswetter or Buttler 'with a London club'. Both Davies at Surrey, and Simpson at Middlesex, are contracted to the end of the 2015 season.
Also- If either London club (or anyone for that matter) signed CK it would cause a problem- for the simple reason the understudy would have to be almost as good as CK (if we assume he plays in England ODI's) I can't speak for Surrey, but I really don't see Middlesex undermiming a perfectly good first team keeper (Simpson) for someone who would only be available half the time. It would be totaly counter to everything Gus Fraser has done up to now.
Only way that might change is if Simpson had poor season with bat, but he did make 97* in first cc game this season.
I think Craig Meschede deserves another chance,He batted well in his few chances last year, and looks to have improved greatly with the ball.Would definitely shorten the tail, and be a useful fourth seamer.
CK not currently in England's ODI plans. Obviously that could change. The link with Kieswetter is more from his end as the popular thought seems to be that he likes the bright lights of the big city.
He certainly seemed in a very happy mood in the recent game at the Oval...whether that was due in part to looking forward to nights out in London, I don't know.
Fringe England players are more of a headache for their county than England regulars.
Notts know they won't see much of Broad and Swann, so if they play it's an unexpected bonus. With CK a county signing him wouldn't know how much they would see of him.
Middlesex, certainly, have enough people 'on the fringe' of England to not want another. It causes too many problems.
Yes it is really important that DN stops twittting the "meaningless fluff", which threatens to make the club a laughing stock because it conveys the impression that he hasn't got a clear idea of what is needed. Time to show he has his own opinions and give expression to them. There are too many inconsistent supporting acts at the moment, we need match-winning performances.
One of Meschede or Gregory is all but certain to play vs Middx as no CK and no NC.
Top seven will presumably be;
Tres
Arul or AP
AP or Arul
Hildreth
Buttler
Meschede or Gregory
Trego
At present that does not look fantastically solid. Middx have a decent pace attack and turned over our batting in pre-season so our guys had better be on their mettle...
On the other hand, the thought might be that 3 of Arul's four innings this season (both of them at Durham and the second dig here) were in tricky batting conditions and he wasn't fortunate enough to be in the team on much easier decks at the Oval/Taunton?
So I suspect Arul keeps his place for at least one more game.
"On the team front (for today's 40 over game) Somerset have added Lewis Gregory, Craig Meschede and Max Waller to the 11 players who were involved in the LV=Championship game so will choose from the following 14 man squad- Marcus Trescothick (capt), Jos Buttler, Nick Compton, James Hildreth, Lewis Gregory, Steve Kirby, Jack Leach, Craig Meschede, Jamie Overton, Alviro Petersen, Arul Suppiah, Alfonso Thomas, Pete Trego and Max Waller."
What is the situation with George Dockrell? I am sure that somebody knows.
Bagpuss Interesting comment by Roy Kerslake; that person responsible for moulding such disparate individuals into a team has disappeared from today's behind the scenes environment.
I've an inkling that George will be playing (weather permitting) club cricket in Ireland this weekend but I have no conformation of that at the moment.
Well after a couple of overs I was going to say Trego is trying to over hit the ball, and needed to settle down. Turns out he just needed to try and hit it even harder.
"Does it not refer to your own post Clarence (yesterday 22:53)?"
Obviously it does, Casomer, but the relevance of it in relation to my post leaves me somewhat puzzled. However, that is becoming an increasingly common situation as far as I am concerned.
Well done to Pete, Jos and James in particular. Very unlucky that one of the latter two names did not make a ton but I do feel for Arul after missing out again. His confidence must be at an all time low.
Well, a few too many illegitimate deliveries and two dropped catches that should have been taken, but I think the legitimate deliveries have largely been very good ones.
Superb performance, the innings from Jos was one of the most exciting I have ever seen...are his wrists made from rubber?
I hope we can all move on now, there's a County Championship to be won.
