He's just played a major role in maintaining Knowle and Dorridge's lead at the top of the Birmingham League with 1 Saturday to go next week with an unbeaten century to steer his side home at Barnards Green.

Only Moseley can stop them now - they have to beat Shrewsbury and also hope very decent Kenilworth Wardens side upset K&D

We are letting a good young player go it has to be said

Excellent news. Really rate him. Ithink we could be in for this Cox who's left Worcestershire today aswell?

Gone to emerging side Leicestershire

There's this from the YEP in case anyone is unable to stop throwing up from all the hype that's accompanied the denouement of this years 4th format

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/cricket/the-hundred-makes-ditchwater-look-interesting-chris-waters-4272295
While regarding the rise in attendances and viewing figures at this year’s Hundred with consequent suspicion, amid a general propaganda machine that might have embarrassed Joseph Goebbels, there is also the question as to whether the Hundred is actually any good.

Also read a good comment by a fella on the Yorkshire CCC White Rose forum thought it was worth sharing encapsulates much of what I think has been wrong with the schedule and how to fix it. The fact that TV isn't covering the county formats any more ought to free the counties to arrange fixtures as they used to be arranged before Sky TV ruined comps like the Sunday League

County cricket needs to be bolder and stop compromising. At the moment it's allowing itself to become irrelevant.

Sky, the ecb, the central contracted players have no interest in county cricket so why should we throw away everything we have for their benefit?

The counties need to set out a traditional schedule which appeals to it's core audiance and go with that. To me the core audiance is the newly retired, children and club playing adults, who often have children interested in the game and are themselves children of people connected to the game. There remains a lot of people who actually want to watch red and white ball county cricket.

I'd unblock all competitions, play 16 county games and 16 t20s during the season. T20s on a Friday, cc starting Sundays. These would be pretty much fixed.

Players have always missed games due to other commitments, so what. Get on with it and go with what's available. Geoff missed a lot of Yorkshire games to play for England, games played with the stars missing isn't new, it's been happening for 100+ years. Don't worry about it.

If a player wants to go to a t20 league, let them go, play with what you have. If Jason Roy wants to spend part of his summer in the USA, good luck to him, play the next available. So many of us on here commented how much we enjoyed the 50 over game v Surrey at York, that should be our template going forward. Currently it's the tail wagging the dog!

At the moment we don't have meaningful comps. This will ultimately kill the county game. The cc restarts next week, and how many of us know whose top of the league or pushing for promotion? I've little idea. It's the 50 over semi finals today, I didn't know until this morning, that can't be right!

'The players won't like it... ' so what, play somewhere else. We'll actually find most aren't good enough for that and will stay.

At the moment every player, partly because they have an inflated opinion of themselves, believes county cricket is a stepping stone to something better. It might be, but county cricket should be bold enough to make sure it's something in its own right. Only if it believes in its self will it survive.

news of the twos
@newsofthetwos
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3m
Second SEC century of the year for Warwickshire’s Amir Khan against Gloucestershire. It came off 141 balls with 14 fours. He was well supported by Kiwi Jakob Bhula who has played 12 First Class games for Wellington. Bhula, who made 67, played for MCC Young Cricketers in 2018

A lot of the background rancour might be related to all the uncertainty about contracts and the split between those picked for hit and giggle franchise formats and those not picked. He also seems to really want to bring through and work with young players I think that's a plus.

It's a volatile time for the game, we did well to help maintain some semblance of calm and normality by getting the powers that be to just ease up on the Barmy proposals Strauss was the figurehead for last autumn but change as ever is baked into county cricket so a lot will depend on what the landscape looks like going forwards. Will Warwickshire even need a full time coach 12 months of the year in position like him going forwards if they only exist as a sports team for 3-4 months of the year and then are hibernating while the franchise circus takes centre stage? We'll just hire consultants to fill roles for the short-term. It's a horrendous thought but just feels like that's the way the game is going

Yesterday's game which is perhaps best forgotten and three sides are in red-ball action
Seconds playing a 4-day match away down at Bristol CC - Chris Rushworth took a wicket yesterday, interesting that Jake Lintott has joined the game today to get a feel for the red ball again
Under 18's in their final 3-day match away at Taunton Vale - Isaac Maddy in the side but hasn't had a bowl they're up against it down there and play the same opponents in Sunday's 50-over final at Kibworth CC
and today a 2-day EPP match has begun at home to Lancashire

go well all you Bears

Time of year a factor in more ways that one. Interesting that captain and OHD handed over their shirts. Maybe I'm reading too much into that but feels potentially symbolic

The fall out from today could be massive. I know all this will have perhaps been sorted already but it will come to a head today.
OHD off to Pears perhaps Rhodes relinquishing the captaincy, what of Briggs and Burgess?

