Harry Brook is currently playing in a warm up game for Yorkshire against Durham. He's obviously thinks that he's gone to the IPL after all because he's currently on 74* off 42 balls including 10 fours and 4 sixes. Some of the shots he's played are absolutely extraordinary. For anyone who would like to view them, they are here:
Was thinking 'normal Harry Brook', then got to the back-foot cover drive for six. Off the spinner
The look on the faces for that and another of Brook's shot from Ollie Robinson keeping and the slip who was having a chuckle too more or less said "how do we bowl to that?"
Stokes has decided to make himself unavailable for the World Cup in order to build up his fitness with a view to ultimately returning as an all rounder. He has admitted that India highlighted how far behind he was following surgery and nine months without bowling.
Stokes has decided to make himself unavailable for the World Cup in order to build up his fitness with a view to ultimately returning as an all rounder. He has admitted that India highlighted how far behind he was following surgery and nine months without bowling.
Good news for Durham, as he will prioritising red ball cricket before the Tests this summer. It'll be nice for their regulars to see Stokes playing for Durham.
We've debated this before but here, in graphic form, is a comparison utlising the First-class matches played by the English spinners with most Test wickets - and how that compares to the youngsters tried on India tour.
FC matches before debut / Test wickets :
Derek Underwood (1966)
98
297
Graeme Swann (2008)
171
255
Moeen Ali (2014)
114
204
Jim Laker (1948)
22
193
Tony Lock (1952)
108
174
Monty Panesar (2006)
29
167
Fred Titmus (1955)
111
153
John Emburey (1978)
60
147
Hedley Verity (1931)
35
144
Ashley Giles (1998)
55
143
Wilfred Rhodes (1899)
41
127
Jack Leach (2018)
54
126
Tom Hartley (2024)
20
22
Rehan Ahmed (2022)
3
18
Shoaib Bashir (2024)
6 17
So our three all time top wicket taking spinners were all in the top five of the most experienced bowlers before they made their Test debut. Unless one of Hartley, Ahmed or Bashir turns out to be a Laker or Warne then they really do need to play a lot of CC games to gain the requisite experience. It will be interesting to see whether their counties will be selecting them from the outset.
Sri Lanka just set the record for the highest innings total without a player reaching three figures. Scores of 93, 86, 70 and 92 n/o helped make up their innings total of 531 all out.
Previous record held by India who scored 542/9 against New Zealand in 1976.
But 531 is less than 542, so they didnt break the record.
Good article about Durhams Ollie Robinson in the telegraph , suggesting he could be the next in line for the gloves for England.
Also had an article yesterday about James Rew saying he looks like the possible long-term solution if they don't mind he's not a Bazball type, so they are hedging their bets a bit!!
We've debated this before but here, in graphic form, is a comparison utlising the First-class matches played by the English spinners with most Test wickets - and how that compares to the youngsters tried on India tour.
FC matches before debut / Test wickets :
Derek Underwood (1966)
98
297
Graeme Swann (2008)
171
255
Moeen Ali (2014)
114
204
Jim Laker (1948)
22
193
Tony Lock (1952)
108
174
Monty Panesar (2006)
29
167
Fred Titmus (1955)
111
153
John Emburey (1978)
60
147
Hedley Verity (1931)
35
144
Ashley Giles (1998)
55
143
Wilfred Rhodes (1899)
41
127
Jack Leach (2018)
54
126
Tom Hartley (2024)
20
22
Rehan Ahmed (2022)
3
18
Shoaib Bashir (2024)
6 17
So our three all time top wicket taking spinners were all in the top five of the most experienced bowlers before they made their Test debut. Unless one of Hartley, Ahmed or Bashir turns out to be a Laker or Warne then they really do need to play a lot of CC games to gain the requisite experience. It will be interesting to see whether their counties will be selecting them from the outset.
Brings back memories of seeing c knott b underwood in the evening news my dad brought home
England have got into a bad habit of picking young spinners before they are ready, then dumping them for the next youngster. Dom Bess and Matt Parkinson are both England rejects at a young age
Good article about Durhams Ollie Robinson in the telegraph , suggesting he could be the next in line for the gloves for England.
