cjav1874 wrote:

just can’t see how Garton goes from being a batter only to being able to bowl 10 in a match.

even if fitness does allow it would be interesting to see what happens if he goes for 8s off his first 3, doesn't look like we have the bowling resources to hide him?

Andy wrote:

I cant believe anyone would advocate picking Garton as a specialist batter over any of the actual, you know, specialist batters.

on current evidence i definitely feel like there is space to think about him in the potential 'attacking T20 opener' role in the future, i think it would suit his mentality well**** and he can definitely strike a cricket ball, he wouldn't be the first left handed big hitting all rounder to have success for us in that role.... like you say I'm not sure I'd indulge my curiosity to the extent of picking him over people who are already somewhat proven and need the top level overs at the crease under their belt, or to increase their confidence, like jani or malik. if i was picking him there I might even have him instead of Yates who is a known quantity and whose inclusion we won't learn anything much from, albeit that would potentially sacrifice success in the comp for an experiment.

*** to clarify: he seems mentally frail and sending him out up top to just have a go without consequences would possibly free him up. malik definitely seems to have benefitted from being given that role.

jeez its a tough crowd on here! Malik got 99 in a t20 only weeks ago and had a pretty good T20 campaign overall, has a brilliant match-winning first class century in a record chase to his name, and it was only a 50 the other day that (finally) qualified him for another look this tournament? will he be considered to have finally broken through and proven himself when England call him up, I wonder?! (joke)

The_Lickey_Banker wrote:

Andy wrote:

cjav1874 wrote:

Yates Malik Shaikh Hain Davies Jani Smith Booth Ali Bamber OHD?

Yates and Jani make the 6th bowling option.

Still looks a bowler light to me?

As I pointed out (above) Lintott is a possibility, as is a fit (?) Barker.

CJAV did mention Booth, but as far as I know, he's still injured. And I can't see Malik playing - but I can see Garton (as a batsman). I think Gilchrist is likely to be in the mix, as well.

It will be very interesting to see the make up of the 2nds 50 over Friendly v Notts, tomorrow. The lineup and performances could be a real indication of a likely MBC team next Tuesday. Keep track of that game tomorrow (11.00 start).

why not Malik, out of interest? it seems the perfect opportunity to give him the chance to capitalise on the successful breakthrough season in T20 for him, seems weird to replace him with a left field choice who's never batted in the top 6 in first team cricket, am i missing something?

it would be great to see jake back not least because, as has been suggested elsewhere, without him we seem to be light on experienced, front line spin options. He adds a solidity to the batting lineup nowadays too if he's at 8/9 in the order

GerryShedd wrote:

Piran Holloway now involved in house building in Western Australia.

In reading the various comments about Kai Smith's keeping, the thought that occurs to me is that, when it comes to having good hands, that's something that keepers have (if at all) very young. I'm sure that there's lots of technical skills you can learn. But by the time you're 18 or so, I think you either have those good hands or you don't - and it seems that Kai, now 21, probably doesn't.

I could be wrong (and hope that I am).

i feel like you're right, at least for the most part, but at the same time i have a nagging memory of a couple of wicketkeeper-batsmen who tangibly improved their keeping well into their 20s. Matt Prior definitely being one (his keeping was supposedly a weakness when he first came into the England team and he was pretty neat by the time he retired) and, as I recall it at least, Michael Burgess wasn't initially known as the excellent gloveman he became known as during his tenure in our side.

Ianbaz wrote:

It's bizarre, isn't it. I think one of the few things most Cricket fans agree on, is that Key is out of his depth, and should have been the first person out the door. Pension him off to Sky. Nobody is going to take any new regime seriously, whilst he's still in post.

indeed. dislikeable player, dislikeable TV pundit, dislikeable and incompetent MD.

Andy wrote:

That's not the first time Kai Smith has come in with us in strife and got us out of a hole.

Yeah he's done it 3 or 4 times in the ODC, including the brilliant ton in the QF against Worcs, Rugby and Taunton last year to name 2 more

My feeling is the circumstances suited him today with the low required RR, at this point I feel the tempo of a 50 over game suits his game best. Under those circumstances he's shown an excellent ability to get himself in and accelerate at the right time. Today will do his confidence the world of good, still think we should play him higher up the order in the ODC. Other than Malik, of the fringe batsmen he has shown the most tangible promise so far so he's the dude we should try to give max overs at the crease IMO

Solbear wrote:

I read on a Leics CCC forum that Ben Cox is heading in our direction next season. This could of course be spurious and frankly, I hope it is because signing another keeper in his mid 30s doesn’t make a lot of sense, unless he’s going to add significantly to our batting line up. I’m not sure Cox ticks that box.

I've got a lot of time for Cox, he's a good cricketer who was instrumental in the Pears Finals day win (50s in both games as i recall it) and a key part of their successful team at the time. That was nearly a decade ago, though, which makes this a very strange move. As you suggest, even at his best he was a number 6/7 in the batting lineup.

