Squad:

Carlos Brathwaite (C)
Chris Benjamin
Jacob Bethell
Danny Briggs
Ethan Brookes
Henry Brookes
Alex Davies
Sam Hain
Olly Hannon-Dalby
Adam Hose
Jake Lintott
Craig Miles
Paul Stirling

I doubt that the departure of Welch is the sole cause of the poor bowling performances, although I'm sure that it's contributing a bit. Perhaps last season our bowlers collectively over-performed, or maybe the conditions are less favourable this season? I can't remember what the conditions were like at the start of last season but it's been pretty dry this year so far. At this point in the year last season we had played 6, won 2, drawn 3 and lost 1, so if we can draw this one the only difference will be one extra draw instead of a win. Of course, with the different format this year that leaves us much further behind and with a lot more to do in the second half of the season. I suspect that the break in the championship for the Blast has come at a good time for us.

Agreed, Davies is naturally an attacking player so would be more suited to a role down the order, when he’s facing bowlers that are more tired (in theory, assuming we don’t lose four wickets in the first 10 overs…)

Early season pitches usually aren't great for spinners. The only spinner with more wickets than Briggs in Division 1 at the moment is Matt Parkinson.

Apparently the ball this season is a bit different - the seam is less pronounced. This is one theory as to why scores so far this season have generally been high

This is embarrassing

A good fightback this afternoon. We could easily have been looking at a 100-200 run deficit

I agree that Rhodes has enough credit in the bank. It would be great if he could find some form soon though.

He is, but needs to get some overs in for the 2nds first

Squad:

Will Rhodes (C)
Chris Benjamin
Danny Briggs
Michael Burgess
Alex Davies
Sam Hain
Olly Hannon-Dalby
Matt Lamb
Jake Lintott
Nathan McAndrew
Craig Miles
Dom Sibley
Rob Yates

Still no Norwell, so I would guess that it’ll be the same team as the Somerset game.

GerryShedd wrote:

Somerset had actually lost their last seven County Championship matches.
My Deep Extra Cover colleague Harry Everett, who has been commentating on the live feed, obviously enjoyed the change of fortunes:
https://deepextracover.com/2022/04/somerset-finally-break-their-losing-streak-beating-warwickshire-inside-3-days-at-taunton/

I played cricket with Harry while I was living in Exeter and know quite a few Somerset supporters through that team (including Annie Chave, I’m not sure if anyone follows her on twitter or subscribes to County Cricket Matters - I’d recommend doing both). One slight positive for me is that this defeat came against Somerset, rather than a team like Surrey or Essex!

Might Woakes be in contention for this one? He was apparently due to play in the Somerset game but had one or two niggles

It seems that McAndrew can bat, at least

It’s hard to tell from the live stream, and I only saw him bowl one over, but McAndrew did seem to be quicker than most or all of our other bowlers. Seemed similar to Norwell in terms of style. Would be interested to see what those at the ground thought though.

I would be surprised if McAndrew doesn’t play given the effort that has been made to get him over here.

McAndrew in for Brookes the only change for the next match if Norwell is fit?

I guess that Essex and Glamorgan might have applied for the visas earlier than we did? McAndrew was a relatively late signing for us.

Cricinfo are reporting that Lawrence picked up a hamstring injury at the end of the day, although it's not clear if this will affect his ability to bat in the second innings.

A nice start to the game to wake up to today!

He's so much better than when he joined us. I remember he would never get near our four day team initially but is now one of the first names on the teamsheet.