I've suggested that previously, not just because he is a very good keeper but also because his S/R last season at 88.66 was miles clear of any of the other contenders. And there is one other very good reason why he might be given a chance - for what I suspect might be the first time that it has happened, the England captain will get the chance to watch him at close hand and in the same red ball side.
"He's now gone back to the Caribbean where he is going to play a little bit of club cricket and stuff like that, all around getting himself ready for that T20 World Cup.
"Hopefully, he'll play in the Pakistan series, but it is always fingers crossed at the moment with Jofra. What we are going to do is take is slower, rather than go too quickly, so that we can get him back not just for a short period, but a long period.
"The whole plan with Jofra is he's going to play white-ball cricket this summer and going into the winter, and then hopefully next summer when we play India and then onto the Ashes, we get him back for Test cricket. It's a slow process."
"He's now gone back to the Caribbean where he is going to play a little bit of club cricket and stuff like that, all around getting himself ready for that T20 World Cup.
"Hopefully, he'll play in the Pakistan series, but it is always fingers crossed at the moment with Jofra. What we are going to do is take is slower, rather than go too quickly, so that we can get him back not just for a short period, but a long period.
"The whole plan with Jofra is he's going to play white-ball cricket this summer and going into the winter, and then hopefully next summer when we play India and then onto the Ashes, we get him back for Test cricket. It's a slow process."
We've debated this before but here, in graphic form, is a comparison utlising the First-class matches played by the English spinners with most Test wickets - and how that compares to the youngsters tried on India tour.
FC matches before debut / Test wickets :
Derek Underwood (1966)
98
297
Graeme Swann (2008)
171
255
Moeen Ali (2014)
114
204
Jim Laker (1948)
22
193
Tony Lock (1952)
108
174
Monty Panesar (2006)
29
167
Fred Titmus (1955)
111
153
John Emburey (1978)
60
147
Hedley Verity (1931)
35
144
Ashley Giles (1998)
55
143
Wilfred Rhodes (1899)
41
127
Jack Leach (2018)
54
126
Tom Hartley (2024)
20
22
Rehan Ahmed (2022)
3
18
Shoaib Bashir (2024)
6 17
So our three all time top wicket taking spinners were all in the top five of the most experienced bowlers before they made their Test debut. Unless one of Hartley, Ahmed or Bashir turns out to be a Laker or Warne then they really do need to play a lot of CC games to gain the requisite experience. It will be interesting to see whether their counties will be selecting them from the outset.
Despite Leach being out injured, Somerset opted to omit Bashir from their side to play Kent, preferring to use the spin options of Goldsworthy (no FC wickets prior to this match) and the part timer Renshaw (14 FC wickets). The rumour is that Bashir will be sent out on loan but it will be a bit of a game to find a county, especially in the top flight, that will guarantee him selection at this time of year.
We've debated this before but here, in graphic form, is a comparison utlising the First-class matches played by the English spinners with most Test wickets - and how that compares to the youngsters tried on India tour.
FC matches before debut / Test wickets :
Derek Underwood (1966)
98
297
Graeme Swann (2008)
171
255
Moeen Ali (2014)
114
204
Jim Laker (1948)
22
193
Tony Lock (1952)
108
174
Monty Panesar (2006)
29
167
Fred Titmus (1955)
111
153
John Emburey (1978)
60
147
Hedley Verity (1931)
35
144
Ashley Giles (1998)
55
143
Wilfred Rhodes (1899)
41
127
Jack Leach (2018)
54
126
Tom Hartley (2024)
20
22
Rehan Ahmed (2022)
3
18
Shoaib Bashir (2024)
6 17
So our three all time top wicket taking spinners were all in the top five of the most experienced bowlers before they made their Test debut. Unless one of Hartley, Ahmed or Bashir turns out to be a Laker or Warne then they really do need to play a lot of CC games to gain the requisite experience. It will be interesting to see whether their counties will be selecting them from the outset.
Despite Leach being out injured, Somerset opted to omit Bashir from their side to play Kent, preferring to use the spin options of Goldsworthy (no FC wickets prior to this match) and the part timer Renshaw (14 FC wickets). The rumour is that Bashir will be sent out on loan but it will be a bit of a game to find a county, especially in the top flight, that will guarantee him selection at this time of year.
