Well, we did the right thing in batting first but Hain was the only reason we got a good score and from then, we should have been able to defend it. They were winning it easily but a few tight overs saw it rise to 14-15 per over. The persistence with Briggs was strange rather than mixing it up and even giving Maxwell a bowl but Woakes was not on song and it seemed as though every ball that was slightly off, was carted for 6. We did not score enough boundaries in the first 10 overs and I have no idea how we got 203 even with Hain's brilliance. I would not have seen us losing twice to a poor side (I will be chastised no doubt for this) like Derbyshire once let alone twice and the group is now so tight we might not even end up qualifying.

Oh! Dear.

If England did sound out Ali, then it is a backward step as he said he was not going to go back on his decision to not play Tests, he has no form whatsoever in first-class cricket as he probably hasn't bowled with a red ball in years and his reluctance to even bowl in the T20 games, shows where his game is. Also, if he isn't even making any runs, he is a passenger as soon as he is picked and from what I have seen if him in the T20 Blast, he doesn't appear to be worth a place at county level. Even picking Rehan Ahmed looks dangerous, 22 wickets in 11 first-class games will not make any Australian batsman shake with fear and from what I saw of his 5 wicket haul in Pakistan, he didn't turn many and their batsmen seemed to get out by just trying to hit him over the ropes. Only other option is, leave loads of grass on the pitches and make it look like Trent Bridge 1981 and forget a spinner.

Moeen Ali seems to be in Grant Elliott mode, "Oo, pitch looks good, nice blue sky and ideal for batting. Aaaah, we'll have a bowl". Madness. If we don't end up in a great state in this group, the management need to come up with a better plan. We have made 200+ on so many occasions whilst batting first last season and this and yet you wonder if Moeen has actually done any homework on this and looked at stats. Stats do not tell the whole story of a team but some stats stare you in the face and I am afraid this whole T20 group could get out of hand if we do not realise our strengths and the captain must know this or is not much use as a captain.

Cannot think of any bowler on their side who would get into ours and some bad shot selection made them look good. A bad result tomorrow and the group will be wide open. Yates being dropped was ridiculous and if Ali is going to replace him but not bowl either then he has to make some runs to justify being in the side in the first place.

When I saw the double header a few weeks back, I thought Derbyshire's bowling was awful and no better than 2nd XI county standard. I have not changed my mind about that but as I have said on so many occasions on these pages, we have this habit of lowering our standards sometimes when we play sides like this. They got 20 too many and why Brookes was thought of as the bowler to bowl at the end might mean that Ali hasn't seen him bowl at the end of an innings before.

Vince had some chances in all formats and froze too often on good batting strips. As for Lawrence, the shot I saw him play in this seasons CC fixture was atrocious. He took a mighty heave at a ball, schoolboy style, missed it by miles and almost fell over doing it, whilst his side were in desperation to save the game. If the Australians saw him playing like that they would beg England to play him

They have done this to him for the last 10 years in O.D.I's and Tests. What I would hate is him not knowing if he is playing or not and just hanging around the team and missing games for Warwickshire just because the selectors are not sure if they want to play him or not. He is after all, a professional who wants to play cricket and maybe he is on the last 3-4 years of a career which has seen him play very little first-class cricket in the last 8 years due to being messed about. Why bother to name him only to take a risk on a rookie who if he has a bad few days, could be the difference between a win and a loss - Is that the sort of thing we want to see before an Ashes series crammed into the season before August.

Here I am sitting down in sunny Halesowen expecting at this time to be usually making my way out of the ground. That was not exactly part of the plan and after losing the toss, I was expecting a decent Lancs score and then their spinners to do some damage but they were lucky it wasn't a 10wicket win as we threw our wickets away. On one hand the club will be very pleased but an accountant would say, "All those people going out of the ground early, how many of them would buy an expensive £5 beer". Some great catches and drops but we will take that and now for a cold inexpensive beer in my own garden. Enjoy the rest of your Bank Holiday everyone.

