2019 Trent bridge away was lovely and a smashing game Notts were sent down. Sibley tons in both innings including a double ton. The following week there wasn't a ball bowled I don't think for the final game against Lancs. September's can be okay and one season I think it was the other way around where the final game was played in nicer weather than the games preceding it. Issue mainly is the light though so given we are safe from the drop I hope they just get on with it and get through the overs quickly this week and next.

Good celebration of Leics here;

https://youtu.be/A7IdWcBS5sk?si=3xzYG9QyKytRHjQs

Following on podcast discussion of what GD wrote during the week

https://youtu.be/fiFeCJMT6fY?si=X7BSxw6w0OAadTCO

ajones1328 wrote:

Surrey chairman on future of county cricket

https://youtu.be/2m-kgGtRshg?si=d8AwghGU1a1SwZRx

Key takeaway

At a vote, all Surrey players want a 14 game County championship 31-0.
Surrey CC are clearly proud of the CC and its their main priority and the membership and attendance shows that.

Baffles me that Warwickshire's playing staff wouldn't be on exactly the same page as the Surrey playing staff and not want any reduction to the county championship. Ditto most of the other sets of players across the counties.

So either were being misled by the PCA and the Warwickshire hierarchy or else we and other clubs have a playing squad that just doesn't like playing cricket????!??

Which in a way would chime with the overall poor results over the past ten seasons for Warwickshire just one slightly fortuitous county championship title in that time and continual failure in the Blast and ODC. A sign of a very badly run club at least from a playing aspect.

The hierarchy at Warwickshire should be nowhere near deciding they can instruct a successfully run county like Surrey or Somerset that they have to reduce fixtures IMHO

And down the line the Warwickshire members shouldn't put up with this regime for much longer either

George Dobell just tweeted this update from Chelmsford.

Essex - who had a forum tonight - seem to have committed to the 14 game Championship option. Which is interesting because I think those pushing for 13 had them among those open to persuasion.

Good news

Genuinely don't have an issue with any of the commentary teams. The Somerset bunch are fine IMHO one thing that grates me a bit with this Surrey lot is how much they strive to make it sound like the players have a really hard time playing county cricket. They're generally incisive and do show enthusiasm for good play from both sides but it's a bit too dour/downbeat for me compared to our own fellas. Maybe that's a result of sitting through 3 seasons where they've absolutely hammered everyone especially at home

However which way they choose to describe the proposed format it keeps on sounding utterly bonkers.

Even getting away from the appalling drop in fixtures available to watch who the fuck came up with this ridiculous format for deciding the county fucking championship?

They've got a bloody nerve even calling it the county championship if this shit goes through

Anyone sees their PCA rep make sure you have a stern word with them if they back this horseshit.

Bristol update

Dear Members,

You may have read in the press about a meeting this week to discuss the future County Championship and One Day Cup schedule. Contrary to some reports in the press, this is not a meeting at which a final vote will be taken, but an opportunity for debate. On the table are two proposals:

1. A change in structure to a model of 12/6 with two ‘conferences’ in ‘Championship One’ of six teams each, and one conference in ‘Championship Two’ of six teams.

2. A County Championship of thirteen games.

As discussed at Members meetings at both Bristol at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire are not supportive of the 12/6 model and will be voting against this, unless the facts change.

In terms of the number of matches, we have a responsibility to consider the views of players (strongly in favour of a reduction in red ball cricket), Members (strongly in favour of no reduction in red ball cricket), the Executive Team (charged with running the business at a profit) and the Board (charged with representing the views of all involved in Gloucestershire Cricket). Having listened to these views, we believe that the current thirteen-game proposal does not satisfy anybody, and again, subject to change in facts, we are not supportive of the proposal as it currently stands.

We will be calling a Members’ meeting to discuss this and other topics, in the week commencing Monday 15 September, and will confirm details as soon as possible.

In the meantime, if you have any views to share, please contact either me or Neil Priscott, Chief Executive Officer.

Kind regards,

Peter Matthews

GCCC Chair

If that's the case well done all who have opposed the wreckers. Hopefully they'll stick on this until 2031 (maybe just adjust it in 2027 so that there are 8 in top division which seems to appeal to Surrey and ECB in particular but might leave too many counties stranded outside the top division) and just arrange the fixtures a bit better than of late. I see they're hailing it as been a good year for 100 crowds up a bit (hasn;t looked that way at Edgbaston from the little attention I have paid to it) but clearly it is all weather related we've had an absolute belter of a 2025 with 4 separate heatwaves so crowds are bound to have had somwhat of an uptick. What a shame county championship cricket hasn't been able to take similar advantage of what has been a lovely summer. Fingers crossed this extends into late September

Hopefully the players take their advice and walk the fuck out in fucking November. I find it utterly ridiculous that the players do all this 'training' for months on end in the cold depths of winter and then can't get through more than 3 championship matches in a fucking month without breaking down.

