Window Cleaner

So Durham in September, might be a tall order for us. Toss would be important. I think there are some England South Africa short format games at that epoque so we might be robbed of Dawson and won't probably be able to get our South Africans back.

Still not at all bad to make the play-off stage. 

As a general comment on the T20 blast overall this season, I've been a bit surprised about the general poor quality of the bowling in most of the teams I've seen. Some of it is just destined to be hit over the boundaries, too short, too wide, a lot of full tosses. Seems that good bowlers avoid T20 nowadays. Sussex the other day were particularly poor, don't know if they have injuries or international calls but it was Club standard. Mind you batting has evolved, a few years back 160 was about par, now it would seem to be 180+.

14 minutes ago, Andrew Watson said:

Why the hell did we sign Baker ? Threw game away in the end. Feel sorry for Vince and Dawson.

Well, the game was always finely balanced. No one feat turned it either way, just a combination of events. Currie's catch could have won it for us but they hit a couple of sixes when they really needed to.

How has this come about?  Well in my humble opinion, nepotism and cost cutting would be likely candidates.

We have players,, perhaps other staff as well who contribute sfa and no doubt get paid at the end of the month.

Oh, well played Sirs, a mere 458 behind on the first innings. Zero batting points. 

Perhaps the problem isn't the ball but the bowlers using it.

28 minutes ago, Dark Munster said:

Nobody else likes it either. Just Hants luck they play against the weakest team having to bowl with a tennis ball. Maybe twice since they play them again soon.

Using this ball for some matches, along with playing some teams once and others twice, makes county cricket championship Mickey Mouse. 

Never mind, we're getting a look at our full range of part-time bowlers.

6 minutes ago, stevegrant said:

I'm led to believe that we are actively recruiting for NEXT season already. The rules in county cricket are utterly ridiculous, that counties are already allowed to talk to players with expiring contracts regarding signing for next season, so we've been doing that. It can't be all that helpful to their current teams, though - would imagine the non-Hundred counties have a lot of rolling contracts so will have most of their first XI up for renewal this winter, and if any of them have interest from elsewhere, it could be a big distraction.

Problem of fixed term contracts in every sector.  Employment law in most countries allows you to start your research for a new job in the last 6 months of any fixed tem contract. Some countries even let you take a lot of time off to attend interviews etc.

14 minutes ago, stevegrant said:

The pitch seems to have just died on its arse today, don't think we've necessarily bowled badly (although Fuller's first spell today was pretty wayward) but it's been very easy for them to accumulate runs this afternoon. Frustrating as this is one of those games where we'd have targeted victory against a team below us, but we'll extend the gap to the relegation zone by a few bonus points, and we have Worcestershire home and away in the next three games.

Not really a question of relegation. We just seem so disorganised this season. Minor changements seem to throw us out of sync so easily, like our T20 campaign so far. But what irks me most is our tendency to try to shoe in players who are long past their useful shelf life all of the time. Weatherly, Organ, Wood should all be long gone let alone playing. There's also the question young players not really progressing. Still season is half over, roll on next season.

Why is Fuller bowling?  It's just free runs for Essex. What is the point of Organ exactly? Not bowling and he's a bit part batter at best. There must be someone more appropriate in the group of players. 

I am beginning to doubt Brown's captaincy to be honest.

Essex look to be trying to bat out the majority of the day. Might be a borefest as our bowlers don't look to be getting any sort of help from the pitch.

Ah scrub that. only 10 Hampshire players on the cricinfo list. Tilly plays. 

So, it seems that Essex have chosen to bat first. According to Cricinfo the new overseas batter and Turner didn't make the starting 11. two spinners included. 

Turner isn't going to make the grade is he !

Right, back to the serious stuff today.  Championship cricket. Erkk Chelmsford, no doubt a Harmer special wicket has been prepared. Some changes apparent in our 13. seems no Stoneman or Wheal, Barker not yet requalified I suppose. Jack and Orr get their chance perhaps. 

WTF is this batting ?? One shot wonders and yet another caught heaving over midwicket.

Must be concentrating on the One Day cup, at least there'll be real cricketers.

As I said, totally predictable, the old heave-ho over midwicket. 

5 hours ago, Hodgey said:

Due to travel I only saw the bowling, but what was going on with our tactics to Smeed - banging them in right into his arch, seemed totally brainless. 
without Dawson and Howell that was going to be a 230 min score. Wood is too old, Fuller shouldn’t really be in a top level team, and the youngsters are a bit wayward.

On that pitch 210 was gettable, and looks like we started well but then slowed down and lost wickets as the required rate crept up. Once Brevis and Vince were gone that was it.

Closer game than Surrey though…
 

 

The commentators, Somerset people I think, kept on about our bowling tactics, said they were incomprehensible.

Vince plays shots, the two south Africans, whilst good to watch, err don't, long handle short format stuff, which is what you need I suppose. But a decent captain can set a field that will get them eventually.