Excellent win - that feels better, doesn't it? Hopefully that'll cheer players and supporters up after the last few days, even if only for a few days for some
Talking of the R and C words, I know it has been said before, but what a lot of it is spoken by Willis &co on the commentary. Apparently we have a weak, inexperienced attack and Yorkshire are going to make a good fight of it. It must have been fairly obvious to a nuralogicaly challenged slug that it was going to take a miracle, even from 150 odd for 3 to keep that kind of rate up.
I am sure there is a Sky commentators handbook- which makes it clear you have to keep the viewers hooked- even if it seems perfectly clear one team has no hope at all.
In the little bit I saw on the TV, Willis said get Jos into the Test team now - needs to make sure of his Somerset CC place first! Brilliant today, undeniably, but not one of the best six first-class English batters just yet, Bob.
True, there aren't that many who will chase down 300 plus and when your next man in at 5 is Hodd and you're nearly half way through and some 200 runs adrift it ain't really gonna happen is it?
Did they mention that our young inexperienced attack includes that young inexperienced Alfonso Thomas bloke?
Also good to see Craig M saying he's up for it.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:11:20:53:39 by Grockle.
More consistency as a CC batsman first I think. It is difficult as a top six batsman to be seen to be giving your wicket away playing an ill judged stroke. It always gave me the willies to see Morgan playing reverse sweeps in test cricket when there was a total to build to get the team into a good position. Having said that England will go into the next match with Compo, Root and Bairstow still having a point to prove and Bell needing to do a lot more to convince, so there are possible vacancies.
Great to see JH reminding us of what he can do. Lets hope he can do that in the CC too. We wil need him.
No, but they implied that after AT and Trigger, we were unproven and that Yorkshire will face stronger attacks so they should have little trouble making it a close finish.
To be fair, Edinburgh, I think what they actually said was something along the lines of;
"If you are Yorkshire you have to find a way to believe somehow and if you're looking for reasons to hope you need to tell yourself that it's a belter of a pitch and you'll face better attacks."
I don't think anyone at Sky really expected Yorkshire to chase the total down, not least because the Sky team know that Yorkshire have nobody to match Jos.
It was pretty much the perfect one day innings - one opener goes for it, the other plays normally (and is incredibly unlucky). Pieterson looked like he would never get out, until he got out. Then Hildreth did a classic 'he's on HOW many?!' knock, and of course Buttler did what he does best.
Looks an unsettled picture for the week but very little consensus as to how much rain, where or when. Too early to tell whether much time will be lost based on lack of consensus, IMO.
You mean you haven't worked out the result of the game yet, based on weather, injuries, form, availability and whether the gatemen are going to be wearing red or yellow shirts? So we don't even know if it's worth turning up? How are we gonna get through the week?
I was delighted to read late yesterday evening of a second thumping win in the CB40 and particularly pleased for Hildreth, who so far this season seems to have been batting well but getting out badly.
Interestingly, Hildreth and Bopara were once seen as potential rivals, but in my opinion our man has advanced while the other has stagnated. In first-class cricket Hildreth has scored just over 10,000 runs at 43, while Bopara has scored 2,000 fewer runs at an average of 41. Admittedly Bopara can bowl a bit, but he would never be picked for his bowling alone.
I am, however, glad for him to see he has made some runs in the current Lions match.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:12:17:25:27 by Loyal of Lhasa..
We have had the best of the weekend in Group C of the YB40, for four of our rivals in the group - Glo`shire, Middlesex, Glamorgan and the Unicorns - failed to get on the park today because of the rain.
So only one point each for them and no improvement to their run rate.
I think we've also, by accident, stumbled across Pete's best position in the 40 over team - as Bob Willis called him yesterday, an old fashioned pinch hitter.
I hope in a way that when CK returns that we leave Pete to open...
The latest points table - [www.espncricinfo.com] I would think that Leicestershire R/R
will drop when they play their second match.
what I didn't realise is that Durham must have started the season with point deduction in all competitions for their over spent in player wages last season.
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