ExiledBrummie wrote:

coolerking wrote:

An excellent day yesterday. Polished off Somerset quickly and very solid with the bat. Davies batted beautifully for his ton although got out to a terrible shot. Theoretically we could bomb on this morning and set Somerset a tempter this afternoon but I just don't see that happening. Let the batters get some time in the middle and then a gentle-ish workout for the bowlers later on.

Tempting them to do what? We have another innings to spare.
You're quite right! I keep forgetting that we lost a day!

Good effort from the seamers. 16 wickets in about 4 and a half to 5 sessions they had available to them. And well played Davies and once again Hain. Some good signs I feel we'll have weapons against some of the better sides in the division this season. Somerset have added depth to their squad but will probably be lower half of the table so perhaps a pity about Thursday denying Bears a decent shot at getting off to a winning start.

Fourth day report:
https://deepextracover.com/2023/04/somerset-v-warwickshire-day-four/
I thought the Somerset bowlers contained Sam Hain well early on, plus he didn't get a lot of the strike. But if Warwickshire fail to win the Championship by a single point, we will know who to blame.

PS - how about Chris Wright steering Leicestershire to almost 400 to beat the Yorkies?

Unbelievable. Not nice if it happens to your team but after Norwell's heroics last season to get a finish like that first game this must be a great fillip for the competition and all who follow it especially given the circumstances Leicestershire having not won a game all 2022 following just one win in 2019 and 2020 and three in 2021

Could be a much more open competition division two this year than folks were expecting. Squad size will play a part so York's will still be up there. I like the look of Sussex this year too

Thought we meandered from tea on day 3. Given the match position a win was unlikely but as we've seen on the last day of the last two seasons if you have a plan to win there's always a chance it might work and in this instance I couldn't see us losing. Still plenty of good individual performances and hopefully more to come.

Peter Trego on the commentary spent most of the morning criticising Sam for slow scoring and then, when Somerset batted again, spent most of the afternoon bemoaning the fact that they don't have anyone like Sam.

Considering that, after losing Thursday, a win was always an outside chance I think it was a very good workout for our batters and bowlers.

Yes there was very much the same on the radio comms especially Saturday the Somerset commentators seemed to assume Warwicks could just score at whatever run rate suited them taking no account whatsoever of the tight bowling, field placings, the fact it was first game of the season at a ground where we were woeful the season beforehand and the condition of the ball/pitch.

There's the old adage you can't win a game in a session (Day 1/2) but you can certainly lose one by chucking wickets away. I thought Jack Brooks when he came onto the comms today tried to correct Trego on that point earlier. Overall I think Peter Trego is a superb talker about the game as is Vic Marks.

GerryShedd wrote:

Fourth day report:
https://deepextracover.com/2023/04/somerset-v-warwickshire-day-four/
I thought the Somerset bowlers contained Sam Hain well early on, plus he didn't get a lot of the strike. But if Warwickshire fail to win the Championship by a single point, we will know who to blame.

PS - how about Chris Wright steering Leicestershire to almost 400 to beat the Yorkies?

Just had a quick check to see if I can find how many times Leicestershire have won away in Yorkshire and I think today is their sixth win overall

They last won at Headingley in 1910 (possibly their first)
They won once at Bramall Lane in 1948
They won once at St Georges Road Harrogate in 1983
They won once at Abbeydale Park Sheffield in 1990
They also won just once at Bradford Park Avenue in 1996 (en-route to the title)
But they do not appear to have ever beaten the Tykes at Scarborough, The Circle at Hull or Acklam Park Middlesbrough. They were involved in a tied championship match at Fartown Huddersfield in 1954

BristolBear wrote:

I haven’t been following the stream today. Who’d he drop?

Sorry just back on site after 3 days- I can't recall who now but very straightforward. Good to see him get some runs though, I just hope we don't lose him.

If we had shown the intent spoken of by the management, we would of won the game. Opportunity missed!

If we had shown the intent spoken of by the management, we would of won the game. Opportunity missed!

Only in the sense that Somerset will probably be one of the weaker sides in the division especially with the players they had out. I think a draw with decent haul of bonus points was about the best we could reasonably garner from 8 and a bit sessions of play down there. Had we had the full 12 sessions we'd have been in with a great shout although maybe their spinner might've come into it. We have to remember we had three kids out there too and it was first game of season and we got hammered there last season (the game which probably did for Lamb)

It's far too easy to say "oi Hain score at 5 an over against these bumpkins" we saw how many wickets Somerset lost when chancing their arm the risk would've been we allow them into a position they could win. The need first game of the season to win or to gain the extra bonus point or two just isn't there yet. I'd rather they shut up shop yesterday morning and not got bowled out in 110 overs and deny them a third bowling point than what actually transpired but again that's presuming a lot about the ability of the players to ensure that happens to order.

I think Somerset will go down based on last season and that. We would've beaten them over four days, I'm pretty sure.

I'm hoping/assuming the extra bonus point we allowed them has no impact due to our loftier ambitions.

mad - I see what you're saying with the 'kids' but surely there's a point where have have to accept them (and readily) as first team players

I think Somerset will go down based on last season and that. We would've beaten them over four days, I'm pretty sure.

I'm hoping/assuming the extra bonus point we allowed them has no impact due to our loftier ambitions.

mad - I see what you're saying with the 'kids' but surely there's a point where have have to accept them (and readily) as first team players

Oh sure and part of our remit is to bring the youngsters through and give them opportunities.

I actually think Somerset should be about mid table or just below that but not get relegated. There are sterner tests to come we could really do with the forecast this week improving so we can get a decent haul of points against Kent

It feels like we didn't get what we deserved out of that game. If there hadn't been a missing day, we would have won. When we were batting, it looked like 4 bonus points were nailed on for most of the time and (with a push) perhaps 5, especially given the short boundaries. Nevertheless, it was a solid performance and, whilst Somerset's batting is weak, their bowling is not. All five of the front line bowlers against us have played international cricket, so they're not going to give it away. There are worse squads than ours in Divison One this year: we just have to make sure we take our opportunities when they come.

Yates and Mousley are on there 2nd pro contracts and have been first team squad members for 3 seasons, so hardly "kids" anymore.

Remember that Ian Bell was an England regular in red and white ball cricket when he was younger than Yates.

The question is, are the management willing to accept mediocrity from their "favoured" players for yet another season?

We've played well last weekend. And if it wasn't for tinpot Somerset's useless outfield we'd have turned them over. Atleast I haven't gotta listen to their incredibly bias live stream commentary for a while...

But yes it's traditionally a team we've struggled against so happy to see us perform well. I agree that Somerset will be around mid table. They are hard to beat.

Oh and Rob Yates will be fine I feel, 7 FC tons isn't to be sniffed at. Comparing him to Ian Bell, a truly generational talent, is a bit harsh. Also Dan Mousley hasn't really had a proper go in the 4day side yet. I'm happy to see them both stay in.