The Cricket Thread

Pakistan win by 3 runs

2-2 in the series with one to play .

 

Hampshire bowling first against Warwickshire, Wheal in for Abbott as the only change. Still no Prest

 

I have been racking my brains, trying to think of decent county batsmen we could target over the winter. With Gay (Northants) and Lyth (Yorkshire) recently signing new deals, the only ones I could come up with, who might possibly consider a move, are Bell-Drummond of Kent and Yates of Warwickshire. Sam Hain would be nice as well, but he's another middle order bat and we've got plenty of them already.

Obviously the other plan would be to recruit an overseas batter and then let Wheal or another new signing take Abbas' place, but I don't think we're very likely to do that.

 

Dent is solid enough at Gloucs and Charlesworth shows promise but there's hopefully better options out there somewhere

 

Bell-Drummond is actually contracted until the end of 2023 season and Yates until end of 2024 season. Anyway, we'll just have to keep our eyes peeled for announcements over the winter.

 

We haven't really been in this match at any point, and yet we hold all the cards. I'm sure that Warks would ideally like this to win it organically, by batting once and bowling us out twice. But a combination of the weather and our batting might deny them that chance - in which case, at some point, they might have to call Vince over for a word. And there is no reason for us to entertain setting up any sort of game unless it heavily favours us.

 

Or they could just decide to declare now.

 

Our top 3 doing the business once again I see! You can 'get away with' having Holland in there averaging under 30 (career) as he's basically an all-rounder opening rather than at 7 where we have another proper batsman, but having 2 such players is a stretch and 3 is simply unsustainable. I know Dawson would come back into this side but Prest can't do any worse, surely?

It's great to see youngsters like Organ getting a run in the team, but we need runs from our top order I'm afraid. Organ could go back to number 7 but then where does Donald go? etc. etc. I suppose there's no room for sentiment really in professional sport - we need to be hitting 300 regularly in the first innings to be challenging the likes of Surrey on a long-term basis.

 

Tom Prest needs opportunities now. It's baffling why he wasn't selected for this game TBH.

 

4 down. Hampshire trying hard to get that third place.

 

Yorks will be very pleased Vince has found some form.

 

Somerset played like a team whose season ended with the last match, while Kent managed to start theirs just in time. Would be funny if Gloucs manage to end the season with back to back wins though.

 

H 311 all out = Still a point short of 2nd place.

 

I'm fine with one of Holland or Organ. I like both of them, but we really should only be playing of them. The other, together with Weatherley, shouldn't be in this team.

As Tom pointed out the other day, Gubbins has barely scored a run recently. And that seemingly coincides with the odd decision to drop him down to four in order to accommodate Weatherley. Gubbins was doing fine at three.

 

In a weird sort of way, Warks might have benefitted if they'd let us get to 350.

I'm not saying we wouldn't have been professional for the rest of the match, but after a long hard season we might have just taken the foot off the gas if we'd made 350 and therefore had nothing left to play for. Just look at Surrey this week! We might have even been open to entering into some declaration bowling in order to set up a last day run chase.

But now that the result still matters to us - ie we need to avoid defeat, in order to get 2nd place - Warks are going to have to beat us properly. Albeit with a smaller deficit to overcome than if we'd made 350.

 

Purely from a Hampshire point of view it would have been nice if Yorkshire had won, then Warwickshire would have just let this match wind down to a draw tomorrow, to enable us to secure 2nd place.

 

One session of batting tomorrow, go as hard as possible to get a lead something in the region of 200, and then declare at lunch?

That might be Warks' only chance. If they only set us, say, 150 - or if they bat on way beyond lunch - they'll struggle to take 10 wickets before either we reach the victory target or bad light yet again ends the day.

 

England lost by 5 runs. Muppet batting.

 

Call me cynical, but I suspect that England will win the next match, number six in a seven game series, so that the score is 3-3 going into the 'Winner Takes All' final fixture.

 

Not going to be a declaration at this rate!