County Championship discussion thread 2015

[sussexpob]

Jack Leaning brings up his second County Championship century of the season (and career)

At this rate he may end up with the England Lions in the non too distant future.

Doing very well. Thought Rhodes was the better of the two, but he doesnt seem to have done much.... Leaning on the other hand looks capable.

[sussexpob]

Old Craig Cachopa made his customary two today....

[Aidan11]

Bresnan has a century.

[Alviro Patterson]

Bresnan has a century.

First century since August 2007, can't believe it was that long ago.

[Aidan11]

Bresnan has a century.

First century since August 2007, can't believe it was that long ago.

I know. I thought it was more recent than that.

[ianp1970]

Did Warwickshire put Chris Wright in as a lunch watchman?

[captaincolly]

Did Warwickshire put Chris Wright in as a lunch watchman?

Seemed like a curious decision to say the least. Apparently though the pitch was dodgy with several players getting hit so maybe they thought it was worth trying him to see if he could slog a few runs.
Cricinfo reports says the umpires have already marked the pitch as below average and might downgrade it further to poor and then the dreaded pitch inspectors might impose a points deduction.

[sussexpob]

Did Warwickshire put Chris Wright in as a lunch watchman?

Seemed like a curious decision to say the least. Apparently though the pitch was dodgy with several players getting hit so maybe they thought it was worth trying him to see if he could slog a few runs.
Cricinfo reports says the umpires have already marked the pitch as below average and might downgrade it further to poor and then the dreaded pitch inspectors might impose a points deduction.

It would be ironic if we got deducted points when Gloucestershire produced a series of horror show wickets a few years back, and it was concluded the pitch was ok and its just that no one in 8 matches was good enough to score 30 on it. If the pitch is dangerous, then why is it being played on quite frankly? You cant conclude a match then say, "that was too dangerous to play on", you stop the game and give the away team the win.

By the sounds of it, Ambrose was hit along with Wright, but in a period of sustained hostile bowling from a test bowler to a tailender. Westwood recieved treatment for a ball that jumped of a length and hit his thumb in the first, and a few balls have jumped or kept low, but apparently not noticeably.... the main concern for the batters is supposed to be the movement of the deck in terms of seam and swing (according to Ambrose himself), which I am not sure you can fault a groundsman for.

Dangerous? It cant be, otherwise it wouldnt have got this far in a match, or it shouldnt have...... Tough to bat on? Yes, but fining a team for producing a result wicket? How many times have other teams used grounds that have been deathly to batsman to get a result? Blackpool springs to mind.

[sussexpob]

Mind, the ECB did dock Hampshire for producing a wicket that turned, so anything is game here. The ECB want result wickets that arent bowler friendly...... did Somerset ever get fined when teams were scoring 600 with ease at Taunton a few years back? Wasnt there a game where Northants score 800 declared, followed by an incomplete 700 odd?

[captaincolly]

Mind, the ECB did dock Hampshire for producing a wicket that turned, so anything is game here. The ECB want result wickets that arent bowler friendly...... did Somerset ever get fined when teams were scoring 600 with ease at Taunton a few years back? Wasnt there a game where Northants score 800 declared, followed by an incomplete 700 odd?

I agree. Flat wickets are excused but turning ones are penalised. I think a points deduction is unlikely and would be extremely unfair unless there's something seriously wrong with the pitch. Most likely reason for the batting difficulty is that players are used to fairly docile surfaces so can't adapt to a more challenging surface.

[hopeforthebest]

Did Warwickshire put Chris Wright in as a lunch watchman?

He was bowling so poorly they decided he must be in for his batting.

[captaincolly]

Did Warwickshire put Chris Wright in as a lunch watchman?

He was bowling so poorly they decided he must be in for his batting.

[hopeforthebest]

Mind, the ECB did dock Hampshire for producing a wicket that turned, so anything is game here. The ECB want result wickets that arent bowler friendly...... did Somerset ever get fined when teams were scoring 600 with ease at Taunton a few years back? Wasnt there a game where Northants score 800 declared, followed by an incomplete 700 odd?

I agree. Flat wickets are excused but turning ones are penalised. I think a points deduction is unlikely and would be extremely unfair unless there's something seriously wrong with the pitch. Most likely reason for the batting difficulty is that players are used to fairly docile surfaces so can't adapt to a more challenging surface.

Westwood did end up with a damaged/broken finger and couldn't bat.

[captaincolly]

Mind, the ECB did dock Hampshire for producing a wicket that turned, so anything is game here. The ECB want result wickets that arent bowler friendly...... did Somerset ever get fined when teams were scoring 600 with ease at Taunton a few years back? Wasnt there a game where Northants score 800 declared, followed by an incomplete 700 odd?

I agree. Flat wickets are excused but turning ones are penalised. I think a points deduction is unlikely and would be extremely unfair unless there's something seriously wrong with the pitch. Most likely reason for the batting difficulty is that players are used to fairly docile surfaces so can't adapt to a more challenging surface.

Westwood did end up with a damaged/broken finger and couldn't bat.

The number of players who got hit does get the alarm bells ringing, perhaps there is a real problem with the pitch, we will await the verdict of the umpires tomorrow.

[sussexpob]

The number of players who got hit does get the alarm bells ringing, perhaps there is a real problem with the pitch, we will await the verdict of the umpires tomorrow.

Ambrose - Apparently ducked into a short ball through his own misjudgement, nothing to do with a ball that bounced. Has commented on the pitch but hasn't mentioned the bounce, only the lateral movement making it difficult.

Wright - Tailender sent into slog, tried to swat a bouncer that was perfectly directed, and wore it on his chin. If you have 1500 runs in over 105 FC matches, don't try to pretend you can play a short ball like Viv Richards against one of the better new ball attacks in the country. If you are sent in at 3 slog, don't complain that the opposition are going to pepper you with short stuff.

Westwood - He was hit, and this time it does seem the pitch had something to do with it by bouncing off a length. Yet, how many fingers have been jammed against bat handles in the past and ended up broken? Id hazard a guess that every batsman ever to play has copped one of those in their career, if not several times.