Olly Stone back in the squad:
https://edgbaston.com/fixtures/first-xi/birmingham-bears-vs-nottinghamshire-5-june-2022/#match-match-previews
Having all week predicted terrible weather for today, the Met Office are not so sure now.

11-12 degrees and a 10% chance of rain but it looks horrible outside and I am not going. There was a thought when I got up that having played so badly in the last2 games, I would settle for an abandonment especially against Notts who are not exactly pushovers.

Olly S in for Brookes, is the only change.

Notts won the toss and put us in.

Cut to 8 overs. Obviously winning the toss was everything. Mind you, we're making a stab at it - 61 for 3 off 5. Benjamin bashing away still (30 NO). And Brathwaite has learned his lesson - going in at 5 today.

Carlos taking himself off with one over to go. Did he see they were bowling a spinner again and think Hain was a better option? Is that allowed?

Yes, a batsman/batter/batsperson can retire (Out) at any time.

I’ve never seen that before, but it was allowed to happen so it must be!

Hain didn’t actually face a ball but perhaps his running helped?

Lintott has just taken a couple of key wickets to bring us back into this!

What a finish

Never in doubt!

Just replayed the last ball that Patel faced and the one we were penalised for and it is 50/50 as to whether or not it was over waist height/ I wouldn't want to be the umpire who gives that but I suppose in a semi/final, you would be able to have another look at it. Well done to all the hardy souls who stayed to watch.

It will be interesting to see if tactical retirements (a la Braithwaite and Patel) either become more common as a tactic or get banned by a change in the laws.

Not sure how it could be outlawed. Would they require blood like in rugby?

I can see a variation of it being brought in maybe a 12th player (a joker perhaps) can be brought on in the Hundred. Imagine Usain Bolt or Chris Gayle sitting on the bench

Last two comments, mad and Gerry very pertinent. If I recall correctly it happened in the IPL recently when a stodgy batsman who was repairing a top order collapse got bogged down with a good striker to come in. Interestingly, Brathwaite was playing in that game and he said there would be more of it. He's also got an awful career record against leg spin.

Personally, I have no issue with it seeing as it had always been in the game (remember pre-season friendlies and tour games?). The batting side are penalised appropriately through losing a wicket. It might well be that this evolves into a tactical substitution of some sort allowed once in an innings. I remember the trial of substitutes about 25 years ago was deemed a failure but I'm not sure it's true to say it could never work in white ball.

It did seem strange at the time that Patel was batting that low anyway and then once he gets to the crease as a man known for being a good finisher, he is tactically removed so that a bloke who hasn't faced a ball, can come in and try and win it off the last ball.

Not sure how I feel about these tactical retirements. Think it's something that will either start happening a lot or get outlawed pretty quickly. It has happened before, in the IPL? I remember Pollard doing something like that in the T20 World Cup? Think he came back on though.

Nice comfortable winning margin! Good to see Olly Stone's return. I see Worcester lost again - 1 win in 6 games against you know who!

I guess the problem with banning tactical retirements is that it would open the door to fake injuries - Samit could have said that he had tweaked a muscle and who would know differently? It does, though, create a difference between batters and fielders because the Laws say:
24.1 Substitute fielders
24.1.1 The umpires shall allow a substitute fielder
24.1.1.1 if they are satisfied that a fielder has been injured or become ill and that this occurred during the match, or
24.1.1.2 for any other wholly acceptable reason.
In all other circumstances, a substitute is not allowed.
I've no idea what another "wholly acceptable reason" would be for allowing a fielding substitution but presumably it wouldn't be "I'm a bit overweight and can't run too fast so I want a better fielder to take over from me."

Wasn’t it Levi of Northants who famously (infamously?) would field the first over and then disappear for the rest of the innings but appear again to bat?

Should maybe be one an innings? Imagine seeing 3 or 4 a game!

I think Mark Cosgrove was one who liked batting but wasn't too keen on fielding.
And going back to 2005, Ricky Ponting had something to say about being run out by Gary Pratt.