Window Cleaner

I suspect that Crane wasn't used at the start of the Lancs innings because we just didn't have enough runs to play with. Probably not a lot in the wicket for him apart from a bit of bowlers footfall rough and we couldn't really afford for him to get tonked. We needed at least another 30 runs and apart from the stalwarts Vince and Dawson the entire side failed with the bat.

You can look at it that way but at the end of the day our batting was nowhere near good enough, the first couple of games of the season apart, but against weak bowling, all season. That has to be corrected if we want to win the championship. We need at least one real opener who knows what to do with dobby seamers bowling straight on favourable wickets. We need to sort out where we are with Aneurin Donald as well, if he's going to play no part again next season he probably needs to be replaced. Need to trim down the fringe players like Fuller and Wood and replace them with serious concurrents for first team places. I see that we've signed Whiteley for the one day games already, that's a start but it's no help for real cricket, ie the CC.

Not going very well in the T20. Hants 81/5 after about 13. Weatherley has made more than half of that total. Batting didn't look anywhere near good enough to trouble Somerset's battery of bowlers overmuch. Still we beat Notts from a similar poor start so who knows.

Yes, a draw was of no value in those days, just whatever bonus points you'd got. Probably why there were so many arranged declarations . Looked at the playing group for tomorrow. Looks a bit weak. No Short, Gubbins doesn't qualify, just the usual regulars and the young players. Somerset on the other hand look to be at nigh on full strength with their test players returning. Might bode ill for tomorrow but perhaps they won't capitulate so easily in next week's championship game.

Yes we wuz robbed. Somewhere along the line Worcs had a dodgy one innings bash that they won because it was in the rules at that time. Can't remember the exact conditions needed for such a match (no play on the first two days or something like that). We didn't match the conditions for a game like that so they got 10 free points or similar and we sat around in the pavilion somewhere or other. Do we have any idea who'll be available for Hants on finals day? Is Short still around and available?

Really? They'd need to either make 400/2 and take 3 Hants wickets or 350/2 and 6. I mean it's possible but I don't see them getting the runs for just 2 down. I'd be more concerned about Warks tonking Somerset in 2 days. Why are Somerset so depleted just now? Have they all gone off to play gig cricket somewhere or other?

I see that some rain is forecast around the Midlands and North West next week. Two days of rain between Tuesday and Friday at Nottingham, Liverpool and Birmingham could make us champions without too much effort.

Not really. Didn't hear the commentators talk about it either. During the Warks match they seemed to think he'd been sub-par against Yorks though and Organ is obviously a better batting option.

Excellent result. Duckett may consider himself unlucky to be given out when he actually was but as he should have been given out when plumb in front a couple of balls earlier I guess that's Nemesis at work. Pitch looked difficult most of the time, especially when Nott's lower order started trying to reverse sweep every other ball.

So, we nned to bowl out Notts for less than 250. Now 250 looked a decent target when Hants were batting but our bowlers don't seem to be getting the same help from the wicket that Notts did. Might be close but just now Notts don't look to be in all that much difficulty.

not even that. Warks collapsed after lunch. 235 all out. Must say the run out looked a bit generous but it made up for the plum in front not given lbw yesterday. Excellent result.

Woeful batting start from Hants this morning. We have just got to sort that out for next season. Keep Holland and drop Weatherley down the vorder and get a real opener in as a priority.

At least we're making a bit of a game of it despite our poor score. Notts will probably win though.

Probably never before. Anyway we are getting absolutely slayed so far. All the real batsmen apart from Prest already gone and only 40 on the score-board. We have to sort the batting out for next season. If we can't get decent overseas players for the T20 it's best not to bother.

T20 quarter this evening. To be honest the batting looks nowhere near good enough to trouble Notts overmuch. No Gubbins, is that because he's ineligible in some way or other or just not available?

Some of them have done well on occasions in this series but not consistently. That said the bowling and some of the fielding was just dire yesterday and there's no real excuse for that. I don't know why Turner didn't play yesterday but Fuller as an opening bowler isn't on. Currie was just rank awful as was Scriven, wayward balls just asking to be thrashed to the boundary by any basically competent batsman. With just 225 to defend they had to bowl consistently on a line and length and they just didn't.

Abysmal performance from Hants today, zero chance of progressing to the quarters. Poor batting and even poorer bowling.

Hants will be lucky to make 200 today, batting is too weak for this competiton unless Gubbins makes a big score, which he hasn't today.

Poor start from the SB men's team today. All 3 Hants players failing dismally. The women's team got a win though.

Could be "ideology" sounds about right.

This is nothing that's not been said before really. I remember a colleague telling me about a book he'd been reading back in the early 80's written by some eminent ecologist or other. His line, from what I remember was that we shouldn't try too hard to eradicate disease in the 3rd world because it would eventually lead to chronic overpopulation to the detriment of all. Wish I could remember the author's name, I'd look it up to see how accurate his thesis has become.

Not me, I don't have access to that series. Apparently it's set up to draw new spectators into the game so it has to be up beat and for the masses doesn't it. Otherwise it would just be T20 with a few less balls. They talked about it a bit on the live stream commentary today and from what I could gather the opinion seemed to be that it was just another variant of the same game which uneccessarily depleted the counties due to the lack of major overseas "stars" ,engaged elsewhere.

Really not great from Hants today. Put in, didn't make anywhere near enough runs to have a defendable total and when we bowled there was no consistency at all. Far too many no balls, wides and leg side balls that were just asking to be clipped to the boundary. Apart from Alsop, who was missing today, I don't see that we have anyone available to make us look more solid in any of the lacking departments. Still we've done well in the CC and qualified in extremis in the T20 so I guess we can afford to dip out in the Royal London. The new bowler Turner did look quite quick and will probably be an asset when he learns to be more consistent.

Seems to be all about getting more international "stars" into domestic cricket and trying to promote the women's game. Now there I watched a bit of the Vipers stream the other day and frankly it's not very good at all. Probably about the standard of Taunton's School second XI when I was in it. Trouble is these ladies are probably getting paid for it. There are probably a few of them who are pretty handy but from the little I've seen they're a distinct minority.

Probably because of the endless stream of pointless international series which get most of the press attention. It seems that when a series ends another one starts a couple of days later. Not to mention the upcoming Hundred competiton, there seems to be a lot of press coverage for that.