oxfordbear wrote:

ITE7376 wrote:

Andy wrote:

> He's been available just not getting selected. Apparently he's been sat in the 'dug out' at games with all the gear on.

thanks I'm going to lock myself in my bedroom listening to Smiths records now.

FFS no other batsman over 1000 t20 blast runs in the last 2 years and just for one example you've got some ** child called McKinney who's played 10 T20 blast games in his entire life, and literally didn't even score a quarter of the runs Hain got this year, he got 109 runs in 10 games FFS, 109, and he's had one little flourish hit a couple of sixes in 29 runs and the reaction to it, you'd think they were witnessing a peak Viv Richards and meanwhile the most prolific run scorer in the country sits on the bench and, this country, this country, I give in.

But finally gets a game for Rockets as replacement for Hose. Batting at 8 behind Moores and Ahmed. Riduculous. Wonder if he'll even get a bat. If so he'll probably be expected to hit 20 off 4 balls.

exactly i can see it now, comes in with 10 balls to go, doesn't perform a miracle, gets dropped as he 'doesn't start quickly enough'.

back to the bedroom and the Smiths records for me, I need to cheer myself up a bit

Tayls79 wrote:

Grareful for the information provided above. Wonder what he thinks of it all? It could be a good thing for him thats he's realtively close to home with a new baby with minimal work for decent money. Or annoyed at the lack of involvement? Being carded at eight behind Ahmed, Willey and Moores must be a bit frustrating.

I can only imagine it to be depressing as ** for him. Looking across the whole tournament there must be at least a dozen batsmen playing regularly, with demonstrably inferior career records, and not just that but nowhere near the runs he has scored this year (he's 9th in the blast tournament)

to be fair to Willey and Moores they have both outscored Hain this year and Moores has got his runs at a better rate IIRC (although Willey has struck at 140 to Hain's 147.......), so, bitter as I am, I can swallow those two. And again with Moores, I'm pretty sure he has a better track record of successfully being able to 'go heavy right from the off' than Hain, plus both Willey and Moores are left handers and the Rockets in particular seem to have an active plan to alternate right and left handers throughout the top and middle order. I'm also pretty sure over a 3 or 4 year period Hain will have outscored both of them by a decent margin. Mind you he scored nearly 100 runs more than Hose at a better SR and Hose still got picked ahead of him...

the ones that really grind my gears are the child Rehan Ahmed (300 runs at 139 vs Hain 440 at 147) and Max * Holden (a whopping 229 runs at sR149) ahead of Hain. again, Holden is left handed so that could well be at least partially tactical, but still...........

much of the scouting/selection for this whole thing seems to be along the Bazball 'vibes' lines. This beanpole McKee kid from Durham with 109 runs in 10 games in the Blast, he'll probably get another innings 30 runs with a few sixes some time and get a Big Bash contract off the back of it.

Hain just doesn't give them the 'vibes' is my only explanation

Andy wrote:

> He's been available just not getting selected. Apparently he's been sat in the 'dug out' at games with all the gear on.

thanks I'm going to lock myself in my bedroom listening to Smiths records now.

FFS no other batsman over 1000 t20 blast runs in the last 2 years and just for one example you've got some ** child called McKinney who's played 10 T20 blast games in his entire life, and literally didn't even score a quarter of the runs Hain got this year, he got 109 runs in 10 games FFS, 109, and he's had one little flourish hit a couple of sixes in 29 runs and the reaction to it, you'd think they were witnessing a peak Viv Richards and meanwhile the most prolific run scorer in the country sits on the bench and, this country, this country, I give in.

Tayls79 wrote:

> I don't think he was overlooked though. My gut feel is he was on parental leave for four whole weeks and appearing as Hose's fielding replacement was his first game involvement back.

I really hope that is the case as I have been eating my own liver throughout the comp watching batsmen who are demonstrably inferior to hain get plenty of time at the crease. My mental health will be much better if it can be confirmed.

Of course it does beg the question of why he didn't start that game for Hose - but not going to overthink it.

