County Cricket 2011 Season

Might as well get this so-and-so up and running. Predictions anyone? I think Somerset will win the championship. We'll be relegated , but I can cope with that if we take the Bears down with us.

Meanwhile for those of you slumming it in Div 2, if Surrey don't get promoted this season - heads will roll.

Aye, would be surprised if Surrey don't get promoted. Not as surprised as I'd be if we got promoted, however.

Still, if our young batting side finally all clicks, we'll be tough to beat but our attack isn't the best so we'll find it hard to polish off teams.

I don't think there'll be much Kolpak whinging at Northants this year, which is such a relief (being on here). Tom Brett and Gavin Baker have finally kicked on, which'll help in the bowling.

When does it all start? Middle of April?

Dello wrote:When does it all start? Middle of April?

MCC V Notts starts this Sunday in Abu Dhabi. The championship starts on 8 April. An insanely early start IMO, but the ECB know best of course!

8th of April! Good luck, spinners.

I've still got the winter duvet on.

What I hate is that absolutely everybody derided the schedule last year - not one positive comment about it, they met for their yearly review and did not one thing. Sick in the head.

Blame the 16 game 20/20 and the desire to make the winners available for the Champions League bollocks.

My first ever game at New Road was on 15 May1968, and it was our first chamionship match of the season. Just goes to show how far the start has been pushed back.

Ashes-retainers now. So everything must be hunky-D. Let's all pile round to Giles' house and throw money at hookers getting busy with double-ended dildos.

I saw Requiem For a Dream the other day, y'see...

Essex are going to have a strange season. No bowling at all of any quality.

Yet for T20.... a top 7 of

Cook
Bopara
Shah
Styris
Ten Doeschate
Foster
Napier

There's noise that we're going to get Peter Siddle for the first half of the season.

I don't see why the games can't be punctuated - it's not like the side-mouthed, big-chinned schleps are going to care whether there's a Championship match in between T20s, they're only going to care where the next pint is coming from and whether they can get the clap from fingering Janice behind the Old Hotel End.

It beggar's belief that we're trying to emulate the GuyPL, we're not a hysterical country, jingoism doesn't work in the same way over here. Once it's overhyped, it's hated. Elworthy was mortified, so I hear, about how we've yet again overegged the pudding.

It's unbelievable that counties themselves were complaining of reduced attendances due to too many group games and yet here we are again... same old crap.

Meanwhile, must be a new season approaching - Simon Jones pulls out of MCC opener with an injury
http://www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2011/content/current/story/507497.html

Aye, typical, I'm surprised he even bothers anymore.

MCC squad: Chris Rogers (capt), Stephen Moore, Rahul Dravid (four-day only), Stephen Peters, Dawid Malan, Mohammad Nabi, Steven Davies, Hamid Hassan, Gary Keedy, Paul Muchall, Steve Kirby, Toby Roland-Jones, Sourav Ganguly (T20 only), Omar Ali (12th man)

Blimey. Used to be that the MCC squad was a shadow England XI, save for a student and a pensioner.

I guess with Lions still in the Windies, it's barrel-scraping time.

Moore, Davies, Malan and Roland-Jones being about the only decent types. And I'm guessing with Roland-Jones as I've never seen him, but he always seemed to be in the wickets last season and has a bowling average under 20.

Peters Am Legend. GFY.

I meant decent types as in with the view to playing at a higher level at some point in the future. Peters, Keedy and Kirby are certainly solid county players. Legends even (if you choose to devalue to word so heinously).

But they're not in the side other than as warm bodies.

where's the list of the international signings?

Dello wrote:I meant decent types as in with the view to playing at a higher level at some point in the future. Peters, Keedy and Kirby are certainly solid county players. Legends even (if you choose to devalue to word so heinously).

But they're not in the side other than as warm bodies.

No, not really, only a joke. Yeah, considering we've got tours and injuries up the ying-yang I'm not surprised of the team MCC have sent out. Don't think it's that bad a side either.

Not bad aside from having never heard of Mohammad Nabi, Hamid Hassan, Paul Muchall, and Omar Ali.

I hope Paul Muchall's a better player than Gordon Muchall.

24 years old and yet to play a FC match, I fear he isn't...

Brass Monkey wrote:I don't see why the games can't be punctuated - it's not like the side-mouthed, big-chinned schleps are going to care whether there's a Championship match in between T20s, they're only going to care where the next pint is coming from and whether they can get the clap from fingering Janice behind the Old Hotel End.

It beggar's belief that we're trying to emulate the GuyPL, we're not a hysterical country, jingoism doesn't work in the same way over here. Once it's overhyped, it's hated. Elworthy was mortified, so I hear, about how we've yet again overegged the pudding.

Half the championship will be done and dusted by the end of May, so if it p1sses down for the next ten weeks, the competition will be reduced to a farce.

Nath wrote:where's the list of the international signings?

County ins and out

might be a bit outdated though

Basil wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:I don't see why the games can't be punctuated - it's not like the side-mouthed, big-chinned schleps are going to care whether there's a Championship match in between T20s, they're only going to care where the next pint is coming from and whether they can get the clap from fingering Janice behind the Old Hotel End.

It beggar's belief that we're trying to emulate the GuyPL, we're not a hysterical country, jingoism doesn't work in the same way over here. Once it's overhyped, it's hated. Elworthy was mortified, so I hear, about how we've yet again overegged the pudding.

Half the championship will be done and dusted by the end of May, so if it p1sses down for the next ten weeks, the competition will be reduced to a farce.

It already is a farce if half of it is played before the end of May. How are spinners even going get a game, let alone take wickets? Where are the next generation of out and out fast bowlers going to come from if medium-paced dobbers rule over FC cricket for the majority of a season played mostly in the bowler-friendliest months?

looks like another solid year for the Yorkies...early predictions- pears and essex to be cellar dwellers

horace wrote:looks like another solid year for the Yorkies...early predictions- pears and essex to be cellar dwellers

You might be right about Worcs being relegated, and yet we have more chance of staying up than we did two years ago - Daryl Mitchell is a more dynamic captain than Solanki, and there won't be the noises off about players leaving, so there will be a united dressing room.

Taking 20 wickets in a match is going to be a problem though. Half the seam bowling attack is > 35 and most of the younger ones don't appear to be quite up to the job.

aah well good luck with that Bas...maybe the pears could recruit Bung Lee given the key selection criteria for seamers appears to be must be 35 or thereabouts

horace wrote:aah well good luck with that Bas...maybe the pears could recruit Bung Lee given the key selection criteria for seamers appears to be must be 35 or thereabouts

Lee would have been good, but we couldn't have afforded him. Damien Wright is our overseas player for the first half of the season though.