You have to wonder what all this is doing to the poor kid's head. We've seen players of his age making waves in the past but by now they would normally have a record of achievement under their belts. All I see with Bethell is assertions of exceptional talent - but where's the evidence? I suppose it's hard for him to show that if he hardly plays any cricket.
You have to wish him well. And good luck captaining Jamie Overton.

Just an observation that we are now in the height of summer and this board has gone as quiet as it is in the depths of winter - because there is NO CRICKET BEING PLAYED. How did this happen?

GerryShedd wrote:

Mattmike66 wrote:

Great news ,better late than never

We know that it's a "he" which narrows the field down.

Identifies as....

The Times recently carried an article by their lead sports writer Martin Samuel saying pretty much the same. Samuel seldom writes about cricket (or indeed anything other than Premier League football) but on this occasion was quite forthright in saying that the ECB were culpable in jeopardising the quality of the Test series by packing the games too close together. Eventually both countries were struggling to put a fit team out. And all in the interests of the slogball festival.

In the last 20 years we have been fortunate to see three players that would have very strong claims to a place in an all-time Warwickshire XI in Bell, Trott and Woakes. I don't remember us having a better all-rounder than Wiz, only Shaun Pollock being in the same league. If this injury ends his career, it will feel like the close of a significant chapter in the club's history.

The writing is on the wall for the older seamers with new blood having been recruited. Nevertheless, OHD deserves to leave with honour. He's never been in the first rank of seam bowlers but he's carried our attack for a few years and there's no doubting his effort. I, too, hope that is just an unfortunate journalistic choice of words.

Yes it's Stuart Broad. Longevity counts - but not enough for Jimmy Anderson.
I agree about his commentary, he's fitted in very well.

It also shows the rarity - and value - of genuine all-rounders. Jacob Bethell would be well advised to ensure his bowling develops as well as his ability to hit sixes.

Moeen is correct.
Swann has the wickets but not the runs.

It would be asking a lot of him to get there this week but Chris Woakes needs just nine wickets to become only the sixth England player to score 2000 runs and take 200 wickets in Test matches.
The others are guessable (three dead obvious) but interesting how few there have been. So, who are they?

No specialist spinner and 9 of the 11 having first class centuries to their name: I think we're playing for a draw.
Opportunities for Bethell to make his mark there.

Let's not forget that Davies was one of the leading run scorers in the country last year. I've seen him play some daft shots but I've also seen some mature innings. I guess it's a mental thing that probably isn't helped by him being captain. Perhaps Westwood could sell a change of captaincy to Davies on the grounds of it being good for his batting.

KingofSpain wrote:

Rumours that Ben Foakes is leaving Surrey. He would be ideal to fill the gap left by Burgess. Smith is our long term prospect but it's unfair to expect him to continue learning his trade in the spotlight.

Difficult to imagine anyone who would strengthen the squad more. An exceptionally talented glove man; strong county level batter; and available all year as England don't want him and he doesn't get franchise gigs.
Any county would want him so, if he is leaving Surrey, I expect he's already got something lined up.

A little underwhelming. I usually watch at least one Kent game a year (my daughter lives in Canterbury) and he's never registered with me. His stats are less than stellar too.
But at least it shows some effort to refresh our aging seam attack. Let's hope we can develop him - and that he stays fit!

OHD seems like a decent and straightforward bloke but I wonder if the PCA have thought about the players like him who will be getting a nice long rest from Mid-may to end-August every year while the various slogging competitions are on. How long will counties be willing to offer salaries to classical cricketers who are only going to be used for 9 or 10 weeks a year?

white-lightning wrote:

... why couldn't England release Bethell last night to play for us as he's not selected for England at Lords today? He hasn't played for about two weeks now - isn't there a danger of him being a bit rusty if called upon? The ECB prevent our players from playing for the Bears too much!

Yes, this bothers me. Since coming back from injury, Bethell has spent a lot of time not playing for RCB, not playing for England and not playing for Warwickshire. He's lost half a year's development which could be very damaging. England should be desperate to find him a game somewhere.

GerryShedd wrote:

According to the BBC, the 328 balls Rocchiccioli sent down was the most in an innings by a Warwickshire bowler since Ashley Giles bowled 68.3 overs against Yorkshire at Headingley in 1996.

Can I applaud you for spelling the Aussie lad's name correctly and in full? Were you using cut and paste?

Given that Bethell and Archer are expected to be key men in Australia, might it not have made sense to release them to play in a game with a kookaburra ball?

Hose 253 balls. Sibley 301.
Takes all sorts.

I expect Bethell will bat 3 on England orders but I'm not sure that's wise. He hasn't faced a red ball this year and Somerset always have a good crop of seamers, reinforced at the moment by Matt Henry. I'd slot him in at 5.
Somerset's batting is a bit flaky, full of batters who promise more than they deliver. Just as well, given our attack.