County Championship discussion thread 2015

[Aidan11]

Middlesex innings seems to have ground to a halt, not sure why given that there's no way they can lose.

Just need 5 runs with 11 balls left.

[captaincolly]

Middlesex innings seems to have ground to a halt, not sure why given that there's no way they can lose.

Just need 5 runs with 11 balls left.

Perfectly timed chase!

[Aidan11]

Yorkshire drew.

[Alviro Patterson]

Pleased with how Yorkshire have started the season under testing circumstances. Grinding out draws on the back foot against Notts and Warwickshire and turning the Worcestershire completely round to record a ten wicket victory.

Will Rhodes has done a splendid job as makeshift opener, a position where Yorkshire don't have that many options. Pujara finding his feet, but that big contribution is just round the corner. Slightly disappointed Yorkshire opted to play Matt Fisher where Moin Ashraf is a more natural replacement for Ryan Sidebottom.

Not long before the England drinks carriers report back to county duty and Yorkshire can resume normal service in May.

[hopeforthebest]

Has anyone heard if Toby Roland-Jones is fit to play anytime soon? With Murtagh now sidelined by injury Middlesex will be desperate to get him playing.

[sussexpob]

Pleased with how Yorkshire have started the season under testing circumstances. Grinding out draws on the back foot against Notts and Warwickshire and turning the Worcestershire completely round to record a ten wicket victory.

Will Rhodes has done a splendid job as makeshift opener, a position where Yorkshire don't have that many options. Pujara finding his feet, but that big contribution is just round the corner. Slightly disappointed Yorkshire opted to play Matt Fisher where Moin Ashraf is a more natural replacement for Ryan Sidebottom.

Not long before the England drinks carriers report back to county duty and Yorkshire can resume normal service in May.

It does make a mockery of the championship when by far the best team end up playing a reserve XI all year. Im not sure of the damage this attitude does to our national team in the long run when there is no incentive to develop talent at counties because as soon as they show promise, you never see them again. Its more sensible to sign washed up internationals or older guys out of the selection radar.

Its very unfair on Yorks

[westoelad]

Has anyone heard if Toby Roland-Jones is fit to play anytime soon? With Murtagh now sidelined by injury Middlesex will be desperate to get him playing.

Voges said after the game that Murtagh had a back spasm but he was now OK.

[Arthur Crabtree]

The counties do get paid on the basis of how many England players they produce.

[sussexpob]

The counties do get paid on the basis of how many England players they produce.

I tried to find how much this was but couldn't find any amounts apart from a Somerset financial assessment that indicated that they lost £106,000 in 2014 when Compton/Keiswetter lost their place in the England team, and when Buttler left to Lancashire. This is actually lower per player than the league minimum wage cap assuming a squad of 20 active, contracted players.

So not much incentive at all considering 33k per player. It seems also that benefits only apply to players playing at their original FC too, so Sussex would get nothing for Robinson for instance even though they gave a chance to a 21 year old prospect.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I don't just mean they get compensated. When the ECB money is shared among the counties, those who produce England qualified players get more money.

[Alviro Patterson]

IIRC (going back to 2010) counties receive £2000 for fielding an u21 player and £1000 for fielding an u26 player (maximum of 6 per line up)

Money is beside the point, it's Yorkshire are having to fulfil county cricket fixtures minus seven players. If all six selected Yorkshire players featured at some point in the West Indies test series then that's fair enough, but four players are doing absolutely nothing and the ECB prefering to field a makeshift opener and spin bowler adds insult to ripping the nucleus out of a successful County Championship side.

[hopeforthebest]

Somerset are being taken apart by Worcestershire especially the young quick bowler Morris. It's beginning to look ominous for their chances of staying in Div 1 this year and should they go down I think they haven't the quality to get back into this division.

[captaincolly]

Somerset are being taken apart by Worcestershire especially the young quick bowler Morris. It's beginning to look ominous for their chances of staying in Div 1 this year and should they go down I think they haven't the quality to get back into this division.

Worcestershire could collapse but it's been a very poor start by Somerset and the worrying thing for them is the two losses so far came after they were in strong positions-they were about 220/2 and 300/3 in the first innings against Durham & Middlesex and then couldn't stop Middlesex scoring 400 to win in the last innings. It's hard enough winning in division 1 without squandering opportunities to take full control of matches.

[andy]

their bowling attack isnt what it was is it... also i think Kieswetter is a huge loss to them

[westoelad]

Somerset are being taken apart by Worcestershire especially the young quick bowler Morris. It's beginning to look ominous for their chances of staying in Div 1 this year and should they go down I think they haven't the quality to get back into this division.

3 losses out of 3.The Cricketer pre- season forecast them for relegation which at the time I thought was ridiculous. They have a team containing a number of foreigiers with passports of convenience. I have little sympathy for them.