Showing posts with label CB40. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CB40. Show all posts
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
A few harsh lessons learnt
After a month of the four-day stuff, the coloured kits were broken out for the first time this season as Middlesex took on Gloucestershire in the first CB40 game of the season, and as it happened, it was live on Sky. Sadly, it was quite comfortably Middlesex's worst performance of the season, almost from start to finish, as the Gloucs Gladiators ran out victors by 5 wickets.
After rain washed out a couple of hours, the match was reduced to 26 overs a side, and after losing yet another toss (that's 5 out of 5 defeats with the coin this year), Middlesex (back under the stewardship of Neil Dexter) were asked once more to bat (that's the 5th time out of 5 that that's happened too). Malan and Denly opened up, and looked fairly confident, but while they put on 45 runs for the first wicket, they never really got going. Wickets fell all too regularly, and no batsman got set, or indeed scored at the rate necessary in a much reduced game. Only Paul Stirling of the top seven scored at over a run a ball, and against Gloucestershire attack that (no offence) didn't look that threatening, that isn't good enough.
Some late order smashing got us up to over 150 from the 26 overs, which looked about par, but would need a good bowling performance to defend it. Sadly, we didn't get it. Murtagh and Collymore opened up, and bowled what can only be described as a load of shite. For reasons that I am yet to understand, Murtagh, who has bowled almost solely from the Nursery End in his Middlesex career, was told to run in from the Pavilion, and vice versa for Corey. Whether that was a hunch or not from cap'n Dexter, it failed spectacularly, with Hamish Marshall cashing in on some lacklustre bowling to set a platform for an easy chase for his team. The bowlers were rotated a fair bit, with 8 of the team getting a go (for trivia fans, the three not required to turn their arms over were Simpson, Malan and Rogers), with part-time being favoured to the specialist bowlers at times, with Gareth Berg only getting one over. It was a very poor effort from Middlesex in the field; they didn't bowl well enough, didn't field as well as Gloucestershire (who saved at least ten runs through athletic fielding) and ultimately, they didn't bat as well as them either. All-round, a very disappointing effort from Middlesex.
On the bright side, this is just the first game, so there is still time to turn it around in the 40 over competition, but the nature of the competition is that only one of the seven in the group (or two if we're lucky) can get through, so we're going to have to bounce back very quickly. Also some positives to take out of the game was the bowling of Ollie Rayner, who was very economical from his six overs and took two wickets, and I thought Steven Crook bowled with pace and hostility on his first outing of the year as the game ebbed away from Middlesex. John Simpson paced his innings very well, after a slow start to gauge conditions he then started to free the arms, and without his quickfire 29, the game could really have been embarrassing.
However, it wasn't a day of many positives, and the Panthers will have to pick themselves up from the defeat and move on quickly. And the first place to move on to is the 4 day game at Nottingham starting tomorrow (Wednesday), for which a 12 man squad has been announced:
Chris Rogers (c)
Gareth Berg
Corey Collymore
Joe Denly
Neil Dexter
Steven Finn
Dawid Malan
Tim Murtagh
Ollie Rayner
Sam Robson
John Simpson
Andrew Strauss
Strauss and Finn are available, for what might be the last time before the test series starts, which is a plus. Toby Roland-Jones is out with a foot injury, which hopefully won't be too serious, and his place will almost certainly be filled by Corey Collymore, who's missed the last two games. Corey's had a very slow start to the season, and will really want to make his mark on a Nottinghamshire team that have begun the season very well. They, like us, will have the England duo of Swann and Broad available, but luckily they're missing Patel and Taylor, who are on England Lions duty.
The pessimists amongst the Middlesex fans who are looking at relegation will note that we already have two of the so-called "four wins needed to stay up", and with three quarters of the season still remaining, another win here would really see us looking up the table, rather than down. Of course, this comes against a Nottinghamshire team full of strength and confidence, but there's enough quality in the Middlesex team too to pull of an upset. The toss at Trent Bridge has been fairly key, with loads of wickets falling on the first day, before it dries out to see runs later on in the game, so hopefully Buck will have been practising his tossing and it will come down on our side. There's a very high chance of rain in the game (90% on one day), but fingers crossed it will all stay dry and allow Middlesex to continue their (championship) unbeaten run.
Come on the Middle!
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
2012 Fixtures Announced!
After months of planning and anxious anticipation all round, the fixtures for the 2012 season have finally been released. (and Middlesex's ones are available here). So what does all of it mean?