Hopefully he goes on strike 😱

He was being used by the club hierarchy and PCA disgracefully I'd suggest. Hope lesson's been learned and they don't wheel him out to try to put any sort of positive spin on the farcical 13 game nonsense scenario. This having to have mini pre-seasons in the middle of the summer just shows how farcical the stop-start chunked up schedule is these days. They should be motoring along at this stage of the season on 2 or 3 fronts not trying to fill fallow time with days at The Belfry or twiddling thumbs. The quarter finals of the T20 really should all be on one day which would make room for a resumption of the championship this Friday. Instead they have yet more fallow time to wade through. It's a football international break to cap the idiocy off too with no cricket to go and watch this weekend

According to an article in the Guardian, the PCA (DVB Darryl Mitchell who seems intent on killing his own county stone dead and our very own OHD et al...) are pissed off with the members of the counties they represent.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/aug/30/county-crickets-restructure-what-is-being-proposed-and-how-will-it-work

The PCA needs to get real and reduce the number of June July and August golf bookings they make.

Let us consider the prime argument they offer for a reduction in the cricketing schedule - i.e. Players workload.
The total number of days currently allocated to cricket is
CC 14x4=56
T2014x1=14
1D/H8x1=8
Grand total of 78 days but short form cricket lasts <4hrs and very few, if any, players will be involved in all games in all tournaments. Additionally very few, if any, players, will be actively involved throughout all 4 days of a CC game. The current cricket season is spread over 176 days.
That equates to a 3 day week, outdoors in generally pleasant conditions.
Mental and physical overload!!!?????? - tell that to the general workforce - either white or blue collar.
It's as hideous and fallacious an argument as Franchise cricket being the saviour of the game.

Hope the counties tell the ECB to feck right off. They should have the 2 extra games in August anyway given it's 2nd Xi fayre. Better if it was 2 Championship games mind and back to 2 divisions of nine and 16 games per county

Yet more garbage proposals from our very own chair mark McCafferty quoted by Will McPherson . Are moves afoot to unseat this buffoon before he does to cricket what his ilk has already done to rugby?

Yes indeed. No mean feat at Lancs they only need 100 signatures to trigger theirs. Good going getting 260+ and I hope it has an impact I know we don't want the rancour at Edgbaston that they seem to have up at Old Trafford for example but nor should members wishes be ridden roughshod over

The much-publicised review of the domestic playing structure continues to progress, with changes to the Vitality Blast due to come into effect in 2026, and a vote on the County Championship expected in the coming weeks.

The Club’s Board have taken time, since the review began, to form a view based on the interests of all stakeholders involved, from players and coaches, through to commercial partners and crucially, having consulted our Members and supporters.

In short, as suggested at recent Members’ Forums, Derbyshire County Cricket Club does not wish to see a reduction in the number of matches played by the Club across all formats.
The Board has always been concerned that reducing the amount of cricket played could, over time, severely impact attendance and overall interest in the sport.

We have seen outstanding support so far this season, with Vitality Blast attendances up by 20 per cent, while Rothesay County Championship crowds have grown by 17 per cent. It has been extremely positive to see an increase in new spectators purchasing tickets or Memberships for the first time, alongside our ardent support.

The Board strongly believes that the fine balance between player welfare, the commercial impact of the domestic structure, as well as the needs of spectators, could be addressed by making adjustments to the schedule, as opposed to reducing the number of days of cricket.
While we are clear in our position, the game has chosen to reduce the number of T20 Blast matches, and we await further details on the final options for the County Championship. Whatever the outcome, the Board and the Club’s Executive Team will continue to work collaboratively with the game to maximise the potential and growth of domestic cricket across all formats.

Derbyshire County Cricket Club Board of Directors

Good for Derbyshire not wanting to sell their members short unlike some

It looks spectacularly good on the livestream and far superior to the view of 20,000 empty seats at the concrete bowl Edgbaston

Yeah Hamza got a bad decision there. He's walked halfway down the track and we'll outside the line. On the scorecard half an hour ago it was showing caught behind

Andy wrote:

Just had a bit of a gander (slow day), we didn't reach the quarters of the T20 in 2011, we only won 4 out of 16 group games!

Yeah I can only recall the 2010 semi final. I've been to several championship games or individual days of games. Remember Adil Rashid on debut tearing through us, we were woeful in the field only thing we hit all game was when nick knight took out a pigeon with a stray throw. Haven't we played there fairly recently in a white ball game? Maybe COVID year?