No 31, Sept 23 - The Grumbler's County Cricket Newsletter
Title race finale | New contracts and retirements | ECB 'betrayal' | Sussex prefer white to red | The meaning of Kent's Blast triumph | Ciao Dernbach | The significance of Whiteley's move to Hants
By the time you read this newsletter, we could be hours away from finding out the identity of the 2021 County Champions. Although the Conference system left 12 lower-division teams with little to play for in the final month, it has helped create one of the best finales of recent years. This round of games has demonstrated the multitude of mini-narratives in which four-day devotees revel. The race for first-innings bonus points left Warwickshire in the driving seat only because Nottinghamshire were dismissed four short of their own target thanks to a rather dubious lbw decision. Now the title depends on whether Somerset can avoid defeat at Edgbaston and, should the visitors succeed, who wins the nip-and-tuck shoot-out between Hampshire and Lancashire at Liverpool.
Quite how the Bob Willis Trophy will follow this, I don’t know.
Anyway, here’s the usual mix of county cricket ephemera, with a few pithy comments thrown in for free.
The County Championship title race
The state of play in the key games:
Moves
Ross Whiteley heads for Hampshire after triumphant Southern Brave stint (Cricinfo)
Surely, the talented Mr Whiteley had many options but he has moved to the side he played for in the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named. This is going to happen more and more. This week, I heard an interview with a county chairman who said franchise cricket is among the first questions asked by any player when it comes to contract negotiations. It is entirely understandable from the player's perspective but county cricket remains the training ground for all these players and this drift will slowly annex its smaller outposts.
New contracts: Gibbon (Worcs), Garton (Sussex), Lawrence (Essex)
Coaches news: Moores (Notts), Sadler (Northants)
Retirement: Trego (Notts)
News, Views and Interviews
Rock-bottom Sussex are wholehearted but callow as recruitment falls under scrutiny (Cricinfo)
We have all marvelled at the young talent on display at Hove this season. This piece suggests there is another side to the story with the allocation of resources skewed too much towards the white-ball game. So the kids have been used to fill in the gaps in the red-ball stuff. This may have long-term dividends, especially as Masters Lenham and Ibrahim have made an impact in the county game. But the natives are restless.
ECB's hypocrisy and double-standards could fast lose them friends (Cricinfo)
Mike Atherton: England have failed to repay debt they owe to Pakistan cricket (Times) ($)
‘A betrayal’ – ECB slammed for decision to pull out of Pakistan tour (Wisden)
This is insulting from the ECB and especially Tom Harrison, who did not even personally phone his Pakistani counterpart to tell him the news. His disappearing acts in difficult times are becoming a trend. As visitors to England for last year’s ‘Covid’ Test series, Pakistan were widely praised for their bravery and solidarity. They ended up slogging out their quarantine in a Travelodge in Derby. Now we have decided NOT to repay that generosity and fortitude when Pakistan really need it.
Mike Atherton's piece is a measured dissection of the ECB's morals.
MCC changes 'batsman' to 'batter' in Laws of Cricket (Reuters)
OK, so this is done. All good. Let's try our best to enact this but bear in mind it will take time. I have been calling assistant referees ‘linesmen’ for years. A bit of give and take will help us all move forward.
Jade Dernbach set to play for Italy (Cricinfo)
Kent’s Blast triumph a rare authentic moment in an endless sprawl of cricket (Guardian)
Jonathan Liew makes an important point about the confusion in the crammed cricket calendar. It is pulled in so many directions that fans do not understand the significance of most of the games being played. The Ashes, the 50-over World Cup, the County Championship and now T20 finals day - we get those. But your average white-ball international series is hard to prioritise. Often they feel like a ‘thing’ that happens and disappears quickly from memory. To a lesser extent, this applies to the modern hodge-podge of a Test calendar too. We had to work out the significance on our own until the World Test Championship tried to add some clarity. But even that drifts in and out of the cricketing consciousness. Most sports seem to believe that adding games and competitions is the way to bigger revenues and market share. But the richest sports league in the world, the NFL, has one competition with relatively few games and rarely adds franchises. The second biggest, English football, increasingly saves its key players for the premium competitions. Truly, less can be more. Especially when ‘more’ is organised with little thought to its true meaning.
Grace family speak to BBC Radio Bristol about bust unveiling at Glos Cricket (Gloucestershire CCC)
All sorts of records were broken in this one, most notably the shortest Championship game in history. I was at the first day when 25 wickets fell and, honestly, the pitch had movement but nothing that dramatic. I am clearly biased but, for me, Northamptonshire batted like they were already on the beach.
County Championship clash suspended due to 'critical incident' as helicopter lands on field (Mirror)
Tweet of the Week 1
You may need to click this link before you watch this.
We interrupt this newsletter for a game of county cricket
Kent won a trophy last week so ‘here’s one they prepared earlier’. The 1976 Benson & Hedges Cup final when they saw off Worcestershire. I particularly enjoyed the array of flares on display during the pitch invasion at the end.
Links I like…
Join the Cricket Supporters Association, it’s free
County Cricket Matters - Buy the magazine direct or on Kindle
Tweet of the Week 2
A couple of teary-eyed retirements at the end of the season.
Finally…
While cricket is looking to become a worldwide sport via its expansion into new territories and a bid for Olympic representation, it says something that the sport still needs an ‘explainer’ on Netflix.
Finally, 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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