Not sure what to make of Mousley in this format and I've been a big supporter of his for a while...

Hamza reaching, not quite at the pitch of the ball. Stuck in the pitch a touch? Yates, touch unlucky, ball there to be hit, didnt quite get up. The odd one is keeping a bit low, he'll be disappointed though. Barnard played at one that he could have left, particularly 2nd ball.

It is a bit of a slow pitch. Somerset have bowled well in patches. Next session clearly important.

Never really rated him though he did have a very good game when we played v Somerset at Taunton this season.

Yes very strong Somerset side, and when you think of the players not playing here too... Ive always thought they're a bit iffy recruitment wise but they consistently bring through loads of cricketers through their academy, not only do they source from the local area but they take lots of lads from Devon and Cornwall etc giving them a huge catchment area. We've recently started to do the same with Staffordshire.

I think Shaikh is a fair enough pick, I agree he needs a score though (for us), but he definitely should be given a run next season at 3 when Rhodes departs. Kai Smith doesn't really strike me as a 4day player at the moment. Happy to see Hamza get a go. Quite like the balance of the side, have to see Yates, Bethell and a bit of Mousley as the spin options now.

Feels like a bowling day...

According to cricinfo 540000 is down on 2023 ticket sales, viewing figures down also apart from the final.

ODC campaign felt like a bit of a roller-coaster this season. We've done incredibly well to get as far as we did, last season we had lads back from the other comp at numerous times, this time round we had nothing like that.

Death bowling has been an issue all comp long. Its not like our bowlers in this comp are good death bowlers who bowled poorly at the death just that it's not necessarily something they've done much of before. Look at Essex away, Gloucestershire away, Surrey at home (away!) and Worcestershire at home on Friday, in all 4 games we shipped heavy runs at the end of the innings. Don't think it's through lack of application or desire, just lack of experience, maybe even lack of ability. If you're a good death bowler you're in the other comp aren't you?! Felt like the tactics today of trying to get through batter to hit towards the long boundary with fielders out there was fair enough just that whenever Booth seems to go short he does get whacked because he can't get it high enough. OHD went for his yorkers but didn't quite nail them. 30 off the last 9 balls, took it away from us, Douthwaite was great. People think bowling yorkers is just something you do. Some may criticise Barnard for not saving himself a couple but his natural length is hittable and he doesn't have a yorker either. Lintott quietly has had a very average comp overall and has shipped quite a few runs its only in the last few games where he's nipped in with a few wickets.

Teams would have known that if they can get to the last 5 or 10 overs with set batters at the crease, even ifs numbers 7, 8 or 9 etc then they could cash in.

Truth is you can see why some people aren't part of the Blast side....

Agree with Bristol Bear that this doesn't feel like a choke or a bottle job like last season v Hants, more just that we didn't have the players this time around.

Gutted after Friday, I got carried away and really believed we could go all the way!

Come on you Bears. Yates and Shaikh available.

I'm still high as a kite.

Looking back through the thread yes it was a bleak situation at one point but people really are quick to get stuck in to us on here sometimes.

One of the great one day wins! What a day.

Incredible knock from Kai Smith, ton from no. 7. What I loved most about watching that innings was the situations and phases that he encountered at different times and the way he overcame them all. You looked up at the scoreboard and he had 25 without seeming to do very much, you couldn't really recall a shot, quiet accumulation, like Hain does or Bell used to. When he got to about 36 he got stuck, 10 dot balls to him in a row at one point, but he kept his composure and worked through it all of a sudden 4 then 6 off Fateh Singh. Rhodes couldn't time anything for the majority of his innings, hitting full tosses at fielders and all sorts, yet Kai was able to detach from that struggle and even picked up the slack, he seemed to go from 50 odd to 90 quite quickly. After he got his ton he lost a bit of timing himself as the finish line was in sight and you could see him losing his shape and tensing up so he knocked it around picking up what he could until all of a sudden Worcs bowlers got desperate and would go searching, then he picked them off for boundaries and the win and saw us home.

Kai Smith, The Problem Solver.

Just an outstanding knock showing game management and maturity beyond his years. Love how brave he is, unafraid to hit over the top.

Big picture there is no way we should be looking to recruit batters from elsewhere whilst Kai Smith and Hamza are developing the way they are. Theo Wylie missed out this tournament maybe but he's good too. Cannot block their development. Next season when Rhodes is gone Hamza should be starting at 3 in the CC and Kai Smith should be at 6 in the Blast side performing the role Benjamin should have been doing.