I'll do the overthinking for you brother, haha. The suspicion with Hain is that he gets pigeonholed for not scoring quickly enough (partially true, SR in last 3 years 23/24/25 has been 160, 137ish and 147), and also that he takes a while to get his scoring rate up/doesn't score quickly his first 10 balls. I'd argue the latter is often due to him coming in in the powerplay with 2/3 wickets down already and it has been at least partially if not largely situational, also that he clearly has been set the role of batting through the innings whilst others take more risks

but still with all that in his defence, sometimes a batter needs to come in and score pretty much from the off and it hasn't been his strong suit over the years. his BBL 'chance' one year, in the final i think it was, he was at 5 in the order, they didn't lose many wickets overs 1-15 but scored slowly, and with very few overs to go they brought i think 3 players in ahead of him on the basis they were more likely to slog a six or 2 (daniel Sams was definitely one and I would swear Lewis Gregory was another.. fucken Wakeley was in there at the scene of the crime at some point too)

anyway looking at how the Rockets have set up I suspect more angst is in order when they bat him at 6/7 and he doesn't perform the impossible of going at SR300 in the 6 deliveries he has available

but I'm not bitter

Tayls79 wrote:

Occured to me a few times iver the weekend. I think he may still be on parental leave, companies give big long breaks for this now and Sam hasn't played in over a month now. Adam Hose has taken his place for the Rockets in the 100 but Hose got one of those horrific knee injuries the other night. Could well be that Hain comes in for him now. If he doesn't, then it is worth speculating if he comes back at the end of the One Day cup and hopefully doesn't go into the T20 QF totally cold.

Hain came on as the sub fielder for Hose

i was eager for Hain to play but given his history in franchises between BBL and the 100 (basically, not picked at the start of tournament, given his chance halfway through when undercooked, played at the wrong position at number 5), I don't think the prognosis is any better this year

Hose has been batting at no7, behind (amongst others) an admittedly-promising virtual child all-rounder in Rehan Ahmed, and at least one other batsmen without Hose's proven track record over several years domestically. It seems they almost had him as a designated 'big man to come in and his sixes at the end' a la Paul Walter or say Alex Whiteley (albeit Whiteley's career SR actually suggests he wasn't actually that good at it...Mr Dot Ball... its a bugbear of mine)

so i have the fear that once again Hain's 'big chance' will be a hospital pass whilst he has spent the tournament so far watching multiple players with significantly inferior records have their day in the sun

for context Hain is the only player with over 1000 runs in the last 2 years of the Blast

Andy wrote:

A brilliant, brilliant run chase and great one for the learning curve of these young batters.

Chasing over 300 with the highest individual score being only 50 has to be some sort of record right? Can't have happened too many times before.
I thought we needed somebody in the top 5 to ton up but we had such solid contributions all the way down. .

---

indeed, its difficult when you continually have partnerships being broken (our best partnership all day was 65) with one batter having to play himself in, so in that context the chase was even more impressive. we had to stay patient against what looked to be pretty good consistency from the somerset seamers

Kai Smith is quite clearly good under pressure and has the ability to remain calm and work through situations. A problem solver.

well put. I like to see white ball teams have something like a 'designated finisher' and especially in 50ovs he seems to have a decent knack for it

Andy wrote:

Fair play to Lintott, it's interesting people have picked up on his body language etc as I've often felt his action falls away a bit when his low on confidence and he almost tries to bowl a bit quicker (overtrying?) and he drops short. He's not a massive turner of the ball so relies heavily on getting his lines right, having little margin for error. I was pleased to see him get a haul though as it felt as though people's opinions were maybe starting to turn on him a bit. Hopefully he can get back in the groove.

thats exactly it. his action when he is 'on' seems to be very muscular through his upper body and especially his shoulders, but when he's lower in confidence there's much less hyper-extension through the shoulder (boxing is more my thing technically so its the kind of thing I notice), like the range of motion seems to be much less, and that's when you get the drag-down long-hops. Funny enough when he is on, the mistakes tend to be more erring on the fuller side towards full tosses, but if he's giving it a good rip the full tosses are still often difficult to hit because of the dip he gets on it, bringing the ball down fairly late.
I also noticed when I had a really good vantage point from behind his arm, he can get some absolutely vicious drift in to the left hander/away from the right hander when is ripping it. It looked like a big inswinger from David Willey.

Andy wrote:

Am I right in saying we only had Imran Tahir for 1 season because they'd been some sort of work permit cock up with him at Hampshire which meant they'd confirmed a deal with another overseas for that year? I'm sure it was something like that.

yeah they made a mistake and 'double-booked' their overseas as they had Fidel Edwards, so they let us have him. suffice to say, they had Tahir himself after the year he had with us.

UrsaMinor wrote:

You have to wonder what all this is doing to the poor kid's head. We've seen players of his age making waves in the past but by now they would normally have a record of achievement under their belts. All I see with Bethell is assertions of exceptional talent - but where's the evidence? I suppose it's hard for him to show that if he hardly plays any cricket.
You have to wish him well. And good luck captaining Jamie Overton.

totally agree

is Overton reputedly difficult? i smiled at this

he'll be captaining Dawson and Rashid, who've both probably forgotten more about cricket than he currently knows, bizarre spectacle.

but, vibes, though.