Anyway, until we fix the bowling we won't have much chance against the better sides. Will probably win against Gloucs this evening though.

I've watched all 4 games so far, mostly pretty good stuff. Yesterday we struggled with their Power Play bowlers, who it must be said bowled pretty well, pinned us down. Our bowling was lacklustre yesterday because on that sort of wicket and short boundary, seamers are going to get hit if they stray off line by a nanometer or so. We lacked a tidy bowler for yesterday's conditions and 177 wasn't enough.  

Indeed excellent bowling by Currie.

I see that the two South African batters are called up for their series against Zimbabwe, end of juin I think.

Will that leave us 2 batters short for the T20?

20 hours ago, Andrew Watson said:

As an aside I know that Prest and Albert are out of form and low of confidence,surely the only way to change that is graft and fight,aside from time in the seconds,3 of their 4 dismissals in this game were down to attrocious shot selection. As for the Stoneman experiment it is just not working, is their anyone at the club able to forcibly tell the players it is just not good enough ? I doubt it. Not replacing Vince,even for this one season,was another awful decision.

 

I suspect that the players know that it's not good enough. The question being can they do anything about it. For me it's roughly the same situation as the football, when the players aren't good enough then there's not much that they can do about it really. From my point of view, we're trying to run on a low cost basis and haven't recruited better players for some reason or other. I'm all for giving home grown a chance but some of them get more chances than others.

We've shipped out  players  as useful as Middleton, Prest and Albert without a second thought so something's not quite right there. 

Also the Barker situation isn't helping, although as a bit of an oldie I don't know how performant he'll be after a year out of first class cricket. Perhaps he'll play some white ball, doesn't usually.

Yet again another Bank Holiday Monday goes by with no cricket, can't be good for the finances.

3 hours ago, Gloucester Saint said:

We didn’t make the most of the bowling conditions, I’ll give you that, and Baker/Abbas as a trade hasn’t worked out, but the top order has been pathetic this season, and this match, Dawson, Brown and the tail couldn’t bail them out as they have been. Vince is the bigger loss of the two. Stoneman was never the answer averaging low 30s in D2, we’ve got Albert if we want someone to block and not get it off the square. A quality overseas top order batter was what Hants needed, not Brett Hampton. Has Rasmus branched out into cricket?

Well I don't think you can compare Abbas and Baker anyway. To see Wheal opening the bowling saddens me, he is just a plug away average seamer who'll always be a bit part player in any respectable side. Turner needs to be told to stop bowling short, good pace, but it's oft so wild.

The batting is a catastrophy, any decent seamer who can bowl straight and pitched up will as likely as not destroy us.

As I've said before, we need change from the top down. 

2 minutes ago, Andrew Watson said:

Window Cleaner I will never understand how Giles White has been allowed to say so long. Perhaps the Indians will have more input next year.

Something is evidently radically wrong at the club. Perhaps they've all got some virus or other but I'd doubt that. The dropped catches, the wild bowling apart from Abbott and the shaky batting and village green shots isn't just a coincidence in my view.

19 minutes ago, Andrew Watson said:

The rate that we are going, Notts would not even had to bat again,if they had had a slightly bigger lead in the first innings. Totally shambolic why  did we bother with Stoneman [ Cheap ? ] and Prest for all his talent has got to learn to knuckle down when we are up against it.

To me Prest looks like a Vince bis, just can't resist a swish against wide balls.

The rest is just undisciplined rubbish right now, club needs a total shake-up, starting with White and the head coach.

12 hours ago, Picard said:

With IPL in  limbo I wonder how soon Brevis could start playing for Hants.

T20.   

What we need right now is a bowler, our bowling is lamentable this morning. Prest not helping once again by dropping a routine catch in the deep.

We'll lose here unless the weather intervenes.

8 minutes ago, badgerx16 said:

Abbas working his way through our middle order.

Doesn't look a particularly difficult thing to do though. Technique against accurate bowling sorely lacking. Abbas isn't even that fast, but it's straight and not short.

Think we might even be asked to follow on. 

23 minutes ago, Andrew Watson said:

Far too reliant on one man Kyle Abbott,where will be next year without him ?  [ Unless he  surprisingly or unlikely carries on ] Certainly do not expect the club to get next years 4 day recruitment right, yet again.

Depends on the new owners I suppose. From what was said by the commentary team today, it would seem that the affaires are still being run by the old team until about October.

Wheal opening the bowling says cut priced affair to me.   

21 minutes ago, leesaint88 said:

Notts starting to steady themselves now. I had hope before lunch...

Well, as we wasted a goodly part of the advantages given by the new ball and the helpful wicket this morning, we are now paying the price.

Two of the dropped catches were just ordinary, don't miss those.

Wicket for Abbott, umpire couldn't refuse that one, probably tried though.