Great to be back at our home Edgbaston after being away and great to get back to winning ways in front of a good and enthusiastic crowd at short notice. Lovely weather too.

That was a good cricket wicket, did a bit for the new ball, good pace and carry and turned a little as the game wore on. Something for everyone. Refreshing after what was becoming a bit of a pudding pitch at Rugby School.

The outfield looked immaculate today which was remarkable after yesterday's prolonged deluge and a Hundread game only hours before. Edgbaston looked beautiful today.

Roll on Sunday, not been Sophia Gardens for ages myself, come on you Bears.

One of the great days.

Immense

Ethan Brookes that is outstanding.

Worcestershire top 6/7 looks fairly strong even with the players missing through injury. Although it's mainly bowlers they have injured. They've done really well to get this far. The 2 youngsters, Home and Darley have been impressive, Home is pacy. Once I again I find myself asking why can't we bring them through like that?

Sam Hain and Garton are injured aren't they? Think Gleeson is on a T20 only deal.

KingofSpain wrote:

We will do well to win with the batting resources we have left. Maybe Zen Malik will announce himself on the big stage.
The whole farce with the franchise cricket continues. We cannot get Hain back from Team Trent yet they allow Hampshire to field John Turner in their quarter final.

Zen Malik got a shocking decision in the last game, hopefully today he gets going. Wonder who OHD comes in for...

First place the late night final would get delivered too was the paper shop at Sir Harry's.

Haven't said we shouldn't be using outgrounds, if you look back through my posts I've been very consistent on this for quite a while. Just think 3 out of the 4 ODC games at Rugby School was too much. Mark Robinson even alluded to it himself before the Surrey game when he admitted we were conceding some home advantage. I feel 1 ODC game during the school holidays at Rugby School would be agreeable and then maybe a 4day game in May/June at a club ground would be better. Nuneaton or Cov would be great, we've played there before, would be a nod to our history.

Terrible anti Birmingham rhetoric in here though (I'm not Birmingham based anymore by the way, Lichfield now), must have been exhausting for you for so long. The Birmingham based members are the ones who attend the games regularly, yes they have the advantages of locality, but they are the ones attending through thick and thin. To them call them entitled is out of order.

To reiterate, very much in favour of outgrounds, also hugely in favour of Edgbaston Cricket Ground. Its a brilliant place and we've witnessed many incredible moments, tremendous support from Birmingham City Council added in, which makes the anti Birmingham vibe in here such a shame.

BosworthBear wrote:

Well at the very least the Brummie contingent now appreciate the trek the rest of us have to make every time to get to Edgbaston (on the western edge of the county) to support our county now!

It was always very much appreciated, keep up the good work and dont be late Friday, i trust you'll be there...

Hope you've enjoyed the County Championship wins, Sunday League title wins, record breaking innings/partnerships, memorable victories, iconic Test matches, incredible World Cup matches and T20 Finals Days we've had at Edgbaston down the years. The home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club.

I'm sorry Edgbaston Cricket Ground and Birmingham is such a chore for you.

Roll on Friday. You Bears!

mad wrote:

Pleased with the home tie on a personal level but it doesn't half sum up the absolute state the ECB has led the game to. Worcestershire one of those counties that last few seasons are shorn of and therefore need multiple days cricket to host in summer and a Lions v Sri Lanka game will have attracted maybe a couple of hundred to go and watch it. A plum semi-final against their local rivals will have had a fair few hundred more and they've been denied this. The game has and continues to be driven into the gutter by ECB shortsightedness

Yep farce isn't it.

We're very lucky to be at home. Robbo said at the start of the comp it was great to have these games at Rugby but we are conceding some home advantage...and so it transpired. I must stress, I was all in favour of using an outground and I still am, some outgrounds are good, but 3 out of the 4 ODC home games all at Rugby School was just too much. People may complain about the pitches at Edgbaston but these pitches haven't exactly been great have they? Having said this I feel it would have been better and fairer to have had 2 of the games away from Edgbaston, 1 at Rugby School and another elsewhere at Nuneaton or Leamington or wherever. Rugby School is closer to Grace Road than it is Edgbaston, to be expected to trek over there 3 times in the space of 2 weeks was ridiculous.

The once a yearers and the casuals all had a great day though...

puts and helmet and body armour

Really, is that confirmed?