by Alviro Patterson » Fri Nov 25, 2016 7:19 pm
Very disappointed in how the way fixtures are scheduled next year, the calendar looks a complete mess despite changes to the County Championship format so schedling can be improved.
Royal London One Day Cup group matches played in a 3 week block from late April to mid-May, for example Yorkshire play their 1st 5 matches in 10 days allowing very little time for post-match recovery. There might be a case of players getting as much game time as possible before the Champions Trophy Squads are released, good for identifying batsmen but pace bowlers are getting flogged. Also the RLODC Quarter and Semi Final stages are spaced out in 3 days and scheduled during the ICC Champions Trophy, which means England players won't be available unless if England are out of the Champions Trophy.
The Natwest T20 Blast allows little preparation for players as most counties play their 1st game 24hrs after Day 4 of a County match, in Yorkshire's case their 1st 4 games are played in 8 days. The Quarter Final round is scheduled either side of the West Indies test series, again England players are unable to play in that round.
Also there is little domestic cricket during Spring Bank Holiday weekend. So much for counties are being told to be financially self-sufficient when their grounds are shut at a time when spectators are more likely to attend.
"Stats are there to be broken" Dominic Cork
"They took all our players away, banned our captain and we still came away with a ten-wicket victory" Jason Gillespie
"You won't get anywhere slouching about half out of bed" Geoffrey Boycott
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