GerryShedd
Super Moderator
Andrew Strauss's blog confirms:
"It will be important the First-Class Counties have the appropriate time to consider the final recommendations and to properly engage with their stakeholders. The First-Class County Chairs Representative Board has therefore proposed the 2023 LV= Insurance County Championship remains at 14 matches for each county."
Although the ECB is saying that it wants to "give counties the opportunity to further consult with players, members and other key stakeholders," the problem is not that they haven't already had the opportunity to consult but that they haven't done it. Let's hope that, if they have been granted a further opportunity, they take advantage of it.
According to a report in The Cricketer:
"The County Championship fixture list is set to remain at 14 fixtures per side in 2023.
The ongoing high-performance review has been assessing where structural changes are required in the English domestic game, in an effort to narrow the gap between county cricket and the international arena.
As part of the review, a reduction of the number of red-ball games is believed to have been under discussion, but such a course of action is highly unlikely to be implemented next season, as the ECB seeks to give counties the opportunity to further consult with players, members and other key stakeholders."
If true, that's good news as far as it goes.
I have posted mine today.
Article by Tanya Aldred here:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/aug/24/lancashires-awkward-squad-ready-to-battle-for-county-crickets-future
I looked back at the interview I did four years ago with the then Chairman Norman Gascoigne about the proposed changes in the Club rules. I asked him:
“What powers will members still have? Let’s suppose, entirely hypothetically, that the ECB proposed to scrap the County Championship and replace it with a 10 overs a side competition. The members would for sure be up in arms in opposition to this; but what if the word from Edgbaston was that the Club would support the proposals? What could the Members do now (under the existing Club rules) to change the Club’s line; and what will they be able to do if the governance changes go through?”
“There won’t really be any difference,” replied Norman. “In both situations, the higher of 250 members or 5% of the club membership would be needed in order for a Special General Meeting to be convened. At the meeting a proposal could be put forward for a vote of no confidence. Or a resolution could be raised for the Board to vote against the ECB proposals. If the resolution was passed, the Board would be bound by it.”
Maybe my hypothetical question wasn't so far off the mark.
Tayls79 wrote:
Forgive my ignorance, but two questions: 1) Have the Strauss recommendations been published yet? Not the version that was leaked, intentionally in my view, for last minute feedback at the weekend. 2) Are they intended for implementation at the start of 2023 season? Means the conclusion of this seasons CC is up in the air if they are.
The Strauss report is due out in mid-September. I'm not sure when any recommendations would be implemented and whether everything would happen at the same time or it would be phased.
Regarding point two, hopefully Ed Barnard will help next year. If only Norwell could stay fit for a whole season, I think he has plenty to offer. George Garrett is a puzzle to me. Yesterday, I thought he bowled a consistently good line and length whereas earlier in the season, he was all over the place. Maybe playing a few games in a row has helped him.
I agree that we are all here to state our own very different points of view and long may that be so!
It's about more than just county cricket but Fred Rumsey's "Sense of Humour, Sense of Justice" is a really good read. He's going to be at a Cricket Society event at Edgbaston in December. I spoke earlier this week to Stephen Chalke who will be interviewing him at that event and he said that Fred, although now 86, is still very sharp mentally and extremely entertaining.
I am amazed by some of the negativity on here. We were short (by my count) of 15 players today, had two sixteen year olds and a seventeen year old and didn't quite win.
Overall, with the resources that we had I thought we did well to come so close to qualifying - but maybe I'm just a naive fool.
Anyway, here's my report:
https://deepextracover.com/2022/08/warwickshire-v-somerset-royal-london-one-day-cup-edgbaston-stadium/
A summary of the complicated situation going into the final qualifying match:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/62627301
Do we know anything about the likely fitness for Tuesday of Pandya and Burgess? I agree that their absence could be crucial.
As Private Eye might say:
Readers of this site may have formed the impression that posters believe that all those in positions of authority at Edgbaston should be instantly sacked, if not hung, drawn and quartered and their remains flung into the River Rea. Also that the majority of the pathetic team members should have their contracts terminated forthwith and/or be sent on permanent loan to Derbyshire.
In view of the magical win by Rhodes’ heroes against Durham, we would like to make it clear that we have never wavered in our support for this magnificent group of players. As for Messrs Farbrace, Robinson, Mason and Frost, we are unanimous in signing a petition to ask Boris Johnson to ennoble them in his farewell honours list.
(PS – hold this post until after Tuesday. If the Bears lose to Somerset, hanging will be too good for the lot of them).
In the end, a convincing win.
Table here:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/royal-london-one-day-cup-2022-1297661/points-table-standings
Am I right in thinking that, because the top two have to play each other on Tuesday and Gloucestershire have already finished their group matches, if the Bears win against Somerset who have yet to win a match, they will qualify for the quarter finals?
I can only agree with Exiled Bear and Highveld.
The Bears have still won more games in this competition than they have lost and, if they win the last two games, could still (just about) qualify for the quarter finals. Losing the overseas all-rounder and then, in this game , having the wicket-keeper dislocating a thumb have hardly helped.
As for the Vitality Blast, has everyone forgotten that the Bears finished top in their group before going out at the quarter final stage? They had the highest net run rate of any team in the two divisions.
I agree that the Championship has been pretty disappointing, especially after last year's win. The bowling, in particular, hasn't been up to scratch and the overseas player (McAndrew) tried hard but was slightly more successful with the bat than the ball. Injuries to Norwell Stone and Woakes didn't help - Woakes if fit would undoubtedly have played some early season games and Stone would have been trying to get himself back into England contention.
As well as getting the overseas signing(s) right next year, it will be key that several of the undoubtedly talented young players need to step up to the next level and establish themselves. Although he had a bad start to the year, I have no doubts about Rob Yates. Dan Mousley has been held back by injuries. I am thinking of players like the Brookes brothers, Jacob Bethell and George Garrett plus one or two of those who have featured in the Royal London tournament.
There were years when the supply of young players seemed to have dried up but that's certainly not the case now.
Anyone want to buy a ticket for day four at Lord's?
(Only joking about England's performance, not ticket touting!)
Pieter Malan has scored three fifties and one hundred in five knocks so far in the RLODC. That's alongside a career FC average of 46. So he's really no slouch with the bat.
Not sure about the decision to bat first. If being without Pandya means that bowling is our weaker suit, then I can see the argument that it's a good idea to be doing what you're best at in the second half of the game. But if the opposition score 374 then it's a bit like a boxer saying "I'll save my strength and attack in the second half of the bout" and getting knocked out in the first round.
paulbear wrote:
Any bowler from South Africa would be coming in after a 3 Test series v England whereas Siraj does not appear to be playing at the moment which means he will be fresher and unlikely to be jaded.
Not to mention the fact that, a fortnight after the end of the Test series in England, South Africa start a tour of India so the chances of any of their bowlers being released to play county cricket are either slim or none; and as Don King once said, Slim just left town.