No 10, April 28 - The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
ESL v You-Know-What, Meet Matt Critchley, Cricket Supporters Association survey, McManus 'let-off', County cricket is not 'elite sport', Edgbaston to return at 25% capacity
I don’t know about you but I am loving this run of Thursday to Sunday games in the County Championship. It’s consistently high-quality, intense and allows real stories to unfold. While I like a bit of 80s/90s nostalgia too, I truly believe the Championship has become a better competition over the past decade. And the ubiquitous, easy-to-access streams spread the game far and wide. The last round of the Championship had an aggregate of 600,000 views on YouTube.
Here are the Previews for Round 4, each team name links to a different preview.
Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire
Durham v Warwickshire
Worcestershire v Essex
Gloucestershire v Leicestershire
Somerset v Middlesex
Surrey v Hampshire
Glamorgan v Kent
Sussex v Lancashire
Yorkshire v Northamptonshire
County cricket talking points: fans given another week of fine matches (Guardian)
Read this, if only for the phrase "Brad Wheal kept on turning".
Fill up the Cricket Supporters Association survey
This is important as it will offer fans the best chance of a clear, concerted voice in the ear of the powers-that-be. Please give it five minutes of your time.
Here are your news and views of the week
If you read the piece, this situation is not as disrespectful to county cricket as the headline suggests. The Premier League is being treated the same way. The ruling is more about short-term stays for sporting events. It’s still rubbish of course but it is the head-scratching inconsistencies that really rankle.
Cricket fans can sympathise over European Super League backlash – they have The Hundred (News)
There are major differences between the ESL and the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named. However, at a broader level, they are methods to redefine the sport to the advantage of the rich and powerful while willfully ignoring the fans and everything they hold dear. Protests are common across all aspects of society these days, they are the product of creeping change over many years that have eaten away all the goodwill. Patience is thin and tinder dry, the merest spark will start a fast-spreading fire. Modern media has allowed ideas to travel more quickly and from more sources than ever. However the echo-chambers is creates are unhelpful in stimulating proper debate. Both football and cricket in England have major questions to answer in the next decade because the build-it-and-they-will-come nature of sport has led to arrogance, short-sightedness and greed. Both sport and politics need better leaders right now.
Ball facing lay-off with injured back (Trent Bridge)
5 county players who have given England a nudge (Cricket 365)
This is a very fair list. There is often noise around a player before they are picked for England. Ollie Robinson is being talked about with the ball and the name James Bracey is being murmured as a batting option too. Do the selectors tip off the journalists or vice versa?
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Have you filled it up yet?
Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater enrich dour draw with stats for the ages (Cricinfo)
This is a match report by Paul Edwards on Day 4 of Worcestershire v Nottingham but it is so wonderfully written that I wanted to share it with you. The best sports writing elevates the extraordinary, illuminates the otherwise unseen and places the game in its proper context. This does all three. At the end, it says "Paul Edwards is a freelance cricket writer. He has written for the Times, ESPNcricinfo, Wisden, Southport Visitor and other publications". The Southport Visitor is lucky to have him.
Lewis McManus receives ECB disciplinary points over Hassan Azad stumping incident (Cricinfo)
Weak, weak, weak. This offence was not premeditated and, if we believe the player and his captain, it was actually unconscious and unknowing. Not sure I am swallowing the latter and the "not that sort of bloke" response does not wash these days. No athlete ever seems to be "that sort of person" but offences such as these, and much more serious ones, occur often. This was an opportunity to properly uphold the spirit of cricket, something that sets the sport apart. I'd have gone stronger on the player and also censured the captain for not withdrawing the appeal.
Paul Stirling: 'Leaving Middlesex biggest decision of my career' says Ireland batsman (BBC Sport)
ECB will let players keep phones in County Championship games despite growth of streaming (Cricinfo)
And here's why that is important and newsworthy…
On this day in 2013: Danish Kaneria loses appeal against lifetime ban (Cricket 365)
The Liverpool Victoria Years: When Mushtaq Ahmed and Mark Ramprakash reigned supreme
In 2006, Mark Ramprakash scored 30 per cent of Surrey's total runs. An incredible stat. Also here's his response when asked about how he kept his motivation when he was pushing 40 and had dropped out of the England reckoning.
“A lot of my colleagues didn’t understand what drove me at that time. I felt that I was still improving as a player. But the second thing really had to be the fact that I was very lucky to be a professional cricketer. To retain a love of the game was very important.”
Meet Matt Critchley, the Derbyshire leggie who can’t stop scoring runs (Wisden)
Here’s the man of the moment. How many county players arrive in the game on the basis of one discipline and become equally good or better in another?
Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire to operate at 25% capacity
We are three weeks away from Members returning to games, albeit with reduced capacities. Still, this was more than I expected would be accommodated at Edgbaston. At the last Essex members’ call, the club suggested that the extra Covid measures would cost £10-15,000 per day and the rumour is that only 200-300 will be let in. You can only assume they will lose even more money opening up again. Everyone’s bored of the pandemic, it’s painful, it’s horrible, it’s stressful. Many county clubs did a great job for their communities in the early months of 2020. So, if you do not get chosen in the ballot, have to queue up for ages or have to present some sort of Covid passport, cut everyone a little slack. I, for one, will just be happy to be watching cricket again.
Also, a little bit of personal news. I’ll be writing in The Cricket Paper again this season when it starts on May 16. The Grumbler column will be bigger and better, plus I hope to contribute a weekly feature. Here’s an archive of my columns from last season.
Tweet of the Week
Podcast of the Week
Looks like a school caretaker, plays like a Professor. TMS celebrates Darren Stevens
Links I like…
Fill up the Cricket Supporters Association survey Errrrr…. I’m waiting
County Cricket Matters - Buy the magazine direct or on Kindle
Jobs in Cricket - Some cricket administration jobs here and also roles at the Kevin Pietersen Global Cricket Academy. Expect lessons on the reverse slog-sweep, how to base the team around you and texting the opposition.
Finally…
Yes, I am still plugging my book on county cricket and midlife.
Buy through Amazon or through me for an autographed copy
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Last orders! Get this filled up
Finally, finally, let’s end on a high…
The 1986 Benson & Hedges Cup final between Middlesex and Kent. Scroll to the end for the last over. It is a decent finish with an old-style pitch invasion to boot. Keep an eye on the fan in the yellow shirt who steals a stump at the far end. I think the robber got robbed.