white-lightning wrote:

... why couldn't England release Bethell last night to play for us as he's not selected for England at Lords today? He hasn't played for about two weeks now - isn't there a danger of him being a bit rusty if called upon? The ECB prevent our players from playing for the Bears too much!

Yes, this bothers me. Since coming back from injury, Bethell has spent a lot of time not playing for RCB, not playing for England and not playing for Warwickshire. He's lost half a year's development which could be very damaging. England should be desperate to find him a game somewhere.

GerryShedd wrote:

According to the BBC, the 328 balls Rocchiccioli sent down was the most in an innings by a Warwickshire bowler since Ashley Giles bowled 68.3 overs against Yorkshire at Headingley in 1996.

Can I applaud you for spelling the Aussie lad's name correctly and in full? Were you using cut and paste?

Given that Bethell and Archer are expected to be key men in Australia, might it not have made sense to release them to play in a game with a kookaburra ball?

Hose 253 balls. Sibley 301.
Takes all sorts.

I expect Bethell will bat 3 on England orders but I'm not sure that's wise. He hasn't faced a red ball this year and Somerset always have a good crop of seamers, reinforced at the moment by Matt Henry. I'd slot him in at 5.
Somerset's batting is a bit flaky, full of batters who promise more than they deliver. Just as well, given our attack.

I ran out of optimism regarding the County Championship some time ago. Framing the debate in terms of the structure of the CC is a red herring as the real problem is that there is too much hit-and-giggle. The cuckoo in the nest that is The Hundred is continuing its work of eviscerating competition. The proposals for the CC pay little or no attention to any competitive integrity, they are just a way to open up space for more donkey slog.
It's too late now - Money is in control and I pity anyone who thinks they can stand in the way of Money. Might as well be grateful for the few crumbs we are still being fed whilst they are available.

I was wondering whether he had a "p" in his name and was reminded of Tintin where Thompson came with a p "as in psychology" whereas Thomson came without a p "as in Venezuela". This guy follows the psychology route.

He's a class act in limited overs cricket but he's never looked at all impressive with a red ball in his hand. He may well bounce around the franchise circuits for a while and good luck to him.
It leaves a gap - or an opportunity - for a slow bowler who can keep things tight. Are we talking an upskilled Mousley or is it time for Taz Ali?

I'm not a fan of play-offs as a means of determining end of season positions. Presumably the ECB looked at the crowds drawn to Wembley finals in the EFL and thought "Ooh, money!" but I'm not sure that it would translate to cricket well. Whilst the last few Septembers feel like they've had good weather (any thoughts, Exiled Bear?), it is not unknown for the early autumn to be wet leading to drawn games and the need for some artificial way of deciding who "won". A league is a league and the team that has the best record over the year should win it.

Brookes was coming through at the same time as Bethell and Mousley. If you need to ration salaries, you could understand focusing on the latter pair. Only then do you find that they'll hardly ever play for you because England/IPL/Undead keep pinching them. Perhaps we shouldn't be developing the best players?!

I watched the Zimbabwe Test on TV and, for the first time, thought I could see what Stokes and Co see in him. His variation of flight was good and, when he put some action on the ball, it turned sharply.
The problem is that he's raw. Control is lacking so his wickets have tended to be expensive. He's still got a lot to learn and doing that at Test level isn't ideal. So he's in a bit of a bind - any county that takes him on will know that he'll leak runs in limited overs and be whisked off by England at the drop of a hat. Not a great proposition right now.

I doubt if it was the original intention for Latham to play T20 but when hordes of players become unavailable, what do you do? He may not be gung ho but he's quality and we could probably do with some of that amongst the headless chickens now.

GerryShedd wrote:

"No longer available:
Webster
Booth"
Does that mean that Anne Ziegler is unavailable too?
(PS - a less than topical joke!)

Made me laugh, Terry. Thank you.

100 for Mousley in the second innings. Well done, young man.
I'm not sure if this game qualifies as "first class" but, if so, that's a maiden century.

GerryShedd wrote:

Off topic, but interesting to see Josh Davey opening the batting for Somerset today. Not so much a night watchman as a morning watcher.

Yes, Gregory and Davey taking first knock. One can only assume that there was some SNAFU like half the team being late to arrive. I've heard of that happening in away games but Somerset are at home!

My thoughts too, Tayls. Interesting squad that appears to be players of promise that aren't quite making it with their counties. If Mousley can get his head down and play an innings there will presumably be some influential people watching.
It'll have to be second innings now, though. Out cheaply.

GerryShedd wrote:

Here's my report on the day.
If Gary Barwell reads it, he probably won't forgive me for likening his pitch to a dead parrot:
https://deepextracover.com/2025/05/rothesay-cc-match-report-day-two-warwickshire-v-surrey/

That photo of Ed Barnard is becoming rather familiar! Doesn't he deserve an up to date one?

I believe Jacob Bethell may be coming home early with the IPL suspended. Can't see how he would get in the team at present!

100 for Latham but Webster out. Let's hope we can keep this "god" position!

Really bad news for a young man who is just starting to get noticed.
Life as a seam bowler can lead to a lot of injuries but we do appear to get more than our fair share. I don't remember Chris Rushworth spending half the time in the treatment room at Durham. It could be age in his case but then there's OHD who seems to just keep going.
So it might be just random. Does anybody have any stats as to whether we do worse than other counties for bowling injuries?