Burgess, 48 off 28 balls for Sussex after they were in trouble at 56-4, chasing 149. That's what happens when someone has a point to prove.

So then GerryShedd, it was Roy Walker was it , aha. I did always wonder where he went on those periods away from 'Catchphrase' but as a member for 34 seasons, I do not remember him at all unless he played around the early 70's before I really took an interest in cricket. I will have to look up his record.

I'll guess at Rankin or Porterfield but that is a stab in the dark as I have no idea of date/context/countries/year, etc.

It makes you wonder if someone will step up if Hain has a bad day. He seems to have very few of them these days, he is absolute 'Diamond' of a player. Maxwell is one of these well travelled players who seems to be able to conjure a boundary from nothing, seemingly able to hit a ball into an impossible gap from a difficult situation whilst appearing to not hit the ball that hard. What a signing.

The usual Stirling/Davies effect coming home to roost yet again.

That seems to be fairly lenient and it could have been worse. He always did have a reputation of being a bit mouthy in a sort of 'The Class Clown' way so it might have been inevitable that at some point he would be involved in this saga.

What a way to shoot ourselves in the foot once again. Burgess is a really keeper and the fact that in these modern times, he can bat as well, does help us on another level. To mess him about, if that is what is happening, is a big mistake.

What the council appear to forget, we have a fair few fans/supporters/members who like football and the thought that any of the Villa, Wolves, Coventry, W.B.A., etc fans would shout the word 'Birmingham' is very remote. That appears to be why the Yorkshire 'The Hundread' brand didn't want to call themselves 'Leeds' as they knew all other towns/cities in Yorkshire would not turn up to watch a side called Leeds. Strange that the Manchester-based side have actually called themselves 'Manchester'. I would love to know how many members around Lancashire who come from anywhere else in the county, have stayed away because of this.

BosworthBear, I could not agree more. It is after all, 'County Cricket' and not anything to do with 'Cities'. Having said that, I always refer to us as Warwickshire and always will and have never shouted out 'Birmingham' or made the mistake of using that name. Either way, thanks to Hain and Benj, we got a score way above what we thought and the bowling although ragged towards the end, was good. The usual array of so-called fans to ruin part of the day, cannot understand how people who keep going out to get drinks/toilet can't take their rubbish with them instead of sitting with it all around them and then kicked under seats and it is as much families as anyone else.

I would not have pencilled him in for a Test anyway. Bowling a few 4 over spells in each game is nothing to having to be in the field for a while and being called on to bowl maybe 3 spells a day. He would need to get through a CC game to really stake his claim. His best years should be now but I fear we will see less of him in Tests unless something unbelievable happens.

GerryShedd wrote:

Ah, yes, the 1991 allegations were made by Don Topley who played in those matches and was commentating at Edgbaston this week.
Mind you, Topley is allegedly not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Those who heard Geoff Miller speak at the Cricket Society last winter will recall him telling the story of how Topley was bowling in a match. As he started to walk back to his mark part way through an over, he asked the umpire: "How many balls?" "Three" was the answer. He got back to his mark but, instead of running in, he walked all the way back to the umpire and said: "Is that three gone or three to come?"
Anyway, the allegations were never proved and, 32 years on, we don't hold grudges (well, not too much!)

Difficult to prove but then both umpires had umpired the previous days Sunday League game and could see the way it was all going. When the 3rd innings declaration came, Holder and Dudleston stood and looked at each other with Dudleston giving it the 'double Teapot' in a 'You are not serious about a target like that' scenario. I do hold that grudge and if you consider when Essex were struggling to buy their ground, Warwickshire gave them an interest free loan. That game as much as anything, gave the ECB food for thought about having 2 games involving the same 2 sides, running into each other and soon after the practice was stopped. Cannot see any reason why Topley should make up that story and I don't think any Essex/Lancashire players, at the time, came out in incredulity to pour scorn on the comment.