So does a reserve day get activated if e.g. there have only been 60 overs possible in the game today (50 first innings, 10 second innings)?

Not used to reserve days anymore

Any more making the short trip over from Warwicks?

Woakes is so far down the rabbit hole with strength and conditioning. We'll only get him back if it's 100% in his and England's interests to let him play 6 weeks out from.his squad duties at the world cup. I think we just have to accept that with Woakes.

Did he play any 4th format cricket this year?

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/cricket/york-cricket-club-eyes-that-festival-feeling-4269270

Hopefully get chance to visit York to watch some cricket in the coming years. Given Scarborough has two Championship matches annually if York gets one that'll leave Headingley only hosting 4 currently and those will be in April and September

Good news is there is no way they could ever countenance reducing the number of county fixtures if it left Leeds with just 4 CC matches

Hopefully Yorkshire CCC start lobbying for a return to 2 divisions of 9 and 16 county championship matches, a proper one day cup and this Hundred Blast hybrid that's coming in the next couple of years gives the requisite space in the schedule

They seem to be very protective of Woakes and it flukily paid dividends for England in the summer. I guess their initial plan was for him to deputise if needed for Jimmy but he comes in fresh for those last three tests and is player of the series. They might hold him back again for a few ODI's and then the world cup whereas previously they might have encouraged him play this week

At this moment from the bits of the match I've seen I'd have to say Worcester might give us more problems than Hants particularly with the ball. Love Barker to bits but he's a threat with the red ball more than white

What is the situation exactly with player availability for Tuesday then?

Any restrictions on Woakes/Moeen?

Of more significance is Keith Barker's return to the white ball Hampshire team

Be quite nice if he played Tuesday should they win

Not a particularly good Ireland side tbf Warwickshire under 18s beat them the other week Theo Wylie took 7 wickets.

He's apparently switched from seam bowling to off breaks fairly recently and is tall left arm orthodox (a young Ashley Giles perhaps???). What a switch though. Plays for Shifnal in the Birmingham League and came through Shrewsbury as a youngster so has probably played a few games for Salop.

Great signs for Warks if we can get him and Tazeem Ali (a more unorthodox young leg spinner) as a tandem and curate some dust bowls down at Edgbaston in 2027 ish

An agreement was reached at lunchtime and what an entertaining afternoon thereafter.

9 overs of joke bowling and I mean absolute filth lifted Bears score by 190 runs this setting Northants 265 to win in 55 overs. Amir Khan had made a patient 85 before the lunch interval and then benefitted alongside Daniyal Khan from the joke bowling, moving from his 100 to his 150 in just twelve minutes.

A game Northants had in the bag at 2 down at tea time and and again at 6 down and the drinks break when final hour was called they looked very comfortable.

https://live.nvplay.com/ecb/?tab=m_summary&video=v4_046_03#mbfcab67d-2be6-415d-98bd-38c8514e3882

Terrific effort from Sam Atkinson and when his quota of overs was spent the spinners stepped up to claim the final three wickets with some splendid catches too.

Some counties still have country membership Notts for one. It makes sense at Trent Bridge which is centred around a single free standing city with surrounding towns & villages that fan out almost evenly and there are old industrial towns to the north and east of the county. Slightly more awkward to justify at Edgbaston as you're potentially making it cheaper for someone from e.g. leafy Kenilworth to be member of Warwickshire than someone from nearby Balsall Heath. I still think they should have a country membership category however and use other strategies to assist local residents into membership. At Lord's if you had a residents card in the borough of Westminster that used to get you into the ground for Middlesex Championship matches

Think possibly more a victim of circumstances. Club did the right thing responding to impending and inevitable relegation signing Sibley and Rhodes. Mind you I personally wouldn't have minded two/three seasons in the second division more outground cricket available etc...

I do think we're on a better track now with regards the youngsters though. Just look at Theo Wylie today saw him take seven wickets against Ireland u19's last week and now he tons up against the Aussies. My main worry with him is how much of him will we see if England have seen this from him this early??!??