Tayls79 wrote:

Enjoyed watching the chase. Feel a bit bad saying Barnard should be switched out seeing him bat there as he clearly shouldn't play the next game injured. Think Mouse got just a bit lucky with that last over, if Neesham had kept it down he would have closed the over out but quality he was able to take advantage of it, two opportunistic balls, hit them both for six. There's skill in that.

I didn't watch us in the field - but seems it was a case of slow bowling wins it, for our innings too. I presume Webster's over was seam up?

Webster bowled 2 or 3 seam up in the PP and switched to offies mid over

Glamorgans 2 overseas bowlers had a mare in the last couple of overs, 18 runs off full tosses and Mousley missed out on another one off McAndrew. You need better than that from your overseas

good lord above. he had some very explosive cameos in the T20 last year but, my word. not sure if I would open with him in the ODC if it got in the way of the development of a Malik or Kai Smith, we will need to find a replacement opener for Barnard but I'd imagine that would be malik?

agree 100% Tayls. I quite like watching Garton field just to see the Trebuchet he is packing for a throwing arm.

along with another chance to see Taz Ali, being able to see Kai for hopefully more extended periods is what I am most looking forward to in the ODC which I feel like it can't come soon enough now

Tayls79 wrote:
Re our chat on Garton on the 2XI feed yesterday, might we worth subbing him in for Barnard on Sunday and see if he can open and maybe bowl a few overs with a view to the Metro Bank.

yeah I'd think about this too albeit as EB is captain i think unlikely. on his poor batting form in isolation he'd very much be a candidate to be dropped. there's not the same groundswell of calls for that on here compared to how it is with some other players, curious, is that.

Andy wrote:

Last home game.

Somerset win at Derby last night extinguished our already extremely faint hopes of progressing id say.

with that in mind I'd be trying to 'build for the future' as the football cliche goes

I'd bring Taz Ali in. I say that now without thinking how to fit him in but sod it, in for a penny, we need to blood him more.

And i'd bat Kai further up the order, he has really suffered from the consistent-ish form of the top 5 and had little time at the crease recently. Assuming he plays in the ODC I would be batting him no later than 4 in that competition, too, i think he has a future as a white ball batsman and we need to invest some more time in him.

paulbear wrote:

Of course our 'Mystery Bowler' Mr Tariq was immense but no real effort was tried to score off him. Just goes to show I think, that we have missed the 3 spinners we had when we strangled sides after the 'Powerplay'.

absolutely
we were spoiled for i think 3 years by having Maxwell and then Moeen as batsmen in the top 5 who would tend to bowl a full 4 overs of quality spin (and maybe Mousley too, and then the front line lads in Lintott and Briggs).

I still miss the middle-overs Stranglers we had when Tahir, Piolet and Botha played together for that one season

looking back its a measure of how brilliant Jeetan was, that he managed to carry us on his back as basically our only spinner with only occasional darts from Javid to back him up (and OHD bowling slower bouncers in the middle overs)

I'd love to have seen Taz much more this year but, picking him would mean him, Gleeson and Tariq as non-batters and the number 11s start at number 9, and either (a) only one place for the seaming all-rounder for Woakes/JT or (b) play both of the above but drop Kai Smith into top 6 and at whose expense?

the obvious answer is staring us all in the face of course as I and andy have said it's Webster bowling spin as it means not messing round with the lineup at all

Mikkyk wrote:

They did have a warm exchange at the end of his spell though tbf

Cheers, I'm probably over reacting then

Tayls79 wrote:

Ha. I thought the de Lange / Mousley exchange was good honest stuff TBH. dL was first to clap when Mouse responded.

Overall, good to watch. A rarity to see a whole game for me. Both the batting and bowling is complementary so hard to work out quite why they started out so poorly. It's a better balanced team than in the CC with a credible spinner and solid roles from all the bats right the way down.

The only two things I would say is it could do with another pace-off bowler and I don't think that's Mousley, at least right now. That leads me to other point is there are micro periods of slopiness I've see over the games. Mousley bowling that fourth was probably one moment, few things behind the stumps (we know this), few throws at the stumps wayward and Tariq coming out to bat without his kit. The more these are eliminated the better we are.

Fair enough, I thought it was applause of the sarcastic variety tbh

Andy wrote:

Dan's great when he gets in that mode, can't bowl at him.

Nice to see him give Marchant de Wanka some treatment. The bloke is the epitome of the obnoxious dick head fast bowler. Makes Overton look like a thoroughly decent chap, what a great big glowering hulking muscle Mary he is.

Tariq is an absolute rascal, haven't had this much fun watching a spinner since Imran Tahir, he's just as unplayable. One of the balls which passed the left handers edge I swear he beat him with every element you could think of, drift, flight, length, spin.

Webster on track to have the best season by a bears batsman in t20. Considering his career SR he's batting out of his skin. In t20 I like his offspin more than his seam bowing I'd like to see more of it

Malik is really working in that aggressive role up top.