GerryShedd wrote:

Has anyone taken a wicket for Warwickshire at a younger age than Tazeem?

Warwick Tidy was also 17 when he debuted for WCCC so we're into counting days.
I suggest you ask Terry 😏

You obviously need to get out and watch some cricket! Oh, hang on, there isn't any.

Rikki Clarke must be in with a shout. He held some kind of world record for the average number of catches per game across his career. Most of them taken at second slip, of course.

We are currently the only unbeaten team in this competition. We started the CC with some dominant performances (Surrey excepted) and had a powerful run to the T20 QFs before it went pear shaped. I think we've actually got a decent squad that deserves to get some glory this year. One Day Cup seems the best chance. Keep going guys!

Seems it was a bit quicker than his efforts for us!

A very entertaining series. Any chance that the ECB will now reflect on:

1. How much benefit would accrue to the game if this had been on free-to-air TV
2. How good it would be if anyone enthused by this series could now go and watch some more first class cricket. As it is, most county grounds will have just four days of 50 over slogfest in August.

I have a daughter who lives in Kent so I try to fit in a day at Canterbury most years, whoever's playing. It remains one of my favourite County grounds for reasons noted above. It has good sight lines; an intimate feel; decent food; and a limited amount of concrete. Even the flats and mini-market that have been built on what used to be the outfield car park have been done tastefully. Plus I do have a liking for a glass or two of Spitfire.
It tends to be quiet too and it was certainly so on Wednesday when I was there. I guess the weather was not great and the Kent supporters knew they were in for a stuffing. I still enjoyed it, though, as there is quite a bit of experience in the Kent batting line up and they weren't giving it away. I think Rob Yates' spell was key to getting the job done on the third day. What a game he had! It's lucky he's not known for his slogging or the England side would have had him by now.

My main beef with quarter finals is that the one-a-day format means that there is a week in high season when most county grounds are just left idle. If you have to have QFs, at least play them on the same day and leave room for another CC round.

I believe Chris is on an "all forms" cricket contract with the ECB which, being worth a truck load of dosh, will be difficult to walk away from. He'll also hope to be involved in the World Cup in the autumn so, for the time being, it's probably in his best interests to just suck it up and keep on carrying the drinks. Who knows, at the rate England are burning through players, he may well get a Test this month, although that could be a poisoned chalice.
I doubt if he'll get a full central contract next year. It would be wonderful if he then chose to do an Alastair Cook and spent a few years back in County Cricket.

Careful!

I've been plodding through (some) of the 300-ish pages in this report and have come to the conclusion that it is a missed opportunity that will hinder rather than help progress towards inclusivity. Amongst the recommendations, there are many that involve further investigations; data gathering; preparation of reports; a new regulatory body; (or meaningless "apologies"). These will add to bureaucracy and divert attention from making any actual progress. Recommendations for practical action are few and somewhat unrealistic. Booting out Eton v Harrow might be achievable although no more than symbolic. Calling for equal pay for women's cricket simply ignores commercial reality. And so on.
There's a lot wrong with the culture of cricket which we "type K" blokes who have rejoiced in cheering ethnic minority cricketers since Rudi Webster and Billy Ibadulla know very well. It didn't need a Commission to write it all down. It needs some achievable actions - and the money to back them up.

The Aussies must be licking their lips on seeing the length of that tail.

There's a good cricketer in there but things haven't been going well for Bess. I was very impressed with him when he first appeared for Somerset. As Wikipedia will tell you, his first two CC wickets were Trott and Bell and they weren't caught on the boundary! He then got squeezed out of there as he was behind Jack Leach for a CC slot and Roelof van der Merwe for white ball games. Hence, he ended up at Yorkshire, which can't be the most relaxed of places to develop as a cricketer. He's still only 25 so, with some sympathetic coaching, he can come good again.

That reads like a statement aimed at pleasing the Hundred sponsors and saying nothing to the club members. If you have nothing but management gobbledegook and dubious unverifiable statistics to offer, why make a statement at all?

As seen from the comfort of my settee, Edgbaston has looked a picture this week. Sun shining; full crowds; great cricket; and I'm much happier to enjoy the noise from the Hollies through my television rather than being amongst it! The Edgbaston crowd are a real bonus for England. Good for the city and the club.
Great match even though both sides could play better. Stokes' trickery in the field almost made up for having only two fit bowlers but, now that he's shown his hand, will the Aussies fall for it again? He'll need to channel his inner Dermot Reeve to keep the surprises coming.

Australia 3-0 with two rain affected draws.
England have been wonderfully entertaining in the last year but I think this is where the one-dimensionality of Bazball gets found out. It's all very well packing the side with white-ball hitters (whether they're supposed to be opening batters, wicket-keepers or spinners) and there will certainly be runs. But to win a Test match, you need to take 20 wickets and, with Stokes crocked and Ali having been out of red ball cricket for several years, we won't do it. Fun while it lasted, but the party's about to be over.

The Times hints today that the loveable Colin Graves has threatened to call in his loan to Yorkshire if they don't make him Chairman again. If I were rich, I couldn't think of a much better use for £15 million than giving it to Yorkshire so that they could pay him off. Sadly, I'm not rich but perhaps a well known Yorkshire MP might ask his wife for some loose change in order to resolve the situation. Come on Rishi - there are votes in it!

Vague bells ringing here. I don't think it was all that long ago and, for some reason, I think Sussex were involved. If we have a combination of Sussex and Ireland, it could be Ed Joyce?

Unfortunately, really quick bowlers tend to be as fragile as biscuits. See Olly Stone, Liam Norwell and many others over the years. There aren't many like Allan Donald who could be relied on to stay fit. Now if someone could bottle his secret.....

I'm getting deja vu with this chat about the skipper. I remember a prolonged debate on the old board about Jim Troughton and whether he was worth his place. I think he had more to worry about than Rhodes.
I like the fact that Rhodes bats at 3. He would probably do better if he batted lower down (remember the "safer at seven" campaign for Jimmy T?), but he puts himself in a vulnerable spot thereby taking one for the team. It's not obvious to me that there is anyone in the seconds battering down the door to take a number 3 batting slot, so well done to Rhodes for the time being. It would be nicer if he scored more heavily but I don't see him as a liability yet.
With the arrival of Barnard, Rhodes' bowling is of less value but it's still there. His other plus is that the team look happy, implying that, as captain, he's doing ok. There have been plenty of times in seasons gone by when the team have looked positively grumpy. Unless we are sure that a replacement captain would manage to maintain a good atmosphere, let's not rock the boat just yet.