LeicesterExile wrote:

Calm down ITE this game is getting a bit exciting - too close for comfort with wickets falling at a steady rate. ( Never heard it called poom-poom before)

it is too close for comfort indeed, thinking about Tahir and his celebrations and his gorgeous wife always cheers me up

paulbear wrote:

I enjoyed Imran Tahir during 2010, strange that he had 1 season and had an agreement to go back to Hampshire after his time with us. Wickets, and then you would have to try and see which direction he was racing off to.

ha. It would get to a point when he got on top when it would seem like every ball was an event, scooting off inside or outside edges or up in the air, thudding into pads, and all accompanies by his fervent dramatic pleas to the umpire, slumping knees to the ground, asking the uncaring heavens how fate could transpire against him so cruelly

his season with us was basically his break through season, I had a theory on it. His wife was literally one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Jaw-droppingly beautiful.

My theory was he was on a 'reward' deal with her, you know, in terms of marital relations, like 'no wicket no poom-poom', hence the fervent histrionic appeals and the desperate visible disappointment when the ump turned one down. And a hat trick? Just imagine what Mrs Tahir must have promised him if he got a hat trick, a whole weekend of 'poom poom' for you Imran.

Highveld wrote:

Has been named as captain for the england T20 tour of Ireland.

I just saw. these people are absolute mentalists. There seems to be no limit to their 'edgy risk-taking bold-decision-making'

I wonder if at some point they will pick a kid based on seeing him face 2 balls in the nets. they're absolutely off their tits.

FarmerPalmer wrote:

And interestingly, he looked a bit out of sorts early in the blast, and wickets taken were all catches in the deep, after his spell captaining the seconds in red ball and getting some wickets, and runs, he seems to be bowling straighter and more attacking and most of the wickets are now bowled or lbw. Interesting

absolutely
with Lintott it seemed to me you could tell his confidence level (and certainly his likely effectiveness) just on how the ball is coming out of his hand. when he's 'on' it really fizzes out, you can see the action/revs on the ball from the trajectory and its relative violence. when he's low in confidence it kind of limps out of his hand and the trajectory is totally different like a dying bird all floppy and limp. most of the T20 it was definitely the latter.

GerryShedd wrote:

Well done to Jake Lintott.

A great reminder that economy rate isn't the be-all and end-all for wrist spinners, and that having the confidence to pick them pays dividends, especially when they are proven wicket takers

i still fondly recall that one season Tahir had with us (tbf his economy was generally excellent as well), ripping out middle orders like some crazed steroidal giant pulling up weak shrubs by the root, left and right.

Highveld wrote:

Zen is 27, almost 28, remember he was rejected by 12 counties, they can not all have been wrong when they decided not to sign him.

Can't they? Really? First class centuries (and match winning 4th innings ones, at that) just don't count now? If someone saw the match-winning innings against Worcester and denied there was any potential there, I'd have to suspect they were beyond help as some kind of wanton miserabilist. There are doubtless players at some or all of those counties as we speak, whom have played more first class games than Malik, and still not got a first class century. Until players actually get a first class chance its all speculation and there is always a leap of faith in picking them to debut. But the very fact they were given contracts and he wasn't now undermines his actual, concrete record? Now he has been given his chance he has basically been a success, but, what? Deny or reject an actual first class record because clubs some way back didn't rate him? what an utterly bizarre attitude.

Andy wrote:

Yeah Zen's got a bit of credit in the bank.

agreed, i want to see him given a good run in this 'development' competition

Andy wrote:

Don't think yer as devastated as he is.

Yes I think the fact that Taz is fairly tall means that he can get above the eyeline without appearing to get too 'loopy' or floaty. It's the way he's getting his wickets too which is impressive, he's outfoxing batters as opposed to relying on batters to make mistakes. And his googly is well disguised, there's no obvious tell.

yeah he's getting a nice proportion of bowled and lbw

. Good again from Taz Ali, the ball to get Leaning was magnificent

yeah I watched his first spell on the stream when I got home from work, I thought from Sunday that he definitely had a googly in his armory but the ball to get Leaning was a bloody great ripping, big-turning one. That's such a great indicator for his future as it totally changes the spectrum of threat for batsmen, especially against left handers.

I get a nasty feeling after a year or so we won't be seeing him again once England get a sniff. Albeit, with Rehan Ahmed's rapid development especially with the bat, I'm hoping his all-round ability will mean they pick him and there's no place in the England lineup for another leggie who doesn't bat nearly as well. Either that or they can stick with their arrogant, probably misguided, vibes-based pick of Bashir, fine with me if we get to keep Taz but in the long term I suspect it would be their loss. Taz strikes me as a bit more of a test-style leggie than Rehan does, FWIW, seems to flight it more.

its always nice to see a cross-generational connection at clubs