County Championship discussion thread 2015

[Alviro Patterson]

Yorks, 11 points behind early season pacesetters Durham, with a game in hand. Well placed given the difficulty of operating without established stars.

Yorkshire have such strength in depth, very impressive to keep playing so well with players away on England duty.

Really good article on the Yorkshire Academy system

http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2015/content/story/885915.html

Participation figures for each county and relative populations heavily favour Yorkshire having by far the biggest pool of players. I think the whole South East has slightly less players than Yorkshire, and that is several historical cricket counties included in the figures.

Is this anything to do with what Yorkshire are doing, or is it simply the fact that cricket is popular in this section of the country compared to other places? If anything, numbers suggest that by county, they should be producing quite a big proportion of international players.

As for the academy system at Yorkshire, I dont think that Plunkett can be included as a Yorkshire find, I would guess he was capped as a Durham player? And Ballance had played for Zimbabwe representative sides before he came to England, and I think Derbyshire signed him and gave him second grade cricket but then lost him to a Yorkshire team willing to pay him more.

With the resources Middlesex and Surrey have at their disposal, they should be producing talented players at a similar rate to Yorkshire.

25% of club cricket is played in Lancashire and Yorkshire and club cricket in Lancashire is as prolific, if not more than at Yorkshire. Another county who isn't producing as much quality cricketers as they should.

For a such a relatively new county, Durham have produced a fair few players that have gone on to represent England. It wouldn't surprise me at all in the next 10 years that Durham before a real force in county cricket.

[westoelad]

Yorks, 11 points behind early season pacesetters Durham, with a game in hand. Well placed given the difficulty of operating without established stars.

Yorkshire have such strength in depth, very impressive to keep playing so well with players away on England duty.

Really good article on the Yorkshire Academy system

http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2015/content/story/885915.html

Participation figures for each county and relative populations heavily favour Yorkshire having by far the biggest pool of players. I think the whole South East has slightly less players than Yorkshire, and that is several historical cricket counties included in the figures.

Is this anything to do with what Yorkshire are doing, or is it simply the fact that cricket is popular in this section of the country compared to other places? If anything, numbers suggest that by county, they should be producing quite a big proportion of international players.

As for the academy system at Yorkshire, I dont think that Plunkett can be included as a Yorkshire find, I would guess he was capped as a Durham player? And Ballance had played for Zimbabwe representative sides before he came to England, and I think Derbyshire signed him and gave him second grade cricket but then lost him to a Yorkshire team willing to pay him more.

With the resources Middlesex and Surrey have at their disposal, they should be producing talented players at a similar rate to Yorkshire.

25% of club cricket is played in Lancashire and Yorkshire and club cricket in Lancashire is as prolific, if not more than at Yorkshire. Another county who isn't producing as much quality cricketers as they should.

For a such a relatively new county, Durham have produced a fair few players that have gone on to represent England. It wouldn't surprise me at all in the next 10 years that Durham before a real force in county cricket.

With respect A/P but having won 6 trophies in the past 8 seasons 8 I'd argue that Durham are already a force in County cricket. Certainly with the strong academy systems established at both Yorkshire and Durham both will remain strong clubs for the foreseeable future. Middlesex and Surrey areas are heavily populated it's debatable, however, if they have the resources in place to develop cricketers. Bumble was critical recently of Lancashire League cricket particularly a system where finance is concentrated on hiring costlyy professionals rather than being ploughrd into youth development.

[captaincolly]

Durham are the only team never to have been relegated since the change from 3 to 2 relegated/promoted teams and we surely have the best win percentage since 2 divisions were introduced. Regularly producing England players makes it an even more admirable story.
Questions must be asked about Surrey and Middlesex who have been mediocre in recent years and overly reliant on imported players.

[captaincolly]

Derbyshire temporarily saved by the rain at Chelmsford-early lunch taken with the visitors 56/6!

[st_brendy]

Joe Leach is picking up quite a few wickets these days for Worcs. I remember seeing him last season and thinking of him as a slightly overweight club bowler, almost stealing a living by being able to call himself a professional cricketer.

[captaincolly]

Joe Leach is picking up quite a few wickets these days for Worcs. I remember seeing him last season and thinking of him as a slightly overweight club bowler, almost stealing a living by being able to call himself a professional cricketer.

He got some runs against Durham as well as wickets , not sure if it was a fluke or if he has some all-round ability.

[westoelad]

Joe Leach is picking up quite a few wickets these days for Worcs. I remember seeing him last season and thinking of him as a slightly overweight club bowler, almost stealing a living by being able to call himself a professional cricketer.

He's certainly the oldest looking 25 year old cricketer I've seen whose bowling looks innocuous but figures don't lie.

[SaintPowelly]

Only just notices Bates is playing for Somerset..good to see him back in FC cricket.

[Aidan11]

Matthew Carter - an off spinner - has taken 7/56 on debut for Notts.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Wonder if Ajmal's returns are an indication of how things will be post reconstruction?

[captaincolly]

Worcs all out for 80, Warwickshire win by an innings inside two days.

[Alviro Patterson]

Matthew Carter - an off spinner - has taken 7/56 on debut for Notts.

The next Graeme Swann!

[sussexpob]

Matthew Carter - an off spinner - has taken 7/56 on debut for Notts.

The next Graeme Swann!

So we will cap him and then drop him for 10 years... can wait till 2025!

[budgetmeansbudget]

Wonder if Ajmal's returns are an indication of how things will be post reconstruction?

Essex will be chuffed to bits!

[andy]

good win for Essex, much more like it