Category: County Cricket

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Tasmania v South Australia at Hobart, Sheffield Shield, 11th Match

Over the last few weeks, I have let this blog slowly slip through my fingers.

I don’t mean to be so dramatic, but if you knew me, you would know that’s just how I am: dramatic.

Not only have I been putting off posting, I have been more or less ignoring the sport all together.

And I feel like I have written this post, and nothing but this post, for the last few weeks.  It’s almost as if I have run out of things to write about.

That’s right, despite the fact that the topic of this blog is a sport that has been around for 150 years, features year round competition, and is constantly amazing me with its stories and its controversies, I cannot find a topic to write about.

I mean, how many times can I write about the weather in Dhaka and a stadium in Guyana?  Not as often as I would hope, it seems.

So despite the fact that there is SO MUCH HAPPENING in cricket right now, (India v the West Indies, South Africa v Australia, Pakistan v Sri Lanka (mouth watering!), the spot fixing trial in London, not to mention domestic competitions throughout the southern hemisphere,) I need to get back to basics: the English County Game.  With sprinklings of the aforementioned tours and tournaments here and there.

This will start tomorrow with my post on the 2011 County Champions, Lancashire.  I will go over their history, their stadia, their celebrity fans, their heroes, and their villains.  And I promise to not make it a copy and paste job from their wiki page.  After Lancashire, I will write about Mick Jagger’s preferred club, Kent, followed by Sussex, and then each division 1 and maybe division 2 county cricket club.  That should last me through the winter, and maybe re-inspire this blog a little.

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Back on the pitch, India is taking a 600 run lead into day three against the West Indies.  Of course, the Windies have eight wickets in hand and it is only the first innings, but it looks as though Dhoni is determined to regain his country’s number one test rating, as he put up 144 off of only 175 balls at the crease earlier today.

That is the only big international match happening right now.  The 2nd (and, sadly, final) test between South Africa and Australia starts on the 17th, and the third of five ODIs between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai starts on the 18th.  I missed the tests of that series during my hiatus, unfortunately.

Okay, until tomorrow, when I bring you: Lancashire.

Oh, and also: this is my 100th post.  Better late than never, right?  RIGHT!?

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England v India at Cardiff, 5th ODI

Well, congrats to Lancashire on their first County Championship in 77 years.

What’s funny, but not “haha” funny, is that 77 years ago the world was embroiled in a financial crisis just as it is now.  Which means, of course, that it is Lancashire’s fault that I am upside down on my home.

But really, no really, congrats to Lancashire.  It is quite the achievement.  And it was fun to watch the Championship being decided in the last session of the last day of the summer.  The internet was alive with the county game yesterday.  It’s not dead yet, folks.  In fact, I think the game in all its formats and leagues is having a bit of a renaissance this summer.

Of course, after reading articles about Lancashire, I immediately wanted them to be my preferred county.  But then I remembered that that would ruin my blogging plans for the winter, so that was out the window.  Plus they play their home matches at Old Trafford, so far obvious reasons, they can never, EVER, be my team.

On the pitch, today is the last ODI between England and India at Cardiff. India are, erm, stuttering along at 3 runs an over through 7.2 after England won the toss and chose to field.

So with the County Championship over, and England’s summer international season 93 overs (at best) away from concluding, we can finally start saying goodbye to what was a really fun summer of cricket.  I had a blast blogging about it anyway.  From that awesome final day at Lord’s, to the run out that wasn’t, to the Friends Life t20, to Sangakkara’s speech…so many highlights.  Been a great summer.  Look for recap here next week.

Okay that’s it for today.  I am off to follow the above ODI, as well as Pakistan v Zimbabwe, and I need to read the bulletin on the first day of Sri Lanka v Australia.

There is always cricket.

Until tomorrow.

