Bald_Reynard wrote:

Unchanged team (again):-

Davies
Latham
Mousley
Moeen Ali
Hain
Barnard
Smith
Garton
Hasan Ali
Briggs
Lintott

We won the toss and chose to bat.

I'm surprised that Jake L has been given another chance. Must be last chance saloon for him in the Blast?
I'm less surprised that Kai is still there, but I really don't know what he's contributing, (just) batting at 8. They really should give him a go behind the stumps, he's never had chance in the T20. One less duty for the Captain.

Yep, that's really rubbing salt in our wounds. I was upset enough to find we'd lost him (and we did shoot ourselves in the foot, only offering him a 1 year contract), but to find he would have been our only England U19 player, just makes a mockery of our Academy programme.
We really do need to sort out our Player Contract arrangements (for youngsters, as well as current & new players). How is it that a relatively poor County like Worcester, can offer 3 year contracts and we can't?!

The_Lickey_Banker wrote:

Looks like a fairly convincing win.
We made 212 for 6 - with Malik hitting 92 (from 46 balls - with 12x4's & 4x6's!), well supported by Jani (42) and Dandy (37 - from 15 balls).
Wylie, opening, again misfired with the bat (with a golden duck), but has made up for that, bowling - currently taking 3 for 11, off 3 overs. Simmons 2 for 12 and 1 apiece for Blakemore & Taz.
Northants, now 55 for 8 off 10 overs.

We bowled Northants out for 78, so a very good win, which will help the scoring rate (although we have lost 2 games in the group and had one abandoned, we're still in a decent position, with 2 games to go). Taz & Bamber took the last 2 wickets.

Looks like a fairly convincing win.
We made 212 for 6 - with Malik hitting 92 (from 46 balls - with 12x4's & 4x6's!), well supported by Jani (42) and Dandy (37 - from 15 balls).
Wylie, opening, again misfired with the bat (with a golden duck), but has made up for that, bowling - currently taking 3 for 11, off 3 overs. Simmons 2 for 12 and 1 apiece for Blakemore & Taz.
Northants, now 55 for 8 off 10 overs.

Team:-

Wylie
Jani
Malik (Captain)
Shaikh
Dandy (Keeper)
Arjun Singh Nahal (Harborne CC)
Isaac Maddy (Knowle & Dorridge CC - and George's brother of course)
Taz Ali
Bamber
Simmons
Blakemore

We won the toss and chose to bat

ExiledBrummie wrote:

Bald_Reynard wrote:

We lost by just 3 runs.

Theo Wylie and Taz A are back. Both made a good contribution - Theo with bat, Taz with ball (3 wickets).

Theo scored 13!

Yes, but a friend from Gloucester who was there, said the decision was a bit dodgy!

Taz got 3 wickets, but at nearly 9 an over, so a fair way to go, to get near the 1st's again. Though Jake L's place could be up for grabs.

Mikkyk wrote:

Good win, the team is starting to take shape but still a few things need to sort out.

Mousley seems a bit out of form with bat (strangely) and ball.

Lintott is struggling too.

Good to see Garton do well and hope he can maintain it. The two Alis and Briggs the only consistent bowlers.

I agree about Jake, he is struggling in the Blast. He has bowled better in 2nds red ball this season (but never gets a chance for the 1sts). After 4 games, I'd rest him, perhaps give Taz a chance (if he's fit, he picked up a little niggle a couple of weeks ago).
Dan M does need a couple more games to get his (Blast) eye in (again, he's been doing better in red ball recently). At least Rob Yates showed last week for the 2nds, that he got some white ball form back - and I'm sure he'd come in, if Mousley doesn't pick up.
I'm pleased for George - 5 catches, as well as a couple of good overs. And Briggs is bowling MUCH better than he has for the 2nds. It's very strange that players are doing better now, in formats they've not shown form this season.

Somerset all out for 129, a win by 89 runs.
Wonderful bowling from the Bears, particularly Adam Sylvester, who clearly has sorted out some of his demons from the Blast game on Saturday - 3 overs , 3 for 11 !
Dan M also took 3 wickets (for 25 runs in his 3 overs), Taz Ali, 2 wickets for 22 (3.2 overs) and 1 apiece for Garton (18 runs, off 3 overs) and Simmons (an expensive 35 runs, off 3 overs). Bamber did just have 1 over - for 16 runs ! 2 catches behind the stumps for Kai Smith.
On the basis of this game, I'd say Yates must be a shoo in for Friday's Blast match (but who for?) and Smith could well be keeping. Can't see Bamber forcing his way in (or Sylvester being given another chance) and so the expensive, but effective Simmons, will probably play.