Well, first and foremost, it's nice to see Middlesex amongst the 'big boys', and finally involved in Division One fixtures again. Trips to Durham, Lancashire and Somerset will all be eagerly awaited, and with the first game of the season away in Taunton (starting on April 5th), appetites will certainly have been whet among the Middlesex faithful. However, it is noticeable that there is a very early start this year - with the university match against Durham Uni beginning in March! Fingers crossed that the weather stays good just as last year, with the outside practice and match preparation afforded by the rain-free spring last year, combined with the ability to hit the ground running and gain momentum without the disruption of the rain once the season was underway key to our promotion in 2011. (That was a long sentence that I think made sense, but probably didn't). With so many Championship games being played so early (7 before May is out), there is a distinct danger that poor weather will lead to a nationwide plague of draws, and a disappointing start to the season.
The first home game of the year will be against Surrey, and hopefully a third successive innings victory will follow against them lot from south of the river. In the year that Lord's will be out of action for quite a while, it's great news that six of the eight home CC games will be at HQ, as there was the distinct possibility that the archery would put paid to such thoughts. Four of the six CB40 games, and three of the five T20s will also be at Lord's, which is good news for all concerned.
There will be an increase in games at Uxbridge, with two CB40 and CC games as well as one T20 game being played at the outground (which is good news for Brunel students like me). Richmond again will host the one T20 game (Hampshire), but sadly there will be no trip to Southgate in 2012.
So what of the calendar itself? Well, all of the T20s are packaged nicely into a little 3 week slot with no 'distractions' of other formats, which should hopefully avoid situations like the Kent game last year where an awful lot of wickets fell to some very suspect shots from players playing in "T20 mode" during a first class game. (However, there is a week where Middlesex go from T20, to four day, to 40 overs, all within days of each other). Mostly the fixtures look fairly regulation, although the two days in July where we have to go from playing at Uxbridge on the Sunday to playing at Old Trafford on the Monday (after the long week of the Uxbridge festival) does look a tad worrying.
All in all, we play each team in Division One twice, as well as a few CB40 games and a few T20s too. Nothing that we didn't expect, but the announcement of the fixtures does still act as a glimmer of light of the summer ahead during the long, dark, cricketless winter that we're forced to endure until April 5th.
Well, first and foremost, it's nice to see Middlesex amongst the 'big boys', and finally involved in Division One fixtures again. Trips to Durham, Lancashire and Somerset will all be eagerly awaited, and with the first game of the season away in Taunton (starting on April 5th), appetites will certainly have been whet among the Middlesex faithful. However, it is noticeable that there is a very early start this year - with the university match against Durham Uni beginning in March! Fingers crossed that the weather stays good just as last year, with the outside practice and match preparation afforded by the rain-free spring last year, combined with the ability to hit the ground running and gain momentum without the disruption of the rain once the season was underway key to our promotion in 2011. (That was a long sentence that I think made sense, but probably didn't). With so many Championship games being played so early (7 before May is out), there is a distinct danger that poor weather will lead to a nationwide plague of draws, and a disappointing start to the season.
The first home game of the year will be against Surrey, and hopefully a third successive innings victory will follow against them lot from south of the river. In the year that Lord's will be out of action for quite a while, it's great news that six of the eight home CC games will be at HQ, as there was the distinct possibility that the archery would put paid to such thoughts. Four of the six CB40 games, and three of the five T20s will also be at Lord's, which is good news for all concerned.
There will be an increase in games at Uxbridge, with two CB40 and CC games as well as one T20 game being played at the outground (which is good news for Brunel students like me). Richmond again will host the one T20 game (Hampshire), but sadly there will be no trip to Southgate in 2012.
So what of the calendar itself? Well, all of the T20s are packaged nicely into a little 3 week slot with no 'distractions' of other formats, which should hopefully avoid situations like the Kent game last year where an awful lot of wickets fell to some very suspect shots from players playing in "T20 mode" during a first class game. (However, there is a week where Middlesex go from T20, to four day, to 40 overs, all within days of each other). Mostly the fixtures look fairly regulation, although the two days in July where we have to go from playing at Uxbridge on the Sunday to playing at Old Trafford on the Monday (after the long week of the Uxbridge festival) does look a tad worrying.
All in all, we play each team in Division One twice, as well as a few CB40 games and a few T20s too. Nothing that we didn't expect, but the announcement of the fixtures does still act as a glimmer of light of the summer ahead during the long, dark, cricketless winter that we're forced to endure until April 5th.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Fall out from the Morgan report
The first piece of major county news of the season has come out with the publication of the Morgan report, and it certainly hasn't been met with widespread approval. David Morgan, the former head of the ICC, sat down to have a look at the county structure, and reported back on his findings to an ECB panel today. And this is what he had to say.
