I’m not disagreeing with you, however it is not his fault it’s more of a team management decision to try and bring someone in once it was clear Malian was not going to be available for the start of the season.

I would say his half century in the second innings against Essex was very important though.

It’s a day like this when it’s a shame that the overseas pro hasn’t been able to spend a good amount of pre season with the squad or have much experience of playing county cricket.

I’m in no way blaming the teams batting on Vihari, circumstances have dictated his time with us, but when an experienced and calm head was needed sadly we didn’t have one.

I think today we have to accept that we were second best on all fronts.

BristolBear wrote:

I do appreciate that, but I suppose my issue is that if you’re going to rest them, rest them all in the same round. Otherwise you could end up having hypothetically (all being fit and available) the Roses match and Yorkshire have to rest Bess, Bairstow and Root, but Anderson and Butler can play for Lancashire.
I know fitness and availability effect this, but if they said all fit ECB bowlers can play rounds 2, 3 & 5. Everyone knows where they stand, if a player isn’t fit for then, so be it. But I suppose it’s a case of the ECB comes first.

I agree it is odd and a trifle unfair to think that some counties have their ECB players whilst others don’t.

On the other hand we may see Norwell steaming in and matching Raine and we wouldn’t notice that Stone is not here.

This is the issue the counties have with the ECB players. I wonder whether I’ll ever see Chris Woakes play for us again live.

BristolBear wrote:

It’s absolutely bizarre to watch. Briggs got one that popped. Burgess’ looked like it went below his bat whilst playing forward. Bresnan played a long way inside it. Hain left it. I’d get it if they were all edging behind but so many bowled and LBWs is odd. Even the way the watch was offered was odd.

One another note however, I do have to ask, why in the same game do we have to rest our England fast bowler, but Durham can play theirs? I understand load management and the ECB will be sending down orders, but seems a bit unfair.

The difference I believe is that Stone has played two games in a row for us and this is Woods first appearance for Durham.

It’s alright, Bresnan and Briggs are our most in form batsmen.

It looks a really tough pitch to bat on. Getting 100 from here looks a challenge. We can I to hope we can skittle them out cheaply too.

Let’s hope we can post some sort of score and then when we get on to bowl we can ask some questions.

It’s always difficult to judge a pitch on the first session. I may be mistaken but I believe Essex were in a similar position against Durham but still managed a victory!

George Dobell has written a good little report, it’s easy to forget that Yates is only 21 and still studying at university. There is hopefully a lot of potential still to come.

Also mentioned was the way in which Essex escorted Yates back to the pavilion even though their dressing rooms were at the opposite side of the ground. A touch of class there which they are to be commended for.

Such a shame we were not able to be in the ground to show our appreciation to the lads.

Who says the county championship isn’t exciting!?

Great effort, tremendous knock by Yates but well supported by Vihari and Hain.

coolerking wrote:

I know we chased down Notts in the last round but Essex have a much better attack so, assuming we ever take this last wicket, it's going to be tough to bat out time, let alone win.

Whilst I agree it will be tougher, Notts did have a certain Stuart Broad steaming in. It was captivating viewing watching the tussle between him and Hain!

Will we win? Probably not, but if we can get a couple of partnerships going then anything is possible.

These are the sort of challenges that we want to see in county cricket.

There are positives to take though I feel, we do seem to be making progress in certain areas.

If we look at Essex they find a way to win, even when having a bad day. We have demonstrated that recently and there is fight in the squad, hopefully that will show tomorrow too.

I’m pleased that Miles has taken some wickets and Briggs has shown some control too.

Even if we don’t get over the line I feel like we have competed with one of the best teams in the country which is not something to be taken lightly.

I don’t think we are bowling badly, but it does seem to be hard work for them. Commentators are saying after the new ball softens it seems to be getting tougher for the bowlers.

So we really need our openers to see off the new ball and then build (once we take the last wicket).

Well Durham have started the season quite well (even if they blew it against Essex) but Alex has yet to feature.

By all accounts the counties have been on at the government to try and get spectators in, it’s just they are not budging. If Lords and the Oval can’t then us in the provinces stand little chance.

I’m sure we will be paying something, even if the Indian board were to subsidise (which I doubt). He has been unfortunate as it could have been very different had Sibley not been injured.

The ideal scenario would have been Sibley and Rhodes both make good starts, seeing off the new ball and getting a decent score on the board. Yates may have been able to get some runs and then Vihari able to come in and take the scoreboard on further.

However, as an overseas the pressure is on and expectations are higher. I guess it was a gamble hoping he could contribute straight away. For three games it was probably not worth the risk.

A good afternoon session there I would say. It will be incredibly tough to chase over 300 but the aim should be to bat out the remaining sessions (once we remove the last wicket obviously).

Pleased to see Briggs take some wickets, hopefully bring about some confidence.

This is why it’s such a big season for Hain as he is actually the longest serving batsman for us despite his relatively young age. He is no longer the young buck in the squad, time to step up.

I liken him to Critchley at Derbyshire, long touted within the club as a player with potential but only showing glimpses, the last two seasons he has stepped up and started to deliver.

Good points Bristol Bear and when you look at it like that you are completely right. Our top order didn’t do enough and the bowlers were not able to keep the score lower.

When I first became a member we had Tim Ambrose, Rikki Clarke, Jeets, Keith Barker and Chris Wright. All of those could (and did) contribute to runs. We miss that so much.

Our batsmen need all the help they can get. But let’s face it, JT has been involved in the team for a lot of our recent history and our batting has consistently been flakey.