Does seem like there are going to be some counties prioritising spin a bit more this season and producing pitches to suit. Just going by what I've heard counties are saying and selection for the first round of matches.
Lancs picking both Hartley and Lyon and then Surrey's 2 very part time part time spinners taking all 10 wickets in the first innings.
Yorkshire backing Moriarty first game of the season and reportedly putting a lot into him as main spinner. I'm certain surrey will regret the appalling way they've treated him and I'll bet he's in an England squad at some point this summer.
Hampshire will never not play Dawson
Kent with Parkinson as their big name signing
Liecs picking Ahmed in April.
I know its only one game and a pretty low bar but given the weather and the way things have gone the last few seasons its positive signs for spin in the game. Get a hot-ish dry May/June and it will help.
We've debated this before but here, in graphic form, is a comparison utlising the First-class matches played by the English spinners with most Test wickets - and how that compares to the youngsters tried on India tour.
FC matches before debut / Test wickets :
Derek Underwood (1966)
98
297
Graeme Swann (2008)
171
255
Moeen Ali (2014)
114
204
Jim Laker (1948)
22
193
Tony Lock (1952)
108
174
Monty Panesar (2006)
29
167
Fred Titmus (1955)
111
153
John Emburey (1978)
60
147
Hedley Verity (1931)
35
144
Ashley Giles (1998)
55
143
Wilfred Rhodes (1899)
41
127
Jack Leach (2018)
54
126
Tom Hartley (2024)
20
22
Rehan Ahmed (2022)
3
18
Shoaib Bashir (2024)
6 17
So our three all time top wicket taking spinners were all in the top five of the most experienced bowlers before they made their Test debut. Unless one of Hartley, Ahmed or Bashir turns out to be a Laker or Warne then they really do need to play a lot of CC games to gain the requisite experience. It will be interesting to see whether their counties will be selecting them from the outset.
Despite Leach being out injured, Somerset opted to omit Bashir from their side to play Kent, preferring to use the spin options of Goldsworthy (no FC wickets prior to this match) and the part timer Renshaw (14 FC wickets). The rumour is that Bashir will be sent out on loan but it will be a bit of a game to find a county, especially in the top flight, that will guarantee him selection at this time of year.
Does seem like there are going to be some counties prioritising spin a bit more this season and producing pitches to suit. Just going by what I've heard counties are saying and selection for the first round of matches.
Lancs picking both Hartley and Lyon and then Surrey's 2 very part time part time spinners taking all 10 wickets in the first innings.
Yorkshire backing Moriarty first game of the season and reportedly putting a lot into him as main spinner. I'm certain surrey will regret the appalling way they've treated him and I'll bet he's in an England squad at some point this summer.
Hampshire will never not play Dawson
Kent with Parkinson as their big name signing
Liecs picking Ahmed in April.
I know its only one game and a pretty low bar but given the weather and the way things have gone the last few seasons its positive signs for spin in the game. Get a hot-ish dry May/June and it will help.
That does appear to be the case but playing one front line spinner doesn't guarantee playing two especially as most counties have at least one, if not two, that can turn their arm over - Kent, for example, as well as Parkinson have both Denly and Leaning and there's probably not going to be many occasions when they will go in with just two seamers (plus Evison). Ahmed is batting at 6 in Div 2 and Dawson is an all rounder too whereas Bashir isn't so there has to be a bowling only spot available to him and/or Leach at Somerset. In Somerset's current game there wasn't room for either though, undoubtedly, that won't be the case at Taunton where at least one of them will play but not necessarily the other.
Wouldn't be surprised to see James Coles get some England buzz this summer , very handy left arm spinner and middle order batter. Couple of wickets for him yesterday at a usually spin unfriendly Hove.
We've debated this before but here, in graphic form, is a comparison utlising the First-class matches played by the English spinners with most Test wickets - and how that compares to the youngsters tried on India tour.
