SC_Bear
Member
Given the state of Birmingham City Council I suspect no one there would even notice if the club reverted to the City End or changed the T20 name back to Warwickshire Bears.
As it stands possible QF v Pears next Thurs🤞
Thoroughly enjoying it so far although keeping the sound muted when the ghastly Melinda Ferrell is on commentary.
Totally agree with all the points raised above. These days, the modern county cricketer seems to be playing less cricket than most of us can ever remember. Not saying the 70s, 80s or 90s were flawless, but at least the structure made sense and gave us something we could actually follow.
Apologies for repeating myself, but it’s worth restating: after 34 years of continuous membership, we called it a day after 2023. Once it became obvious that the block scheduling wasn’t going anywhere, the decision more or less made itself.
We’re just not interested in watching most of our four-day cricket outside high summer. The one-day cup feels so watered down now that it barely seems worth the time or money. The T20 schedule is all over the place — even without factoring in the joys of travel and parking — and The Hundred doesn’t interest us at all. We’ve hit our seventh decade, and frankly, it feels like we’re no longer part of the plan. Our £375 joint membership? Likely more than made up for by Knightshead’s cash injection.
That said, one thing that keeps getting overlooked in all the excitement around The Hundred is that these investment groups aren’t in it out of the goodness of their hearts. Knightshead have reportedly put in £28 million — if that’s over five years, that’s over £1 million per Phoenix home game. Unless ticket sales are defying gravity, they’re going to want a return. And if that doesn’t come easily, expect calls for expansion.
The idea that The Hundred will stay neatly tucked into three or four weeks in August feels pretty hopeful. What happens when it starts in late July and eats up the whole of August? Suddenly the reduced Blast, 12 County Championship matches, and what’s left of the one-day cup are all at risk. At that point, we’re not just tweaking formats — we’re changing the shape of the English domestic game entirely.
Hard to shake the feeling that some decisions being made now might come back to bite — and it won’t just be the so-called traditionalists feeling the impact.
Andy wrote:
Bore draw. Still think the oppo have shown a better seam attack than ours again though. That pitch had pace and carry and our lads looked a bit pedestrian compared to theirs. All our batters got time at the crease which is good.
A word on Rocky. I've enjoyed him the past 2 games, clearly a very skillful and thoughtful cricketer. How good is it to see an overseas player show genuine enthusiasm for the game and his team. He gives plenty of encouragement to his teammates and genuinely seems to appreciate the opportunity he has been given here. He's enjoying himself. Was impressed watching him observe and study the pitch conditions during intervals and breaks too. He clearly loves it.
Mike Taylor on comms quoted OHD as saying Corey is a Steve Smith style cricket badger
A really sad end to the club's association with Moeen. I wish him nothing but the best but it does feel as though he's looked upon the last 3 summers as a backstop to his other commitments with him phoning in most if his contributions. Suspect his performances for the 16.4 side will be of a magnitude more enthusiastic and effective.
What I find interesting is that all of the counties seem to think it ends here. The global partners that are buying up the 100 franchises will soon want to see an expansion of the competition to maximise ROI. I doubt many of them will be satisfied with 5 home games per season. I suspect this process will be repeated again within a few years to accommodate an earlier July start and an increased set of franchises.
So long as were spared from the ghastly Melinda Farrell I'm happy.
On our way to Christchurch after a couple of weeks touring this wonderful country. Can't wait to see one of our own make his debut.
Of course - I was at there as well! 🫢 But other than that?
Am I right in thinking we have not won a game of knockout cricket since 2015? Happy to be disproved by any of the site Stattos! 😀
Dreadful in house commentary again though. Don't the counties that do this realise what an amateurish and one-eyed image they project when they do this.
GerryShedd wrote:
With the start of the Blast imminent, I have to say that what I wrote back last November is still my opinion - having a day that launches the tournament after it has started is daft; and I pity those Bears finishing at Durham late on Friday evening and then having to play again at Edgbaston the following afternoon.
Probably the same geniuses who scheduled an international T20 on an ultimately, rain ruined Tuesday evening the day after a bank holiday Monday. A day when other than remaining days of CC games there was little or no elite sport being played anywhere in the country.
GerryShedd wrote:
Melinda Farrell was quite rightly getting some praise on here for her commentaries recently. I'm sure she will be proud that she has now achieved the ultimate recognition - being featured on Private Eye's Commentatorballs for saying (allegedly): "There's a TV installed in the men's Portaloos so that you can watch the live stream."
Couldn't agree less. I think Ms Farrell is a terrible addition to WMs output. Shrill, self-regarding and repetitive compared to the understated expertise of Richard Wilford, Mike Taylor and Clive Ekyn. I get that she's a credible print journalist but she's a terrible addition to the county's live stream.
Unfortunately this is one of 2 Luddites who's called it a day.
Faced with 42% of our CC cricket this year being played by the end of April and long periods at Edgbaston in the following months bereft of anything meaningful to watch we reluctantly decided to give up our membership of 34 years.
It was a painful decision for us but I suspect TPTB aren't shedding any tears at a couple more 60+ members walking away.
We've put the money we've saved towards a nice break in May and we'll be dialling in our support via the live feeds this year.
Yes you're right Andy my mistake - it was Strauss in 2010/11 - Cook captained 3 consecutive home Ashes wins I think. Doesn't detract though!
Officially retired. Seems like a throwback to a bygone age now but what a player. Doubt we'll see his like again. Thanks for the memories - particularly captaining an Ashes winning team in Australia. A proper legend and a true gent.
My thoughts exactly Terry. Since the Section 114 announcement I'd been wondering about whether the appointed govt administrators would call in the existing £20m loan. To expect a further £32m to be advanced from a bankrupt entity is fanciful to say the least.
I remember back in the early 90s we had become serial chokers in one day cup quarters and semis - although nothing as bad as the last 2 Blast QFs and today's debacle. The catalyst for change was when the Woolmer/Reeve partnership was put in place. We then went on an unprecedented 3 year winning streak which has never been bettered. For me the Robinson/Rhodes/Davies axis just isn't getting the best from the players. I've been to 6 ODC games this year and always felt that the batting was flaky and prone to collapse and that certain bowlers just keep repeating the same errors hoping for different results- Einstein's definition of madness. I'm not a knee jerk "let's get rid" type supporter but it's been 8 summers since we last won a one day trophy. The CC & BWT wins in 2021 we're great but we simply haven't moved forward since then. Ask yourself what a Sam Hain-less team would be like and I suspect you'd be pretty pessimistic. Time for a change.