Hamza Shaikh 2006!

It was a blinder

I thought he was fine. He was tremendous in the field again today and a good little cameo with the bat.

Didn't think much of Booth, is Garrett injured?

I'll say it again, great format of the game this is.

Remember when people wanted Ed Barnard dropped?!

It's an interesting one. At first glance he doesn't seem to have much of a record behind him for a 22 year old. I know he's played a little bit for the 2's but I can't recall his name cropping up too much this season.

Has he been playing Birmingham League? I haven't been aware of him but so many games have rained off...

Haha!

Sounds like he's keen on Michael Booth.

At a glance a few Birmingham Phoenix games clash with our one day cup games so am I correct in assuming it's going to be harder to get the likes of Bethell and H Brookes released?

I'm not really sure how it all works with teams having get their own players back from the other comp.

Was he released?

Yes we've been competitive in previous years having lost many players to injury or the other competition. Having Lintott this year is huge.

My issue is that he is probably the only one who never got given a proper chance, he's scored big runs in the 2's over the past season and a half. I never really noted him as a bowler, he's bowled less and less in the 2's, his batting has greatly improved though no doubt.

That's a shame, another local lad leaving having not been given a proper chance. This happens time and time again. We tend to prefer signing players in favour of backing our own.

As comfortable a win as I can remember.

Definitely a good toss to win, pitch seemed fairly lively throughout.

Burgess is doing something exceptional every game now behind the stumps.

Excellent crowd I thought. An enthusiastic crowd too.

I said it the previous 2 seasons but I really enjoy this comp, win or lose. Shame there's not more games. 3 groups of 6 and play each other home and away next season perhaps?

Won the toss fielding

Totally understand that it's popular and people enjoy it hugely. However just because it happens in Rugby and Football doesn't automatically make it good or fair. And just because they used to have 120 overs a day for the County Championship many decades ago doesn't mean it should be happening today for an entirely different format. They went away from that for good reason.

I'm not necessarily suggesting they do away with some sort of Finals Day entirely anyway, a promotion/relegation play off scenario might be intriguing. I'd still rather see the top 2 up and the bottom 2 down after a culmination of 16 games though.

To have a 2 division, 2 up 2 down league format and then a Finals Day to decide the outright winner at the end would be odd though as teams will have already played each other twice (home and away) then would have the prospect of having to play, and possibly be required to beat, some sides for a THIRD time at Finals Day. It would lose the potential of having an exciting title race and all the twist and turns that brings over a sustained period too.

Yes Briggs back, no Norwell (pulled up in the warm up Friday). No Garrett in the squad, that seems harsh. Is Johal injured?

Yes I wonder where we stand here. H Brookes won't have played yet either, does he become available?

ajones1328 wrote:

Shame another washout of hundred cricket...ahh well !

Switching onto sky and listening to them try and justify how 4 formats of cricket can co-exist and how everyone has something they can pick and enjoy.. of course it's complete and utter bias and I'm sure people can see through it

Will be interesting to hear the likes of Robert Croft and Charlie Dagnall change their tune if the hundred is scrapped next season for a revised T20 competition

Dagnall, nice man though he is, will say/do whatever he can just to try and relevant. He tries very hard. Surely he, and the others, dont actually believe the sort of stuff they come out with regarding the Hundred.

Never been keen on finals day, 120 overs on the same pitch all on 1 day always feels a bit excessive to me. It's such a long day. Never been keen on teams scraping 4th in the group and shithousing their way to the title either. Felt weird in 2014 when we did it. Just doesn't sit right with me. I feel it can be incredibly demanding from a logistical perspective for some travelling fans too, particularly those from down south.

I appreciate and respect its popularity though.

A day of 8th in div1 v 2nd in div2 and 1st v 2nd of Div 1, just 2 games in one day might be OK.

I'd ideally want the winner of the top division to be the winner of the Blast outright though.

2 division Blast is so clearly the best idea. Home and away fixtures, each team plays each other twice, 16 games. Can market the top division as the English Premier League or whatever. Wouldn't even need to have Finals Day and knockouts, the team who wins the EPL will be the best side and will be worthy winners. Play it throughout the duration of the season with games on Fridays and/or Sundays only, each game would be a proper event. Everyone knows where they are and what the craic is. Can even have a Gillette Soccer Saturday style show on TV that provides updates from each ground. The relegation/promotion element would be huge. It really would capture the imagination.