FC matches before debut / Test wickets :
Derek Underwood (1966)
98
297
Graeme Swann (2008)
171
255
Moeen Ali (2014)
114
204
Jim Laker (1948)
22
193
Tony Lock (1952)
108
174
Monty Panesar (2006)
29
167
Fred Titmus (1955)
111
153
John Emburey (1978)
60
147
Hedley Verity (1931)
35
144
Ashley Giles (1998)
55
143
Wilfred Rhodes (1899)
41
127
Jack Leach (2018)
54
126
Tom Hartley (2024)
20
22
Rehan Ahmed (2022)
3
18
Shoaib Bashir (2024)
6 17
So our three all time top wicket taking spinners were all in the top five of the most experienced bowlers before they made their Test debut. Unless one of Hartley, Ahmed or Bashir turns out to be a Laker or Warne then they really do need to play a lot of CC games to gain the requisite experience. It will be interesting to see whether their counties will be selecting them from the outset.
Despite Leach being out injured, Somerset opted to omit Bashir from their side to play Kent, preferring to use the spin options of Goldsworthy (no FC wickets prior to this match) and the part timer Renshaw (14 FC wickets). The rumour is that Bashir will be sent out on loan but it will be a bit of a game to find a county, especially in the top flight, that will guarantee him selection at this time of year.
Does seem like there are going to be some counties prioritising spin a bit more this season and producing pitches to suit. Just going by what I've heard counties are saying and selection for the first round of matches.
Lancs picking both Hartley and Lyon and then Surrey's 2 very part time part time spinners taking all 10 wickets in the first innings.
Yorkshire backing Moriarty first game of the season and reportedly putting a lot into him as main spinner. I'm certain surrey will regret the appalling way they've treated him and I'll bet he's in an England squad at some point this summer.
Hampshire will never not play Dawson
Kent with Parkinson as their big name signing
Liecs picking Ahmed in April.
I know its only one game and a pretty low bar but given the weather and the way things have gone the last few seasons its positive signs for spin in the game. Get a hot-ish dry May/June and it will help.
That does appear to be the case but playing one front line spinner doesn't guarantee playing two especially as most counties have at least one, if not two, that can turn their arm over - Kent, for example, as well as Parkinson have both Denly and Leaning and there's probably not going to be many occasions when they will go in with just two seamers (plus Evison). Ahmed is batting at 6 in Div 2 and Dawson is an all rounder too whereas Bashir isn't so there has to be a bowling only spot available to him and/or Leach at Somerset. In Somerset's current game there wasn't room for either though, undoubtedly, that won't be the case at Taunton where at least one of them will play but not necessarily the other.
Agree it's not perfect and it's a shame that Bashir didn't get a game and that sides like Surrey don't pick players like Virdi.
But, given its still early april and its been pretty wet, there are positive signs that spin will play a much bigger part innthe county championship than it has for the last 3 or 4 years (as i said - incredibly low bar). Which can only be good for English cricket.
Somerset head coach Jason Kerr has explained why Shoaib Bashir was left out of the XI to face Kent, stating his selection decision was influenced by the weather.
Bashir has been in the headlines throughout the winter after impressing during his debut Test series.
The 20-year-old, who had only played six first-class matches heading into 2024, took 17 wickets at 33.35 in three Tests against India.
Kerr did, however, add that Bashir would likely have played had the match started on time.
"This wicket has been under the covers for the last week and it's rained for the last two days pretty much non-stop, so there's a huge amount of moisture," Kerr said.
"With it being a shortened game, we didn't feel that Bash was going to bowl overs. Due to us being slow with the over rate and the wind being a factor, blowing the bails off, we fell behind, so we needed to use Lewis [Goldsworthy] and Matt Renshaw to accelerate that.
"He was available for selection and I think if it had been a four-day game, there's a good chance he would have played."
Harry Brook is currently playing in a warm up game for Yorkshire against Durham. He's obviously thinks that he's gone to the IPL after all because he's currently on 74* off 42 balls including 10 fours and 4 sixes. Some of the shots he's played are absolutely extraordinary. For anyone who would like to view them, they are here:
Somerset head coach Jason Kerr has explained why Shoaib Bashir was left out of the XI to face Kent, stating his selection decision was influenced by the weather.
Bashir has been in the headlines throughout the winter after impressing during his debut Test series.
The 20-year-old, who had only played six first-class matches heading into 2024, took 17 wickets at 33.35 in three Tests against India.
Kerr did, however, add that Bashir would likely have played had the match started on time.
"This wicket has been under the covers for the last week and it's rained for the last two days pretty much non-stop, so there's a huge amount of moisture," Kerr said.