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Middlesex v Surrey at Lord’s, Friends Life t20, South Group

On the days I ride my bike, like today, like yesterday, it is very hard to get my head clear again to write a blog post.  You think it would be the opposite, that my thoughts would be crystallized after 90 minutes of pedaling, but it is not.  So, like most days, bear with me, eh?

Yesterday, (click here for a tweet of a wonderful picture of the ground) England routed Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI by 10 wickets at Trent Bridge, leveling the series at two a piece, with the decider on Saturday.  I was supposed to be on a bicycle pub crawl brewery tour…thing…on Saturday, but it was cancelled last minute.  So instead, I will be at the computer with willow-dot-teevee, instant coffee, and my stats homework.

At Trent Bridge, Anderson showed why he is still England’s number one ODI bowler, despite his recent World Cup flop.  I was able to watch a bit of Sri Lanka’s innings last night, and I was struck by how consistent his line and his length were – it really is like watching a metronome.

Dernback also took three wickets, Bresnan two, and, YES, Broady took two, as well.  Both of the t20 captain’s were a bit on the lucky side, but sometimes that’s what a quality player needs to pull himself out of a slump.  Remember what the football announcers always say: form is temporary, quality is permanent.  (However, they do also say things like “2-nil is the most dangerous score in football” and “Wayne Rooney doesn’t dive” – so all with a grain of salt or two, then).

On the batting side, for England, Cook and Kieswetter went unbeaten for 171 (via D/L).  The captain was a few short of his century, but I think the result was what mattered to him.

You have to feel a little badly for Sri Lanka – the pitch was perfectly rolled for the England bowlers to take early wickets, so they really never got going.  Chandimal and Dilshan both went for ducks, and Jayawardene only scored 9 off of 12 before being caught by Trott at slip.

The always classy Sangakkara hit for 75, but it just wasn’t enough to get them to the 230 or 240 that they were going to need.

I am still not sure why Dilshan chose to bat after winning the toss, though.

Either way, on to Old Trafford for the deciding ODI.  Once that is over, we can all start getting excited for India’s visit.  And then international cricket really kicks off, and goes all the way through the spring.  Of course, most of the matches will be in Australia and in the middle of the night, Minneapolis time, but such is the life of an American cricket writer.

In Dominica: it is raining.

Now back to work, I am going to try and follow a bit of county cricket today, so look for some of my inane, cliched, and thoroughly borrowed commentary over on twitter.

Until tomorrow.

Update: the ICC just tweeted that the England v India ODI in Kolkata has been moved from 26 October to 25 October.

Which begs the question: England is in India this fall?  It is not on Cricinfo’s unofficial FTP, but it is on the the ICC’s official version.  Huh, I guess I know which one to trust now.

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Ireland v Namibia at Belfast, ICC Intercontinental Cup One-Day, 2nd Match

A few days ago, I mentioned that the Scotland-Holland ODI in Aberdeen was not, NOT, part of the ICC Intercontinental Cup one day series.  Well, it turns out it was.  I am seriously so confused these days when it comes to the Associates, and I am convinced, CONVINCED, that the ICC left them out of the 2015 World Cup purely because of how…difficult…the Associates are.

For those new to the game, there are several levels of status in World Cricket.  There are the Test Nations – those countries with full member status.  These are nations that have proven over many years that they are capable of playing the game at the highest possible level.  England, India, Australia…etc.

The Associates, on the other hand, are nations with lesser developed programs.  Nations such as Ireland, the Netherlands, Afghanistan, Canada…etc.

Then there are the Affiliates (Nepal, Thailand, Uganda, the USA…etc).

The associates and the affiliates all play in various tournaments which I am not, NOT, going to explain again (yes, I have used that meme three times now, so what?) with the ultimate goal of becoming full member nations and playing tests against England at Lord’s, getting backstage passes to Take That at Wembley, being able to get away with high fashion sunglasses in the field, and of course getting lots of followers on Twitter.

Despite the fact that I did want to point out that the match in the title of this post actually does not take place until tomorrow, I really do not want to talk about the Associates for a very long time.  I write about them far too much in this blog.

