The Cricket Thread

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Brown just had a massive heave and gave his wicket away. Disgusting as captain to do that. He can do one quite frankly.
 
Yusuf is averaging a horrific 62 with the ball after four games. He only has two more wickets than Jack (whose stats are also painful), despite bowling more than double the number of overs and having the regular benefit of the new ball.

Abbott and Baker are in dire need of support. And the thought that England might take Baker from us later this season...
 
It's quite distubing just how far Hants have fallen in a couple of years. One solitary batting point from 4 matches is alarming and the bowling could do with at least two quality incomings. It is definitely a transitional period and there are a lot of young players who maybe could benefit from a year in Div 2.
 
Saints_Alive said:
It's quite distubing just how far Hants have fallen in a couple of years. One solitary batting point from 4 matches is alarming and the bowling could do with at least two quality incomings. It is definitely a transitional period and there are a lot of young players who maybe could benefit from a year in Div 2.
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I agree that we have some players who could benefit from time in D2. But that should be via the loan system - not due to us playing in D2.

Our recruitment in recent years has been awful. I appreciate that we'll struggle to compete with the likes of Surrey and Warks when it comes to signing players, but so many domestic players move about each season that we really should have done better.

Even in the Blast, we managed to lose Howell and then fail to persuade Moeen to join as his replacement, or indeed recruit anyone else. Now sure, that's only one position (but still an important one). But the side has a number of older players who won't be around for much longer.
 
RAWMOK, you should be very happy tonight with Kent winning a four day game!!! Strange things happening there. As for Middlesex, they are experts in killing the game as a spectacle these days. And very disappointing to have got a second rate South African - Bosch- and played him at the expense of one of their younger bowlers.
 
Saints_Alive said:
It's quite distubing just how far Hants have fallen in a couple of years. One solitary batting point from 4 matches is alarming and the bowling could do with at least two quality incomings. It is definitely a transitional period and there are a lot of young players who maybe could benefit from a year in Div 2.
Click to expand...

I would love the return of the one division but given the numbers, each county would only play each other once. 17 4 day matches. Doable, as there are a lot of redundant days in the calendar. Squeeze up the T20 a bit more, and then there is room for these 4 day matches.
 
tomw24 said:
So Orr has not been called up by Scotland after all. Presumbaly we've told him he'll be playing at Essex.
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There must have been some sort of falling out behind the scenes with Orr, it's the only reason to explain his odd treatment since we've signed him. Of course, sod's law, he'll get a duck now if we do go ahead and pick him! In my opinion, he's been the best batter signing we've made in recent times and I can't see any other explanation for not picking him every game.
 
No Orr in the squad but Fuller, Daws and Lehmann are in. Hopefully we'll go:

Albert
Gubbins
Prest
Lehmann
Brown
Mayes
Daws
Fuller
Abbott
Yusuf
Baker
 

Australian North set to be England selector​

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IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,
Marcus North played 21 Tests for Australia, including two Ashes series
By
Stephan Shemilt
Cricket Correspondent
Updated 3 minutes ago
England are set to appoint former Australia international Marcus North as their new national selector.

As first reported in the Telegraph, the 46-year-old has been chosen after final interviews this week.

The move is not finalised, but North would become the first foreigner in charge of selecting the England men's team.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has not commented.

North, who played 21 Tests for Australia, has a long association with the English domestic game.

Since 2018 he has been director of cricket at Durham, one of the six counties for whom he played first-class cricket. At Durham, North has worked alongside England Test captain Ben Stokes.

North is poised to replace Luke Wright in the most significant change in England's backroom staff since the 4-1 Ashes defeat.

The departure of Wright, who served as selector for more than three years, was a personal decision and not linked to the loss in Australia.
North will join head coach Brendon McCullum, director of cricket Rob Key and the Test and limited overs captains – Stokes and Harry Brook – in selecting England squads, with some input on the final XI for matches. Performance director Ed Barney and head of player identification David Court are also involved in selection.

North's brief will include involvement in selection for England Lions, liaising with counties and leading a team of scouts.

Under McCullum, England have often ignored proven performers from county cricket in favour of the players they believe to have the attributes for international cricket. It will perhaps be North's role to provide balance to England's methods.

He may only have a limited involvement in the process of choosing a squad for the first Test against New Zealand, beginning at Lord's on 4 June.

The squad is set to be named in the week beginning 18 May, with an England training camp in Loughborough commencing on 25 May.

In the aftermath of the heavy loss in Australia, Stokes' team are likely to be looking for a new opener to replace Zak Crawley.

Durham's Emilio Gay and Somerset's James Rew would be the leading contenders, and could both be named in the squad for the first Test.

The identity of England's frontline spinner and seamers to join the fast-bowling department would also be up for discussion.

Around 80 candidates submitted applications for the selector job in April. These were then whittled down by initial conversations, leading to the final interviews.

In inviting applications, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it was looking for "significant professional experience and intimate knowledge of international and first-class cricket, including knowledge of emerging players and county network".

The ECB added that applicants should have "demonstrable experience of informing talent identification", "a strong understanding of data and analytics within cricket" and "the ability to manage relationships with cricketers at international and county levels".

Analysis - Australian North has a deep connection with English game​

It may seem left-field for England to put an Australian in charge of selection, but Marcus North has a deep connection with the domestic game in this country through his playing and administration careers.

England have been criticised for the time it has taken to make this appointment – Luke Wright's departure was announced in January, almost four months ago.

Each county has already played four matches at the start of the season, which the new selector could have been across in the build-up to the series against New Zealand.

But North can hit the ground running, drawing on his own experience of playing Test cricket and his knowledge of county cricket.

He will know the options England have at their disposal when it comes to finding an opener, a spinner and some seamers, and what it takes to succeed at the highest level.

In promoting from county cricket, the appointment of North might help build some more bridges in the strained relationship between the counties and the England hierarchy.

Given England's recent struggles down under and with a home Ashes series little more than a year away, having an Australian in the backroom can be no bad thing, either.

In the early days of the Brendon McCullum era, plenty of England's punts hit the ground running. Ben Duckett returned to Test cricket with instant success, and the likes of Will Jacks, Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith all started well.

Latterly, England's selections have gone awry. Experiments involving Dan Lawrence opening the batting, or picking Josh Hull after a handful of first-class matches, have resulted in neither man being seen since.

In Australia, neither Zak Crawley nor Ollie Pope repaid the long-term faith shown in them. Bashir did not play and there was no reserve keeper to take the struggling Smith out of the firing line.

It might be North's job to add a touch of a pragmatism to England's hunches. The gaps in England's team are obvious. Now North has to help McCullum, Rob Key and co to identify the players with the best chance of succeeding at the highest level.
 
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