Basically, from the 2014 season (which is the earliest the changes can be implemented), Morgan wants the county championship to be reduced from 16 to 14 matches, with T20 staying the same on 12 games, and the one day competition to become a ten match, 50 over competition.
It's becoming a recurring theme for the ECB to fiddle around with the county season. It seems that not a year goes by without some form of alteration, or talk of change to the competitions. Cricket overkill, players without days off from playing, training or travelling, and a lack of spectator enthusiasm has seen a lot of tinkering with the season's make-up over recent times, so more reports and consultations are to be expected during the long close-season.
So what if Morgan's recommendations are to take place? Well, the first and most eye-grabbing change would be the reduction to the County Championship. The two division, 16 game set-up that has been in force for the past decade has worked very well, and the current success of the England test team is testament to that. The promotion / relegation system keeps every county interested until deep into the season, with something riding on almost every game. And given the sacred status that county fans give to the CC, any reduction to that would be not taken very well at all. Messing around with the division system would be a bad idea, as would fiddling around with the rules so teams play each other a different amount of times would detract from the integrity of the competition.
I think everyone is glad that the T20 group stages have been cut, especially us Middlesex lot, as it is often a long, drawn-out car-crash when a team (usually Middlesex) keep getting pasted (although a reduction in T20 isn't all good news, as it means less Pinky the Panther). Given the proven financial advantages and growth of the T20 competition, a fair compromise has been reached and nobody is too upset by that.
The other interesting news is the change to the One Day competition. It's widely thought that the CB40 is a terrible competition, but not because it is a 40 over format. The fact that only one team can qualify from each group means that once a team has lost a couple of early games, the rest of the competition becomes a formality, and interest is soon lost. However, the 40-over-a-side part has actually been quite good, and I for one have enjoyed the one day matches that don't have those rubbish boring middle bits that fill 50 over cricket. However, while the ICC continue with One Day Internationals being fifty overs, it makes sense that our domestic cricketers should be playing 50/50 matches in order to prepare them adequately for when they make the step up. A thought through competition with small groups and quarter-finals will mean that people won't really be mourning the end of the ill-concieved CB40.
Overall, the Morgan report is something I generally agree with, but the main and obvious disagreement is with the sacred County Championship. The old adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" should be remembered, and the County Championship has worked incredibly well in it's current format over a proven length of time. While I understand the needs of Sky to show a certain amount of matches per year, and the needs of the players to not solely be playing, training or travelling, a lot of the problems would be solved if the season was extended by a couple of weeks - the couple of weeks that it's been shifted to accomodate the Champions League. Whether the report turns into reality remains to be seen, but the publication of the Morgan report has certainly given the ECB a lot to think about before they give any new plans the go-ahead.
Basically, from the 2014 season (which is the earliest the changes can be implemented), Morgan wants the county championship to be reduced from 16 to 14 matches, with T20 staying the same on 12 games, and the one day competition to become a ten match, 50 over competition.
It's becoming a recurring theme for the ECB to fiddle around with the county season. It seems that not a year goes by without some form of alteration, or talk of change to the competitions. Cricket overkill, players without days off from playing, training or travelling, and a lack of spectator enthusiasm has seen a lot of tinkering with the season's make-up over recent times, so more reports and consultations are to be expected during the long close-season.
So what if Morgan's recommendations are to take place? Well, the first and most eye-grabbing change would be the reduction to the County Championship. The two division, 16 game set-up that has been in force for the past decade has worked very well, and the current success of the England test team is testament to that. The promotion / relegation system keeps every county interested until deep into the season, with something riding on almost every game. And given the sacred status that county fans give to the CC, any reduction to that would be not taken very well at all. Messing around with the division system would be a bad idea, as would fiddling around with the rules so teams play each other a different amount of times would detract from the integrity of the competition.
I think everyone is glad that the T20 group stages have been cut, especially us Middlesex lot, as it is often a long, drawn-out car-crash when a team (usually Middlesex) keep getting pasted (although a reduction in T20 isn't all good news, as it means less Pinky the Panther). Given the proven financial advantages and growth of the T20 competition, a fair compromise has been reached and nobody is too upset by that.
The other interesting news is the change to the One Day competition. It's widely thought that the CB40 is a terrible competition, but not because it is a 40 over format. The fact that only one team can qualify from each group means that once a team has lost a couple of early games, the rest of the competition becomes a formality, and interest is soon lost. However, the 40-over-a-side part has actually been quite good, and I for one have enjoyed the one day matches that don't have those rubbish boring middle bits that fill 50 over cricket. However, while the ICC continue with One Day Internationals being fifty overs, it makes sense that our domestic cricketers should be playing 50/50 matches in order to prepare them adequately for when they make the step up. A thought through competition with small groups and quarter-finals will mean that people won't really be mourning the end of the ill-concieved CB40.