And Jani got a quick 34 (off 24 balls), in a 117 stand for the first wicket with Yates, in 10 overs, so he might not be far away from a Blast game.
Somerset already 3 down - 2 wickets for Mousley, 1 for Sylvester. Sylvester, first change, already looking more effective than Garton & Bamber, opening (Bamber, 16 runs off his first over - not far off, what Sylvester was hit for in his last Blast game!).

ExiledBrummie wrote:

So has Dan pulled out of the Lions game starting Friday I assume?

Probably not, I guess he's just been released for this 2nds game.
I forgot he should be playing for the Lions on Friday, so almost certainly won't be available for the Blast game, as I suggested.

KingofSpain wrote:

Century for Yates so that will do him the world of good!

Yep, a really well played, quick century as well. And a quick 42NO from Kai. Both very promising for the Blast.

Another, pretty much full strength, team:-

Yates (Captain)
Jani
Mousley
Shaikh
Smith (Keeper)
Garton
Dandy
Taz Ali
Bamber
Simmons
Sylvester.

Interesting that Kai is keeping (rather than Dandy) and Bamber is playing. I would'nt be surprised if 6 of that side (Yates, Mousley, Shaikh, Garton, Simmons & Bamber and Smith, keeping), might be in contention for the Blast on Friday.

Somerset won the toss and chose to bowl.

Isaac already turning out for Worcester 2nds - he got 11, opening the batting against Somerset. As the Pears are in our 2nd's T20 group, no doubt he'll be playing against us - and will score loads! Only the start of a long career, scoring heavily for Worcester!?

Andy wrote:

Some of the individual performances from younger players in the 2's have been encouraging this season.

Yes, Jani looks a real find - I wonder whether signing him on a 1 year contract, might have precipitated Isaac to look elsewhere. Though, more likely, it was only us offering 1 year contracts to our youngsters (Worcester gave IM a 3 year).
Similarly, Sylvester has done well for the SECONDS, obviously way short of 1st team quality at the moment. On the other side of the coin, Simmons has had a poor year for the 2nds, but seems to turn it on when playing for the First team.
One to look out for, if he gets more opportunities for us, is Thilan Walallawita. An off spinner, ex-Middlesex 1st team, who has shown a fair bit of potential. He also turns out for the South Asian team.
We all know Dandy & Blakemore have shown a lot of promise and are quite likely to join last year's recruits from the 2nds - Shaikh, Booth, Malik, Kai Smith & Taz Ali, but Theo Wylie hasn't done much this season.

Andy wrote:

Omaris Khan from the u18's I think. Don't forget Dandy's knock either, that got us going.

Omaris, of course. I've never seen him, but a friend saw him play for K&D, said he was a real batting talent - and only 16.

I didn't forget OD's knock, which was pretty important, at a time when we were really struggling, but when he was out, we still needed 60 runs from 6 overs.

The_Lickey_Banker wrote:

Mikkyk wrote:

Do we know who O Khan is?

I think it must be Osman Khan, a 20 year old right hand bat and off spinner, who has played for Austria (?!) in an international T20 and the European Cricket Championship.

Whoever he is, he pretty much won a game that was spiralling beyond us (only chasing 166) - with a quickfire 32 (from 23 balls) - helped by Simmons & Bamber - when we were 110 for 6, with 6 overs left.

Mikkyk wrote:

Do we know who O Khan is?

I think it must be Osman Khan, a 20 year old right hand bat and off spinner, who has played for Austria (?!) in an international T20 and the European Cricket Championship.

Crazy, how have we let Isaac get away?! For 2 years he's been the pick of the Academy team, the U 18's and last year & this, the 2nds. A very talented opening bat, decent bowler. The Pears have done it again, taken one of our most promising players (to join Ethan Brookes). Management should be ashamed

Just Ali in for Yates then. Crazy. I know I've been impressed with Sylvester at 2nds level, but this is a huge step up for him. I've no idea why Bamber isn't getting a shout. And has Yates been dropped / 'rested', or is injured ? If the former, I would have thought bringing Mo Ali in for Sylvester would have been another option - we've got 3 seamers already, the extra spinner would be good and it certainly lengthens the batting.

GerryShedd wrote:

He's not exactly in the Colin Milburn or Mike Gatting zone though, for a quick bowler, he certainly looks as if he could lose a pound or two. But you could have said the same about Merv Hughes and he didn't do too badly.
He does look to have potential, which makes it more surprising that none of the other counties that he has played for have snapped him up.

Yep, especially as he's now 25 - a bit old to start as a First team seamer.
You're right, he is a bit 'beefy' (a la Merv H & the other beefy guy, whose name escapes me!), but pace isn't his bag, he does move it around a fair bit and tends to hit 'hot spots' on a regular basis.