2016 Hampshire Thread

[st_brendy]

And there's the first Lancs wicket.

[st_brendy]

Four down now Lancs. They have scored so slowly that a collapse from them now either side of tea will give Notts hardly any target at all to chase.

[st_brendy]

If Wheater can make another 40+ score here, it surely makes him undroppable for next week when Dawson returns - even if Vince is also available. McManus, Smith and Dawson himself are surely all more vunreable than Wheater.

[st_brendy]

Five down, Lancs. Starting to look like Notts are odds-on.

[st_brendy]

If Notts were to take all of the last three Lancs wickets in the next over, they would need to score 90 in 13 overs. So whilst Lancs are nearing safety, they're not quite there yet. You'd fancy having a go at, say, 100 off 8 overs when you have all 10 wickets in hand and can choose to shut up shop whenever you want.

[captaincolly]

If Notts were to take all of the last three Lancs wickets in the next over, they would need to score 90 in 13 overs. So whilst Lancs are nearing safety, they're not quite there yet. You'd fancy having a go at, say, 100 off 8 overs when you have all 10 wickets in hand and can choose to shut up shop whenever you want.

Lancs survived. Match drawn.

[st_brendy]

For a side who can't bat this season, I'd have thought it might make some sense picking a player who has made 37*, 48 and 59 in their last three Championship innings. But no. Having made the ludicrous decision to drop Wheater for the Somerset game, we now decide to drop Carberry for this game - just as he was finally looking settled this season, in his new number 4 position.

Instead we pick someone who has made 0 and 5 in their last two innings, across two different matches (McManus), plus another who's runs of scores are 19, 0, 18, 21, 23, 15, 3 (Dawson).

Our thinking this season, across both this format and the t20 format, is just totally shot. I've been really trying to avoid it, but I'm struggling to not now think that the sooner Benks is sacked, the better. We've just gone nowhere under him, since he came in.

[captaincolly]

Jimmy Adams digging in 5 runs in 50 minutes and 4 of them came from one shot.

[st_brendy]

Jimmy Adams digging in 5 runs in 50 minutes and 4 of them came from one shot.

I want to say that because Boyd Rankin is off the field, presumably injured (leaving Warks with just two seamers), that scoring should become easier later and therefore Jimmy's dig-in approach is fine. But actually Patel can just bowl and bowl and bowl, so it might not get easier!

[st_brendy]

I don't feel at sorry for Warks losing Rankin to injury by the way (which is particularly important given that they, like us, have gone in with 3 seamers and 2 spinners rather than 4 and 1). Firstly, that's cricket/sport. Secondly, it was against them that we lost Topley, before he was able to his job in the match too.

[westoelad]

I think you have to assume Carberry is out for disciplinary or fitness reasons given his recent scores. Whilst an openers prime task is to see off the new ball, slow scoring can be excusable but Adam's 5 scoring shots off 99 balls can't be acceptable- there have to been several potential scoring opportunities ignored.

[st_brendy]

I think you have to assume Carberry is out for disciplinary or fitness reasons given his recent scores. Whilst an openers prime task is to see off the new ball, slow scoring can be excusable but Adam's 5 scoring shots off 99 balls can't be acceptable- there have to been several potential scoring opportunities ignored.

It wasn't quite as bad as 99 balls, but yes it wasn't great. Carberry though hasn't opened for the last two games, and I doubt will open again. He seems settled in the middle order now. If either opener were to be dropped, Alsop I suspect would open.

[st_brendy]

I'm not in the slightest bothered about whether we can step up the pace enough to try and maximum bonus points (if we do, great), but I do think that it's important to get to 350 inside the 110 overs. After our massive batting issues the season, being able to do that for successive games should give the team so much confidence.

Right now, second batting has been secured.

[st_brendy]

100 for Dawson!

[st_brendy]

Carberry is unwell. Phew, we haven't dropped him.

For the second week in a row then, we've avoided needing to make the decision over which batter to leave out. (Which will extend to three weeks next week, when we lose Dawson again).