Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Summary of Zoom meeting
FINANCE
Turnover down by £1m-mainly due to losses in sponsorship and corporate hospitality. Majority of members committed to Durham Defender initiative. ODI v Sri Lanka at Riverside expected to go ahead. Overall finances are OK.
PLAYING STAFF.
Behardien NOT returning,Bedingham and Bancroft expected to be 2 overseas players. No further additions to playing staff are envisaged.
FIXTURES.
Should be confirmed late november.
3 conferences of 6 appears to be fait complit( nice to be consulted!). 10 fixtures at beginning of season. Then split into 3 divisions to play final 4 games in September. Durham grouped with Essex, Derbyshire,Warks, Worcs and Notts but Bostick wasn't sure on that.
T20 same format as normal to be played June/July. Hundred Folly to be played August.

Thanks WL. I'm going to watch the forum later.

Surprised Bedders was mentioned as OS. My understanding is that he has a UK passport or something similar

Durhamfootman wrote:Thanks WL. I'm going to watch the forum later.

Surprised Bedders was mentioned as OS. My understanding is that he has a UK passport or something similar

Thanks WL from me too!
I think he has an ancestry passport ( don't know what that is!) and the rules now classify such players as overseas.

Worth studying North's body language when he's discussing Scott Steel.

Nice one, Tim Bostock

"they had a six month strategic review and just changed from 8 in one division and 10 in the other to 10 in one and 8 in the other, so nothing much strategic about that"

And they probably paid someone an eye watering amount of money to come up with that fine piece of strategy

the 3 conferences and then 3 divisions is a novel approach, now that I understand it a bit better. Marty seemed quite scathing about it, but I can certainly see some merit in it.

Everyone starts off with all to play for, with the scramble for the top division replacing the competitive element lost with the absence of promotion/relegation. My only fear is that the fixture list will see us beginning at home to Essex (in other words, being skittled at home by Porter and Harmer for 100) and then see us having to play a rampant Notts at TB followed by Warks at Edgbaston, so that by the time we actually get a winable game, the push for div 1 will already be over (which I think, although he didn't actually say it, is the point Marty was making)

Still... I do agree with Bostock that the 2 div CC has probably had its day (how viable a system can be when you play some teams twice and some only once is already questionable) and this whole situation at least gives them a chance to look at alternative formats.

The fly in the ointment, is of course, the hundredth. Taking the whole of July and August out of the season is very disruptive (are they really devoting 2 whole months to the cash cow or just the school holidays?). If we can assume that September will be Super September for the red ball 4 match finale, then that means 10 four day games and (at least) 14 T20 games will potentially have to be played in April, May and June.

Durhamfootman wrote:The fly in the ointment, is of course, the hundredth. Taking the whole of July and August out of the season is very disruptive (are they really devoting 2 whole months to the cash cow or just the school holidays?). If we can assume that September will be Super September for the red ball 4 match finale, then that means 10 four day games and (at least) 14 T20 games will potentially have to be played in April, May and June.

From what Bostock said I assume scheduling will be much the same as 2020's original schedule
Red ball until end of May then
Combination of Red ball and T20 until mid July then
Graves' Folly and domestic 50 over until mid August then
T20 QF week then
Red ball to complete the season
Folly shouldn't impact on Durham,plenty of 50 over to watch

any more word on Bangers, WL?

Durhamfootman wrote:any more word on Bangers, WL?

Had a reasonable start to Sheffield Shield-243 runs from 6 inns but I wouldn't expect either party to make a commitment until more certainty regarding normality returning.
Fixtures out before end of month nevertheless, I believe.

westoelad wrote:

Durhamfootman wrote:any more word on Bangers, WL?

Had a reasonable start to Sheffield Shield-243 runs from 6 inns but I wouldn't expect either party to make a commitment until more certainty regarding normality returning.
Fixtures out before end of month nevertheless, I believe.

Let's hope we get him back. Trouble is the uncertainty over what will happen in terms of whether or not it'll be a normal season could well persist until shortly before it gets underway.

Good news for finances
https://www.durhamcricket.co.uk/news-an ... riverside/

westoelad wrote:Good news for finances
https://www.durhamcricket.co.uk/news-an ... riverside/

Very impressive.

is this full capacity or socially distanced capacity?

Durhamfootman wrote:is this full capacity or socially distanced capacity?

I think it's full capacity.
"From the Don Robson Pavilion to the County Durham Stand, each seat in the ground will be filled, as cricket fans will have the opportunity to see England’s 2019 World Cup Winning side on home soil for the first time, following a year of fixtures played behind closed doors in 2020."