Andy wrote:

ITE7376 wrote:

True to form, a young man gets what must have been a very emotional breakthrough near-century aged like 28, after a long journey into professional cricket where he's been told he isn't good enough over and over again, and more Worcestershire players went out of their way to congratulate him on his knock than posters on this forum could stir themselves to comment on it.

I mean, I know it doesn't have the same allure of saying Davies is rubbish for the 19th time, but still.

Its rarely very active on here when we've won. When we're struggling though...

I well remember the rapt acclaim that greeted Davies's century against Northants in the 50 overs last year #cricketschirping

GerryShedd wrote:

No danger of confusing the average Bears fan with a ray of sunshine.

I think confusing online fans with the average bears fan would be the mistake. Online fans in general are whingers.

Webster's offside driving game along the ground is absolutely brutal. I don't think I've ever seen anyone get such speed on the ball with such little backlift after he's driven it into the ground. It barely needs to be 3 yards past a man stood 30 yards away to get through. God, getting a hand on Webster's drives must be the definition of a poison chalice.

Tariq- last night was the first time i've seen him from nearer ground level to get an idea of his flight. My word but he is a cunning bugger with it. I have no clue exactly what he is doing with the flight but he's definitely doing something, on several occasions it looked like he beat his man all ends up before the ball had even pitched. They could barely hit him off the square and that wasn't just because of what the ball was doing after it pitched. The 'leggie'/carom ball to get Raza was a beauty. Great stuff to watch

I really like the fact that we got after Singh early and never let him settle- we could barely get a bat on him last time IIRC but last night we bullied him out of the attack early, they didn't bring him back on for like 10 overs, and when he came back on he got the same treatment.

True to form, a young man gets what must have been a very emotional breakthrough near-century aged like 28, after a long journey into professional cricket where he's been told he isn't good enough over and over again, and more Worcestershire players went out of their way to congratulate him on his knock than posters on this forum could stir themselves to comment on it.

I mean, I know it doesn't have the same allure of saying Davies is rubbish for the 19th time, but still.

Andy wrote:

No Ethan Brookes for Worcestershire, broken thumb.

ahh bugger thats a shame for Ethan, he got picked up for the 100 this year and I was hoping it would be his break-out year as an entry into franchise cricket, not sure if he'll be fit in time for the 100 with that

good for us, mind.

GerryShedd wrote:

I'm currently reading "Pack Your Bags, Brother", a biography of Mark Alleyne, which is a great read for anyone with an interest in cricket beyond just the Bears.
The book has insights into the early life of Keith Piper because, like Mark Alleyne, he was involved with the Haringey Cricket Academy. He was a troubled teenager, brought up by his grandparents. He would hang out with Mark Alleyne and his brother.
Keith and Mark would go on bus journeys: "We sat at the back talking cricket. He'd be constantly looking for discarded cigarette butts, dust them down and smoke them. Even at fifteen he was disgustingly addicted."
Until he found cricket, Pipes was on a downward spiral. Within five years, he was keeping wicket for the Bears.

thanks for the recommendation, Alleyne always struck me as a good guy, estimable character. That ltd overs outfit for Gloucester really had a successful formula under him for years.

meashambear wrote:

ExiledBrummie wrote:

meashambear wrote:

Overton is a right w*****. Embarrassing behaviour.

As a matter of fact Somerset fans & players seem to be tossers.

Oh what happened?

Overton stepping right up to Malik, mouthing and then still chuntering way after the over was finished.

I wonder if he will do it to Beau Webster. That is to say, I wonder if he will do it to _ the 6 foot 8 inch_ Beau Webster

Solbear wrote:

I’m surprised at Somerset’s conservative approach this morning, thought they’d look to get runs on the board quickly, stick us in well before lunch and aim to bowl us out. As it is, it looks as if we’ll need to negotiate two sessions, which surely we can achieve … can’t we??!

agree 100% they seem to have been very conservative bordering on negative

Andy wrote:

Zen opening

OOOf. we had to do something and there didn't seem to be another option. Davies's confidence must be rock bottom.

UrsaMinor wrote:

ITE7376 wrote:

from what I saw Rew jr has an interestingly different style to the elder Rew- much more bottom-handed? Rew elder looks very classical from what I have seen, jr looks a bit more like say Jonny Bairstow?

I'm being deliberately facetious but don't you think there's a more obvious reason why their batting styles might look different?

haha no i did factor that in thank you

from what I saw Rew jr has an interestingly different style to the elder Rew- much more bottom-handed? Rew elder looks very classical from what I have seen, jr looks a bit more like say Jonny Bairstow?

Andy wrote:

Im not so sure, even Yates and Mousley got a couple to turn sharply. I can just see Leach on his home ground going through us. He'll likely get 30 overs at us with seamers rotating from the other end. Might need a Hain special. Somerset favourites here for me :(

indeed. I see no route for the win

still speaking of ex-Bears, Chris Benjamin got a nice 70 in Kent's first innings. looks like he is batting nicely this year.

Good game of cricket, this.

I would bet that per 100 pupils, more cricket get played in schools in Yorkshire,

not really, not in State schools anyway.

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/education/study-sparks-alarm-over-decline-of-cricket-in-yorkshires-state-secondary-schools-5187754
**Cricket is becoming a preserve of the wealthy, experts warn, with fears working-class boys in northern state schools are missing out on the chance to play the game.
A new study, working with dozens of state secondary schools across the region, warns of a "significant" decline with too few schools owning even a single pair of gloves.

The report, Over and Out?, from Andrew Scattergood at York St John University, focuses on the game’s traditional hardball format – meaning any cricket activity that is played with a hard ball in junior or open age cricket.

Schools simply don't have the sporting facilities or equipment, it finds, teachers lack the confidence in delivering the game, and there is limited access to fixtures and clubs.

In contrast fee-paying schools, with elite coaching and eight times more grass pitches, are seeing a growing dominance in county and national talent pathways.

"A lot of working-class boys don't see it as a game for them," said Dr Scattergood. "They don't see it on TV or in the media any more. Without urgent intervention, the hardball game risks becoming the preserve of the privileged few.”

In Yorkshire, PE teachers from 53 schools took part in the study, from Harrogate to Hull, Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Leeds.

Across the North, with 92 schools responding, 24 said they didn't own a single pair of cricket gloves, and 22 didn't have a helmet. On average just seven hours was allotted to teaching Year 7 boys to play.**

Andy wrote:

Apparently we're in for a spinner and he's on the radar.

his figures are better than I expected, CC avg around 35. His T20 SR of 16.2 is excellent, slightly better than danny briggs albeit strike rates in general are higher now than when Briggs started out as teams bat deeper, bat accordingly, and more wickets fall in general. nonetheless 16.2 is very good.

Andy wrote:

They might be trying to bring Farhan Ahmed through. I'd still be surprised if he come though.

he's probably the most promising young offie I have seen recently, I'd love to see him here.

Speaking of ex bears at Kent, Chris Benjamin got an 86 ball century in Kents 2nd innings which was good to zee

sdobbs wrote:

Why is Davies still opening?

It's at the point he needs to be rested for his own good, in fact seems to have gone past that point. I can only imagine his mental health isn't good to say the least

FarmerPalmer wrote:

And a tidy partnership at the end which nearly won it. A great last over!

he came in at no10, I think? bet he was fuming over that haha he definitely fancies himself a better bat than no10.