Third game of the championship season.

Hopefully Ian Westwood has done a deep root cause analysis of our issues from the previous games and is prepared to make the needed changes to resolve the issues.

Kai Smith has done enough to be assured he has the keeping gloves for the rest of the championship season, There are good reasons to rotate some of the seam bowlers, what is concerning is the lack of a top quality spin bowler. Perhaps we need to see if we can get Cory on the next flight over for the rest of the season.
Yet again, the top three in the order are consitant in their inconsistancy, and regularly fail to give us a good atart to an innings, which has a massive negative effect on the rest of the batsmen, and the bowlers, who get less time to rest between innings than they should. If the budget allows the club should be looking to see what top order players are available on the loan market, of from Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, as we currently have a second overseas player slot open.

(https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/?tab=m_summary#mc5520000-6664-a623-349c-08de2d98add0)

Tell us you haven't watched the first 2 games without actually telling us you haven't watched the first 2 games...

Squad

Barnard
Bamber
Barker
Booth
Davies
Gilchrist
Hain
Malik
Mousley
Smith
Thompson
Webster
Woakes
Yates

No specialist spinner. Barker in the 14. Green seamer incoming perhaps?

The weather looks a bit mixed for day 1 with rain maybe before lunch and after, not sure if I will go. Whoever wins the toss might decide to have a bowl if it looks dodgy overhead.

I’d be surprised if we don’t see Barker in for this one, if he’s fully fit.

Essex have won the toss and elected to bowl.

Davies+
Yates
Mousley
Hain
Malik
Barnard*
Webster
Thompson
Barker
Bamber
Gilchrist

paulbear wrote:

The weather looks a bit mixed for day 1 with rain maybe before lunch and after, not sure if I will go. Whoever wins the toss might decide to have a bowl if it looks dodgy overhead.

You have to bowl at Edgbaston anyway at the moment. The drainage has ruined the wickets. So they leave grass on and then the pitch flattens out. Bad toss to lose!

Inside-edge wrote:

Essex have won the toss and elected to bowl.

Davies+
Yates
Mousley
Hain
Malik
Barnard*
Webster
Thompson
Barker
Bamber
Gilchrist

VERY interesting, that Smith & Woakes have made way for Malik & Barker (it was always likely that Gilchist would rotate with Booth). That implies a 'new broom' (James Thomas finally stamping his mark?!) in team selection, the awareness that we need something different from extensive right arm seam, with Barker coming in (and possibly, we'll see, Webster with his off spin 'hat' on?) and another specialist batsmen, in place of Kai. I think it was no surprise that CW would be 'rested' (or replaced, given his lack of success in the first 2 games) and perhaps the 'advantage' (uncertain?!) of Davies' hand injury clearing up enough for him to take the gloves again?

Let's hope Davies keeps wicket better than he bats!

Warwickshire lost the toss, and naturally, Essex decided to bowl under cloudy conditions with rain forecast. Bears already 12/2! The wicket has a green tinge.

"Let's hope Davies keeps wicket better than he bats!"

It would be very hard not to, but would be truly horific, and probably not something to be shown before the 9pm threashold :-)

It looks like I did the right thing by not going, bad weather or not.

paulbear wrote:

It looks like I did the right thing by not going, bad weather or not.

My thoughts exactly. Will need an improvement in both weather and performance for me to go to the latter days.

Careless cricket from Webster

Need more from an overseas player...any player in fact

Whilst Essex have bowled well and the conditions are tricky we have failed to punish a lot of the bad balls. We seem to finding fielders every time and that adds pressure.

The recovery last week came from Woakes and Smith. Neither are playing today!

Clearly a bad toss to lose, the most perfect bowling conditions we've seen for a while at Edgbaston. As has already been acknowledged this pitch will likely flatten out and slow right up on days 3 and 4.

Team selections probably about right, Woakes was never gonna play every game in this block, thought he bowled v Surrey but when he took that 2nd new ball v Sussex on Monday morning he did look jaded...he'll be back.

Kai Smith has made even further improvements with the bat this year particularly from a technical point of view but his glovework, and I appreciate this won't go down well here, remains way off im afraid. He too will be back though.

Pleased to see Zen's form for the 2's rewarded.

Incredibly good grab from Walter to dismiss Thompson who was looking good. And then a minute they all walk off for rain, so frustrating.

Thick cricket..obvious we were about to go off...