Overall, the Morgan report is something I generally agree with, but the main and obvious disagreement is with the sacred County Championship. The old adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" should be remembered, and the County Championship has worked incredibly well in it's current format over a proven length of time. While I understand the needs of Sky to show a certain amount of matches per year, and the needs of the players to not solely be playing, training or travelling, a lot of the problems would be solved if the season was extended by a couple of weeks - the couple of weeks that it's been shifted to accomodate the Champions League. Whether the report turns into reality remains to be seen, but the publication of the Morgan report has certainly given the ECB a lot to think about before they give any new plans the go-ahead.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Pre-Season Hopes and Expectations
So pre-season for the Middlesex players has officially started, which makes this a good time to look forward at the season ahead! The new signings have now all joined up with the team, and everyone is looking forward to getting started early next spring as a Division One club.
So what are Middlesex's goals for the 2012 summer? After so many years in the doldrums of Division Two finally came to an end on that glorious Leicester afternoon in September, surely the main priority is avoiding going straight back down. From what I've heard from the Middlesex faithful, while there is a cautious air of optimism about this team really causing some upsets next year, I think most would take avoiding relegation by one point. It's obvious that while success in the 40 over and T20 competitions would be nice, the focus from the management, players and members is towards the County Championship, which will be the main priority this season.
That isn't to mean that the CB40 and T20 competitions won't be taken seriously. Indeed, the very good showing last year in a tough competition to progress in shows that in terms of a 40 over outfit, Middlesex might be quietly confident going a bit further, or even emulating them lot from south of the river. And the T20? Well, let's cross that bridge when we come to it.
As it stands, Angus Fraser and Richard Scott have put together a very fine team capable of some great things. In first class cricket, while playing in Division One will be a big step-up, there are players in that Middlesex team who are clearly good enough to perform at that level. With a strong batting spine complemented by the firepowers of the all-rounders and the guile of the bowlers, Middlesex can certainly ruffle a few feathers of some of the big boys. The CB40 team may be hit by squad rotation during a long season, but last year's efforts showed that the Panthers can play some very good 40 over cricket at times too. And while the T20 performances last year were nothing short of pathetic, with the addition of established T20 stars Joe Denly and Ollie Rayner to the fold, the potential addition of a superstar like Chris Gayle or if we get to see much of Steve Finn or the elusive Eoin Morgan, if the boys get off to a good start, who knows what might happen. It's certainly a good time to be following Middlesex, and the mood is certainly one of quiet optimism. Whether I'm still talking up the boy's chances a few weeks into the season remains to be seen!
So what are Middlesex's goals for the 2012 summer? After so many years in the doldrums of Division Two finally came to an end on that glorious Leicester afternoon in September, surely the main priority is avoiding going straight back down. From what I've heard from the Middlesex faithful, while there is a cautious air of optimism about this team really causing some upsets next year, I think most would take avoiding relegation by one point. It's obvious that while success in the 40 over and T20 competitions would be nice, the focus from the management, players and members is towards the County Championship, which will be the main priority this season.
That isn't to mean that the CB40 and T20 competitions won't be taken seriously. Indeed, the very good showing last year in a tough competition to progress in shows that in terms of a 40 over outfit, Middlesex might be quietly confident going a bit further, or even emulating them lot from south of the river. And the T20? Well, let's cross that bridge when we come to it.
As it stands, Angus Fraser and Richard Scott have put together a very fine team capable of some great things. In first class cricket, while playing in Division One will be a big step-up, there are players in that Middlesex team who are clearly good enough to perform at that level. With a strong batting spine complemented by the firepowers of the all-rounders and the guile of the bowlers, Middlesex can certainly ruffle a few feathers of some of the big boys. The CB40 team may be hit by squad rotation during a long season, but last year's efforts showed that the Panthers can play some very good 40 over cricket at times too. And while the T20 performances last year were nothing short of pathetic, with the addition of established T20 stars Joe Denly and Ollie Rayner to the fold, the potential addition of a superstar like Chris Gayle or if we get to see much of Steve Finn or the elusive Eoin Morgan, if the boys get off to a good start, who knows what might happen. It's certainly a good time to be following Middlesex, and the mood is certainly one of quiet optimism. Whether I'm still talking up the boy's chances a few weeks into the season remains to be seen!
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