"With it being a shortened game, we didn't feel that Bash was going to bowl overs. Due to us being slow with the over rate and the wind being a factor, blowing the bails off, we fell behind, so we needed to use Lewis [Goldsworthy] and Matt Renshaw to accelerate that.
"He was available for selection and I think if it had been a four-day game, there's a good chance he would have played."
I suppose it had to happen eventually, but this summer at Edgbaston a legends competition is taking place. In a way it's surprising that it's taken cricket so long to have commercial legends events, as opposed to charity games
Some of the biggest names in international cricket history are set to come together for a new legends tournament at Edgbaston this July.
The World Championship of Legends (WCL) is set to feature big names from England, India, Pakistan, Australia, West Indies and South Africa including Chris Gayle, Brett Lee, Kevin Pietersen, Yuvraj Singh, Shahid Afridi and Jacques Kallis.
The WCL has been developed by Zabawa Entertainment, a Bollywood film and music media production company based across India and Dubai.
No sooner than Shoaib Bashir returns to the Somerset side than Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed are both dropped by Lancashire and Leicestershire respectively. McCullum's message doesn't appear to have reached the counties.
Rob Key in favour of the Kookaburra experiment. I suppose it has enabled spinners to get a proper bowl. It probably has revealed who the properly great seamers are (Sam Cook mostly, but also Porter and some others have looked dangerous). I don't know. Runs have been too easy if anything
Comments
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So our three all time top wicket taking spinners were all in the top five of the most experienced bowlers before they made their Test debut. Unless one of Hartley, Ahmed or Bashir turns out to be a Laker or Warne then they really do need to play a lot of CC games to gain the requisite experience. It will be interesting to see whether their counties will be selecting them from the outset.
"He's now gone back to the Caribbean where he is going to play a little bit of club cricket and stuff like that, all around getting himself ready for that T20 World Cup.
"Hopefully, he'll play in the Pakistan series, but it is always fingers crossed at the moment with Jofra. What we are going to do is take is slower, rather than go too quickly, so that we can get him back not just for a short period, but a long period.
"The whole plan with Jofra is he's going to play white-ball cricket this summer and going into the winter, and then hopefully next summer when we play India and then onto the Ashes, we get him back for Test cricket. It's a slow process."
Lancs picking both Hartley and Lyon and then Surrey's 2 very part time part time spinners taking all 10 wickets in the first innings.
Yorkshire backing Moriarty first game of the season and reportedly putting a lot into him as main spinner. I'm certain surrey will regret the appalling way they've treated him and I'll bet he's in an England squad at some point this summer.
Hampshire will never not play Dawson
Kent with Parkinson as their big name signing
Liecs picking Ahmed in April.
I know its only one game and a pretty low bar but given the weather and the way things have gone the last few seasons its positive signs for spin in the game. Get a hot-ish dry May/June and it will help.
But, given its still early april and its been pretty wet, there are positive signs that spin will play a much bigger part innthe county championship than it has for the last 3 or 4 years (as i said - incredibly low bar). Which can only be good for English cricket.
Somerset head coach Jason Kerr has explained why Shoaib Bashir was left out of the XI to face Kent, stating his selection decision was influenced by the weather.
Bashir has been in the headlines throughout the winter after impressing during his debut Test series.
The 20-year-old, who had only played six first-class matches heading into 2024, took 17 wickets at 33.35 in three Tests against India.
Despite being included in Somerset's 13-strong squad for their County Championship opener, he didn't make the XI after no play was possible on day one in Canterbury.
Kerr did, however, add that Bashir would likely have played had the match started on time.
"This wicket has been under the covers for the last week and it's rained for the last two days pretty much non-stop, so there's a huge amount of moisture," Kerr said.
"With it being a shortened game, we didn't feel that Bash was going to bowl overs. Due to us being slow with the over rate and the wind being a factor, blowing the bails off, we fell behind, so we needed to use Lewis [Goldsworthy] and Matt Renshaw to accelerate that.
"He was available for selection and I think if it had been a four-day game, there's a good chance he would have played."
I suppose it had to happen eventually, but this summer at Edgbaston a legends competition is taking place. In a way it's surprising that it's taken cricket so long to have commercial legends events, as opposed to charity games