2016 Hampshire Thread

[Aidan11]

Carberry diagnosed with a cancer, what terrible news. Let's hope is treatable.

Just heard this awful news. Here's hoping for a full recovery. Cricket is irrelevant at a time like this.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Horrible news. Best wishes to him.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Just heard, what that bloke has had to endure these past few years.

[braveneutral]

Let's hope for the best. Horrible situation.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Probably the weakest side we've ever put out in t20.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Those new helmet protectors have served Wheal well tonight. Could have been a serious injury off a nasty bouncer from Jordan.

[st_brendy]

What a win. Back to awful batting again, but Hampshire bowling of old (mixed with Sussex blowing up). Dawson and Afridi must be up there as the two best t20 spinners in the country.

Annoyingly, despite our awful, awful start to this competition, if we'd just managed to hit either of those last two balls against Essex last week for four, then we'd have found ourselves in joint 5th tonight, just two points behind Kent in 3rd. Yes that still would have been outside the top four, and yes we'd still have an awful NRR, and yes Middlesex, Surrey, Essex and Sussex would all have games in hand over us. But at least with two games to go (both at home, and including one against Middlesex), we'd have still somehow been in with a chance (Essex of course would have two points fewer, as well as us having two points more).

It just goes to show what putting three wins together could do for you, wherever you are in the table.

Weatherley last night, Wheal tonight, Griffiths over both games. They've looked promising. Unfortunately McManus looks very much out of his depth (in all formats), and t20 doesn't quite seem to be for Alsop (no problem there though, he's been excellent in both other formats - it takes a really special player to excel in all three), but you can't expect every youngster to succeed. Jury is still out on Taylor, although I think it's safe to say that no.8 is one place too high for him.

If we could get Afridi back next season, supplemented with a top overseas batter (who can ideally bat in the top three), then some of these kids alongside Wood and Topley back from injury, and the likes of Dawson and Wheater, could lead us to being a force again next year. It's taken almost a decade, but I finally now agree with Warne's comments that Dawson is captaincy material. I'd be sitting down with Vince in the winter and saying that if he continues to get picked by England, then we'd him like to stand down as captain and give it to Dawson on a permanent basis. Unlike of course he replaces Moeen himself across the formats.

[budgetmeansbudget]

If only, if only.

Fact is when it mattered we under performed. When we're out the tournament, no pressure on, and playing all the kids, we're going to have a few decent spells. The batting was pretty average last night, just the bowling and poor Sussex batting which got us through.

[st_brendy]

Good news: McLaren is back from injury and named in the squad for what is probably our biggest game of the season to date.

Bad news: Being without Vince, Carberry and Dawson has left us a batsmen light (or two batsmen light, depending on whether you class McManus as a batter). McLaren, Berg and Andrew (assuming they all start) can all absolutely bat. But 7, 8 and 9 is one place too high for each of them. (McLaren might even come in at 6, with McManus at 7).

I'd expect Best to return (and for a game as important as this one, I'm happy for us to gamble that Best could produce another top spell of bowling for us), which would mean a shoot-out between Wheal and Tommo to play as part of a five man seam attack. No Crane in the squad.

[SaintPowelly]

Andrew isn't bowling well, should have opened with McLaren

[st_brendy]

Surprised to see Crane starting, simply because he wasn't named in the 12 man squad (but it does make sense - you don't need five seamers plus Ervine).

Given though that we're without Dawson, Carberry and Vince, this start of Surrey's is very worrying (even though it is a baking hot day, and the Rose Bowl pitch is traditionally flat). We really did need our makeshift attack to somehow do something, because even given our excellent recent upturn in four day batting, our batting line-up does look very weak, in form or not.

Notts-Somerset is an identical position to our game (Notts playing the Surrey role, Somerset playing our role). Interesting that the four of us are all playing each other.

[SaintPowelly]

Brendy, they quickly changed it to a 13 man squad yesterday with Crane included

Thought Wheal bowled really well, that's about it

[budgetmeansbudget]

Those two days couldn't have gone much worse.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Oh hang on, we haven't reached stumps yet. Cannot lose another wicket.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Terrible start to the day, both overnight batsmen out quickly.

Simply can't lose to Surrey if we have any pretensions to survival in CC1.