I will say, though, that the ICC are idiots for trimming the t20 World Cup.  Serious, fucking, idiots.

In other world cricketing news, Sri Lanka have simply hammered England in the last

(hold on, I am watching Mexico-Chile in the Copa America and goodness that was a beautiful goal from Mexico. one of the best headers I have seen in a very long time.  who scored that?  will he sign for Arsenal? of course he won’t.)

(I am watching it online on Univision, the commentary is in Spanish.  Seriously, it is not very multi-cultural for me to say this, but the GOOOAAALL (ad nauseum) call when a team scores is the most annoying thing in world sport.  full stop.  otherwise I almost prefer the commentary, it is easier to tune out).

hammered England in the last two ODIs.  There are calls for almost everyone in the entire squad to be dropped, taken out, and shot.  But despite the moaning, I bet the squad will unchanged on Wednesday in Nottingham.  Again, I plan, PLAN on waking up early to catch a few overs.  This is something I really need to start making happen.  For England’s sake, hopefully it is damp, as the whole “Sri Lanka can’t play in the cold and wet” theory has legs.

That’s it for now.  I am hoping, HOPING, that there will be time to write tomorrow.  (Yes, that was on purpose).

Oh, I did want to mention how cool I think it is that the Friend’s Life t20 uses the quaint old grounds for their matches.  Today, for instance, Sussex played at the Whitgift School ground.  I love that when I go on my cricket-bicycle-pub-crawl, I will barely have to leave London, and I will still get to see so many wonderful grounds.

Blog resolution: more about county cricket, less about the Associates.

Until tomorrow.

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Lahore Lions v Rawalpindi Rams at Faisalabad, Faysal Bank Super Eight T-20 Cup, Semi-Final

As I was falling asleep last night, my brain was swimming, SWIMMING, with topics to write about this morning.  I must have used them all up in my dreams as I am utterly empty headed right now.

One bit of news yesterday from the ICC meetings in Hong Kong, the number of teams in the t20 World Championships (I think that’s what it is called) was reduced from 16 to 12, which means only two of the associate or affiliate nations will be able to compete in the tournament this fall.

One would think that the ICC would know better:  don’t tick off the Associates. They are already planning a protest.

There was really no explanation behind the move.  It probably was simply a trade off for increasing the teams participating in the 2015 World Cup from 10 to 14.  But I seriously do not get it: why is the ICC so hell bent on limiting the growth of the game?  We are are global society, and for cricket to compete, in needs to globalize itself.  This means allowing non-test countries to compete in all ICC events.

What’s really bizarre is that Associate Qualification is already well under way.  Only now there are only two spots up for grabs, instead of six.  Imagine if FIFA, halfway through a world cup cycle, changed the format of the tournament?  The world would end!  Furthermore: they would never do that!  Because that would be insane!

Also:

BIG BASH!!

Last night I was watching the first few episodes of Two Pricks at the Ashes, the precursor to The Chuck Fleetwood Smiths (aka, the Two Chucks).  These were from late last year, before the show was gobbled up by the Worldwide Leader.  Very entertaining, if a tad rough.

It seems the two guys simply met while covering the Ashes in Australia and started making a video podcast which, not a few months later, was acquired by ESPN.  It’s wild to think how all of that can happen so fast.  I mean, I realize these guys are not superstars or anything, but it is, well, inspiring.

Oh, and one of the Chucks has another book coming out this summer.  I am looking forward to it. I am judging a book by its cover here, but it looks like Hunter S Thompson is alive, well, and writing about the Ashes:

Now here is a topic to write about, now that we are nearly done: entire libraries have been filled with books about cricket.  And as such I have been having a terrible time picking one to read, so I have read none of them.  I think the above might be my first one.  I also was intrigued by A Last English Summer.  More than anything, I want to read about the county game, but I don’t want to slog through 500 pages of county history.  I will figure something out.  Or maybe I will write my own.

