KingofSpain
Member
No mention of Moeen Ali. Is he available? Does he even want to play?
He is contracted to us until July. https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/czjed1rnwejo
As I've said before, we won't see much of him playing for the Bears for the next 10 years. He is employed by England now.
Good spot LB.
Preview and squad here: https://edgbaston.com/fixtures/first-xi/notts-outlaws-vs-bears-30th-may-2025/#match-match-previews
I hope Miles is only there as cover as he shouldn't be anywhere near our first eleven. I'd prefer the new bloke Sylvester if we needed an extra bowler.
Welcome to the forum Charlie.
Latest "Second XI" T20 v Glamorgan. A strong Bears line up.
https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/?tab=m_scorecard#m21b06798-e1ac-490d-acb4-60ba46c45cd0
I would prefer to give Taz Ali some games and bring in a batting all-rounder as an overseas player. If he turns out to be a match winner then I guess it will be worth it.
A double blow this morning. Yates out early and Clive Eakin on commentary.
I feel sorry for Westwood. Circumstances have seriously weakened his planning.
I wonder what the sporting director guy is doing to help. He won't have any contacts in the cricket world to call on, unlike say a Giles or a Farbrace.
Garton is another mercenary white ball player. Its a shame he hasn't got the enthusiasm for the red ball as we are crying out for a quality left arm fast bowler. At least he is usually available for the T20 but he must be on good money for the dozen games he plays every year.
Is Moeen Ali playing this year? I've lost track.
Dermot is great on commentary. He provides genuine insight into technique and what the bowling plans are, or should be to a particular batsman. I hope he gets more airtime over the summer.
Certainly a huge upgrade on the abysmal Clive Eakin and boring Phil Britt.
Gleeson going to the IPL and will miss two Bears T20 matches.
It is classed as an "Unofficial Test Match". Good for Dan to get a ton against an international bowling attack. Hopefully he will kick on in his career because he is such a talented player.
Makes sense for Davies to have the gloves so that we can play Ali. Simmons extra pace offers something different to the lesser spotted Rushworth's medium swing bowling.
Dermot is live on the BBC comms today.
GerryShedd wrote:
Regarding the pitch, George Dobell in The Cricketer says:
"Well, it wasn't perfect. It barely deteriorated and clearly favoured batters over bowlers, as many pitches at Edgbaston have in recent times. But it wasn't as bad as some might suggest. There was some carry; there was, at least, movement in the air. There was a little spin, albeit too slow to bother batters.
Maybe the English game has an issue with pitches like this, though. It may well be marked 'good' by the umpires, but good in what sense? It didn't provide an even battle between bat and ball. It didn't provide great entertainment. It was only 'good' in the sense that there was no uneven bounce. Maybe we need to set the bat a bit higher than this.
To be fair, neither side played a specialist spinner. And neither side had an outright fast bowler, with Simmons showing what might have been had there been one on show. It is generally accepted that county cricket conditions have long favoured fast-medium seamers who then experience little joy at Test level. Well, surfaces like this might encourage the aggressive spin and fast bowling that is required in Test cricket. The balance wasn't perfect here, but pitches like this might even help the English game in the long run. "
I think this is an interesting take on pitches in general. The answer is to find that balance between a result pitch and real test of skill for both batters and bowlers.
Booth has a stress facture of his ankle, according to The Cricketer.
It will do Mousley good to go away and score some runs in the seconds.
Surrey Millionaires selection policy js erratic. In comes Jason Roy for his first red ball game in five years, and Dan Worrall is omitted.
Sounds like a short boundary on the Hollies side and a decent pitch.
The IPL has been suspended and the English players are flying home. We might yet get to see Bethell in a Bears shirt this season.