**ajones1328

This is spot on...the batting needs to change/improve but who would you take out? Lamb was decent last game..Hain this one. Yates will open now Sibley is injured.

I think Highveld is right, I think a short term overseas is nearing pointless. If Malan is actually coming they should have picked Mousley or Hose for these games, and created true competition for places which I don’t think there really is batting wise. What changes can you make?
Rhodes - captain, can’t drop him.
Yates - only other opener left, so can’t drop him.
Hain - just scored 70 can’t drop him
Vihari - you can’t drop your overseas you’ve paid huge money for.
Lamb- just scored 50 can’t drop him.

So you’ve got your top 5 of underperforming players who are basically undroppable. Of the English players, they’ll all come under pressure at some point, get a score to buy themselves some time and the cycle will repeat itself.

If you don’t count Sibley who I suspect we won’t see again for a while this season, of all our English batsmen there’s only 3 who average over 30 in first class cricket: Rhodes 36, Hain 35 and Burgess 35. That means you’re hugely reliant on your overseas performing all season, which is unlikely considering he’s only here for 3 matches.

Streetly_Bear wrote:

When I first became a member we had Tim Ambrose, Rikki Clarke, Jeets, Keith Barker and Chris Wright. All of those could (and did) contribute to runs. We miss that so much.

But I think those roles did contribute today. Briggs, Burgess and Bresnan scored almost 90 runs combined, not enormous but when you think the top 5 batsmen combined scored 100. That’s a decent contribution.
I think we’re looking at this wrong. It can’t be acceptable for the top 5 to score 100 runs, but also the bowlers can’t allow a side to escape from 119-6 to 273.
Same as last year, the top 5 need to put big scores on the board and the bowlers need to finish teams off.
Could Burgess and Bresnan have got more, sure, but Bresnan got a good ball and I think Burgess got a poor decision. Either way we’re back in the same place we were last year. Wondering why the keeper and all rounder can’t save us, yet we’re chasing 75 more than we should and the batsmen only get a decent score once every 5 or 6 games, enough to keep their place but not enough to help us win.

Bald_Reynard wrote:

BristolBear wrote:

I think what we’ve seen so far in both matches is that, we get starts but don’t go on. That’s mental, and I’d hope Trott will help with that.
In tough conditions, Derbyshire batsmen were getting 60/70 when in. We got 20 odd and only Lamb got 50.
Today Hain should have gone on to 100. Can’t expect more from Briggs. But Yates, Vihari and Lamb all out for low scores and average shots. Rhodes the only one who can say he’s unlucky starting again the next day and got a good one from Broad.

Has JT now got a Coaching role at Edgbaston ? I'm not doubting you, but I haven't seen it announced anywhere. I mean, great, if its happened. Long overdue - (poor old) Frosty has struggled with the Batting Coaching needs for far too long now. Great bloke, but a better Groundsman imo. The standard of batting technique of so many players over the the last couple of seasons, clearly needs a beefed up Coaching set up in that area, as far as I can see. JT has both the technical knowledge and the mental discipline skills that could be invaluable to the team.

They confirmed it on the radio commentary, Frost is still the batting coach, but Trott is working as a batting consultant.

Shame is ended as rapidly as it did. Bresnan got an absolute snorter, and I’m not convinced Burgess got a great decision.
Annoying that we finally play 7 batsmen and one of them gets injured.

I think what we’ve seen so far in both matches is that, we get starts but don’t go on. That’s mental, and I’d hope Trott will help with that.
In tough conditions, Derbyshire batsmen were getting 60/70 when in. We got 20 odd and only Lamb got 50.
Today Hain should have gone on to 100. Can’t expect more from Briggs. But Yates, Vihari and Lamb all out for low scores and average shots. Rhodes the only one who can say he’s unlucky starting again the next day and got a good one from Broad.

Here we go again..... still no Sibley too.

Anyone know why Sibley isn’t batting?

This has definitely been our problem the last 2 or 3 years, a lack of killer instinct. Get in a good position and let sides get 50-100 runs too many. Or collapsing and let sides back into games by scoring 50-100 runs too few.

Highveld wrote:

Very impressive pre-game presentation from Nott's, they haven't listed the Warwickshire team though.

That is the one drawback with some of the more professional streaming set ups, they are very one eyed. I watched the Somerset one last year for a T20 and had to turn off their commentary very quickly. The BBC commentators for all their flaws are at least trying to be impartial and balanced.

Stone for Miles, and Vihari for Briggs?

Has anyone seen “Team Hundred” that Sky Sports have put together? Flintoff, KP, Darren Sammy, Tammy Beaumont the list goes on.
I think Elizabeth Ammon put it best, we’re literally watching cricket in this country have a mid life crisis. They’re so obsessed with a format seeming younger and different, that they’re forgetting where the real money and value is. When these “fans” and terrestrial tv go elsewhere to watch the next new fad in sport, they’ll have wasted their money, and be faced with a very awkward situation.

I’m in total agreement. You look at most teams they have their keeper at 7 all year, let alone April.
But I do wonder why they went with only 5 batsmen, do they see Burgess as a true 6th and got greedy and want to fit in an extra bowler? Do they see the batting as stronger than the bowling? Or did they totally misread the pitch and conditions and thought it would be more like the practice matches?

I’d like us to go in with 6 batsmen like almost every other county has this early in the season, so Vihari in for Briggs. Burgess bats at 7. Bresnan, Norwell, OHD and Stone the bowlers. Then Rhodes can also bowl, plus some part time spin if necessary from Sibley and Lamb.
An extra batsman could have meant a 100 run lead. Which might have actually forced the win in the time allowed.

Very frustrating as I feel that less time lost to rain/bad light over the first 3 days we might have got the win.
I look at that as a win lost to weather. We didn’t capitalise on a strong position as we should have earlier, however, I still feel 4 full days of cricket and we win that.

With it sleeting now, I’m going to assume no more play today. Big first session tomorrow, got to get them out as low as possible, because there’s rain forecast towards the end of the day.
Could be very exciting.

I think this just confirms what we all had worked out that due to the conditions it’s not easy to bat out there. Early on everyone is vulnerable to a ball that seems to be doing more off the pitch than through the air.

My question is, what’s changed from the pitches against Notts and Durham that seemed like roads, to this one. Is it just the rain and the overheads or because it’s a different part of the square?

Had a feeling that an early wicket was going to come this morning. There’s only so many times you can stop and start an innings before a batsman gets one with his name on it.
If we could get a 50-75 run lead I think that would put us in a great position, but I’m concerned the weather over the next couple of days is going to rob us of a chance to push for the win.

This is the problem with set players not going on in April. Batting’s not easy and it takes longer to get in, until that point you’re vulnerable. Rhodes, Hain and Burgess are the sort of wickets you expect, misjudgements trying to get set in tough conditions.
But Sibley and Yates were in, they were set and both failed to capitalise. A decent half century from each of them and it looks very different. Both sides innings show that early on it’s tough. The difference so far is that Reece and Critchley went on to get 60 odd each.

Bit disappointing from Yates, don’t think batting is particularly easy out there at the moment, so once you get in you need to buckle down and score big, he gave it away with a bit of a waft.
Credit to their bowlers though, being very disciplined for the most part, just line and length and knowing the conditions will help them tremendously.

I’d feel rather unlucky if I’m Rhodes tonight. Not sure how the umpire thought that was straightening enough from over the wicket.
Even worse when you look at 2 of the ones we had turned down earlier on.
Overall though, a really good day, time to pile on the runs tomorrow.