On the pitch: rain in Bridgetown, semi-finals in Pakistan (hey, ball by ball!), and a full slate of county games to follow.

(It is positively crazy that Cricinfo has ball by ball for Pakistani domestic t20, but not for English county games. It must be a copyright issue).

And two more things: the Future Tours Programme (PDF, big file) was ratified by the ICC yesterday.  Loads of interesting things to talk about going forward (it is seriously crazy that the next decade of international cricket is for all intents and purposes already planned), but I will save that discussion for another day.

Quickly though, it looks like Pakistan is, interestingly enough, slated to host England next year, I am assuming that is going to be at a neutral venue though, unfortunately.

Why, unfortunately?  Because for some reason I get a ton of clicks when I mention Faisalabad stadium.

It does look like international cricket will be returning to Pakistan soon, however, as Bangladesh are scheduled for a test series there in 2012.

Finally, it looks like there is going to be a World Test Playoff in England, in 2013.  I think I am going to make a real effort to get there.

Until tomorrow.

BIG BASH!!

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Scotland v Netherlands at Aberdeen, 2nd ODI

I thought for sure the above match was part of the ICC’s plan for an ODI tournament for the Associates, which would run alongside the Intercontinental Cup.  But it seems it is simply just part of a Dutch tour of England and Scotland.  Hm.  The ICC just needs to come up with a plan for the Associates and stick. with. it.  Every 18 months or so it seems like a new process our tournament is being announced to slowly feed the Associates into full Member status.  It is oh so confusing.  Hopefully this latest complicated structure of matches will do the trick.

Okay, I just spent 15 minutes reading about the Intercontinental Cup, the Intercontinental Shield, the World Cricket League Division 2 and holy crap now I am even more confused.   But, wait, I just found this article over on (where else?) ESPNCricinfo – wonderfully entitled:  The Mystery Unraveled. While that post is a tad old, it does clear it up a little, I guess.

But I still have found very little about this mysterious ODI tournament for the Associates – isn’t that simply the World Cricket League, division one?

Maybe this is why the ICC tried to leave the Associates out of the 2015 World Cup.  The qualification process would be just too laborious.

Alas*, the ICC changed its mind yesterday and expanded the 2015 World Cup to 14 teams.  They probably just could have made it 11 and allowed Ireland to play, as they seemed to be more upset about the snub than anyone.  I will freely admit, however, that I don’t read a great deal about Afghani or Kenyan cricket.

(Not really “alas”, as I am happy they expanded it).

Back on the pitch: England destroyed Sri Lanka yesterday in a rain shortened ODI.  It was a good old fashioned thumping, thanks mainly to James Anderson and his four early wickets.  Swann also took three, while poor Stuart Broad was 0-32.  Down in Bridgetown, the pitch is the man of the match so far, with yesterday seeing 13 wickets in the first day’s play.  Back in England, Sussex are finally playing a County Championship match again – it feels like it has been nothing but t20 for them lately.  Unfortunately, it is showing, as they have lost five early wickets. Nash, Joyce, Wright…all gone.

Oh, and finally, while reading the early notes on the test match in Bridgetown, I learned players can earn up to one million USD for playing in Australia’s t20 tournament – also known as the Australian BIG BASH.  Which is, seriously, and excuse me, the dumbest fucking name for anything…ever.  I will take corporate sponsorship names for tournaments over that any day.  What’s next, is MLB going to rebrand itself as AMERICAN SUPER HOME RUN TOWN? Or maybe the Friends Life NOTHING BUT SIXES?

Why am I shouting?

The ESPNCricinfo commentator says it right: give me test cricket any day.

I don’t mind twenty20 cricket, but this super premiere league cash grabs just feel…gross.  And there is just one after another after another.  I guess I am on the anti-t20 bandwagon now.

But I am still excited to watch the Sri Lankan Premiere League on ESPN3.  Mostly because I like the league’s name.

I am fickle.

Until tomorrow.