Maybe it demonstrates how weak our first class is at the moment.
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We don’t seem to have many players in the IPL. Bethell is in a squad and can’t get a game. He spent a lot of time last year watching cricket as well.
Watching a bit of the Women’s first ODI against NZ. Still plenty of comedy fielding from England.
Also yesterday I watch a fair bit of Worcestershire vs Durham in the CC. (All CC matches are live on Youtube with commentary.) It was absorbing stuff, and a nice change from the same IPL match they repeat every afternoon on Sky. Lol. I find it really boring and have stopped watching.
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I stopped watching IPL a few years ago, prefer the Hundred and Big Bash .
A lot of power hitting but rather boring. Also prefer the women‘s game as it seems more varied
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Plus some comedy umpiring.
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England selectors finally appear to be taking notice of county form. Pleased to see Ahmed included as I consider he should have featured over the winter.
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Glad they have chosen Gay as a specialist opener rather then shoe-horning Rew into an unfamiliar role. Rew’s picked as ‘cover’ with bat and gloves for Jamie Smith, who’s a bit lucky to be back in my view. Rehan Ahmed is good news if he gets picked ahead of Bashir but I note Liam Dawson has announced his complete retirement from 1st class cricket on being left out. A story there perhaps?
With Archer in IPL and Carse injured it won’t be an experienced attack, but Robinson seems to have atoned for his lack of fitness/professionalism and is back in favour. He always looked classy when fit.
I’m happy to see some young tyros and maybe a bit of rotation in the team (not just of bowlers) this summer as it feels like a good time for a bit of a reset. NZ not a soft touch in English conditions though.
Bruce
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Re Dawson, there’s more here and, of course, there could be another sub-story here around ‘I’ll give it a go, but if it doesn’t work out’ etc,. Who knows, and who can blame any player nowadays for maximising their playing days.
Liam Dawson: Hampshire all-rounder retires from first-class cricket - BBC Sport
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Good to see some fresh faces. Not entirely comfortable having a foreign selector as well as coach. I can’t believe we are that devoid of home talent. The selector looks like a Stokes pick.
If you look at the record of home grown coaches and selectors engaging foreign alternatives might be a smart move.
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You may be right, but it is sad.
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Marcus North has at least been involved in English County cricket for a while, since 2018 at Durham but this if course Stokes’ home county. Which makes you wonder if he will be a fresh and independent voice. Can only hope.
The new squad makes sense to me, although having Archer absent because of finishing the IPL and therefore lacking relevant workload despite a central contract just highlights the issues around franchise vs international cricket. Bethel is in the squad but isn’t even getting a game in the IPL and will arrive for the Test series with no competitive red ball cricket, or indeed any competitive innings for many months. Hence the following spat.
I am with Cook on this. Did we not learn from the last Ashes that competitive matches prior to a Test series are important?
Bruce
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The cynical part of me thinks whatever stance KP takes, go for the contrary view and you’ll be right.
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Exactly what I was thinking.
Sad to read that ex-England captain MJK Smith has just passed, aged 91. I can just about remember him playing towards the end of his career when I was a nipper.
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Elsewhere , a good result for Bangladesh or a poor result for Pakistan ?
I went to the first test match between England and Bangladesh at Lords, and the progress of
Bangladesh since then has been really good.
At the same time the progress of Pakistan, West Indies and possibly Sri Lanka seems to have stalled
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They have come a long way. I remember the match below, They wanted practice and I think some Counties had no interest in playing them. The Lamb and Flag could cobble together some quite serious club players back then.
"In 1986, the Bangladesh national cricket team toured England to compete in the ICC Trophy. During this trip, they made a notable visit to Worcester in early June to play a historic, friendly match against the local Lamb and Flag pub cricket team at King’s School.
The match is fondly remembered for its surprising competitiveness and hospitality.
- The Match: The Lamb and Flag pub team batted first and scored 234 runs in their 50 overs.
- The Result: Bangladesh successfully chased the target with a few balls remaining, winning by five or six wickets.
- The Aftermath: The Bangladesh players warmly hosted the pub team, promising that if the local Worcester players ever visited Bangladesh, they would be looked after completely free of charge for their entire trip.
- Main Tournament: While they enjoyed friendly fixtures, Bangladesh ultimately finished sixth in their seven-team group during the ICC Trophy, missing out on the next round of the tournament." AI.
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I’m following the Lions-SA game through cricinfo. A young lad called Asa Tribe scored 135, so I looked at his profile. He’s just turned 22, plays for Glamorgan, has a FC average of 40 from 22 matches. What caught my eye was that he has an older brother called Zak Tribe who’s played ODIs for Jersey. (Both have 3 letter first names, not abbreviations, and have Mark as a middle name.) Now I’m really curious about his family. Have they 24 siblings (how big is their tribe)? Why did the parents start with Z and 2 years later go to A rather than the other way around?
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Yes, Tribe has been getting some mentions in the last 6 to 12 months. I think Falconer is another name to follow.
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I watched England Women’s side bat against NZ in the 3rd T20, the latter skittled for 80. Let’s just say England’s batting won’t frighten teams like India and Aus. The BBC article below is overly kind IMHO. Same old issues of horrible technique, bottom-hand wahoos, allied to little/no foot movement.
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