There's 1 from 3 so far for Nasser's director captain coach
suggestion..

max.it

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On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 14:25:05 +0100, max.it <max@tea.time> wrote:

>
>There's 1 from 3 so far for Nasser's director captain coach
>suggestion..

Helpfully, various journalists have been scouring Key's previous
utterances to see what he's likely to do. There is no Key Plan fully
worked out and ready for adoption tomorrow, though I doubt whether
that will discourage jzf from nitpicking as though these gleanings are
Holy Writ.

He's clear that the sole justification for the county championship's
existence is to provide a steady stream of players for Test cricket,
which is still extremely lucrative in TV rights terms. It may well
have other benefits, but if there were no need to produce Test
players, it would be unnecessary.

He'd have three 6-team divisions with promotion and relegation, so
that's a ten-round competition. F-c cricket in April being a waste of
time, he'd play the 50-over stuff then and not start the championship
until May. He's also suggested a best-of-the-rest f-c competition to
run alongside the 100, though what that might mean I haven't much
clue. Somewhere in there would also be a T20 Blast with a Finals Day
in September.

That seems like a coherent outline which makes sense from a cricketing
point of view. CC gets played on better pitches; what's interesting,
in a way, is that it implies the 50-over comp is no longer the cash
cow it was 30 years ago. (So much for T20 being a passing fad....)

Cheers,

Mike

On Monday, April 18, 2022 at 10:12:29 PM UTC+10, Mike Holmans wrote:
> Helpfully, various journalists have been scouring Key's previous
> utterances to see what he's likely to do. There is no Key Plan fully
> worked out and ready for adoption tomorrow, though I doubt whether
> that will discourage jzf from nitpicking as though these gleanings are
> Holy Writ.

HAHA!

That made me do some google.

It looks as if Rob Key thinks... omg... this is amazing... County Cricket is not producing Test-ready players and the main reason for that is... wow...
what an amazing coincidence... the shit pitches in County Cricket.

Fuck me, it's almost as if I'm some kind of cricket Nostradamus working out this stuff myself from 10,000miles away.
Hint: I didn't, I just read what people have been saying for 30 years AND didn't dismiss it because I'm a rabid England fan who can't accept the truth.

On Monday, April 18, 2022 at 10:12:29 PM UTC+10, Mike Holmans wrote:
> F-c cricket in April being a waste of
> time, he'd play the 50-over stuff then and not start the championship
> until May
> CC gets played on better pitches;

Selective snipping.
You really need to open your mind about the pitch situation.
Here's what this Rob Key fellow says;

"Less so with the time games are played, although that is a factor, as I think pitches are bad mid-season, as well at the start and the end. If you look at the runs scored last year, there were more in April than at other periods".

but what would he know. He's not a groundsman, right? Only groundsmen are allowed opinions on pitches, right? You said that, no?

On Monday, 18 April 2022 at 14:03:56 UTC+1, jzfre...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Monday, April 18, 2022 at 10:12:29 PM UTC+10, Mike Holmans wrote:
> > F-c cricket in April being a waste of
> > time, he'd play the 50-over stuff then and not start the championship
> > until May
> > CC gets played on better pitches;
> Selective snipping.
> You really need to open your mind about the pitch situation.
> Here's what this Rob Key fellow says;
>
> "Less so with the time games are played, although that is a factor, as I think pitches are bad mid-season, as well at the start and the end. If you look at the runs scored last year, there were more in April than at other periods".
>
> but what would he know. He's not a groundsman, right? Only groundsmen are allowed opinions on pitches, right? You said that, no?

You appear to have left out what solution Rob Key has suggested to improve county pitches. Having opinion on a problem without suggesting a solution is just making a noise.

On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 13:12:25 +0100, Mike Holmans <spam@jackalope.uk>
wrote:

>On Sun, 17 Apr 2022 14:25:05 +0100, max.it <max@tea.time> wrote:
>
>>
>>There's 1 from 3 so far for Nasser's director captain coach
>>suggestion..
>
>Helpfully, various journalists have been scouring Key's previous
>utterances to see what he's likely to do. There is no Key Plan fully
>worked out and ready for adoption tomorrow, though I doubt whether
>that will discourage jzf from nitpicking as though these gleanings are
>Holy Writ.
>
>He's clear that the sole justification for the county championship's
>existence is to provide a steady stream of players for Test cricket,
>which is still extremely lucrative in TV rights terms. It may well
>have other benefits, but if there were no need to produce Test
>players, it would be unnecessary.
>
>He'd have three 6-team divisions with promotion and relegation, so
>that's a ten-round competition. F-c cricket in April being a waste of
>time, he'd play the 50-over stuff then and not start the championship
>until May. He's also suggested a best-of-the-rest f-c competition to
>run alongside the 100, though what that might mean I haven't much
>clue. Somewhere in there would also be a T20 Blast with a Finals Day
>in September.
>
>That seems like a coherent outline which makes sense from a cricketing
>point of view. CC gets played on better pitches; what's interesting,
>in a way, is that it implies the 50-over comp is no longer the cash
>cow it was 30 years ago. (So much for T20 being a passing fad....)
>
>Cheers,
>
>Mike
>
>

If sense was common everyone would have it. Early April is a bit too
early for timed cricket to begin, around here anyway, I'm sure England
is not much different. The climate of the British isles is as
different from postcode to postcode as the accents of the people are.
Expect the cricket pitches to be the same.

max.it

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On Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 12:16:42 AM UTC+10, Najeeb ybo wrote:
> On Monday, 18 April 2022 at 14:03:56 UTC+1, jzfre...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Monday, April 18, 2022 at 10:12:29 PM UTC+10, Mike Holmans wrote:
> > > F-c cricket in April being a waste of
> > > time, he'd play the 50-over stuff then and not start the championship
> > > until May
> > > CC gets played on better pitches;
> > Selective snipping.
> > You really need to open your mind about the pitch situation.
> > Here's what this Rob Key fellow says;
> >
> > "Less so with the time games are played, although that is a factor, as I think pitches are bad mid-season, as well at the start and the end. If you look at the runs scored last year, there were more in April than at other periods".
> >
> > but what would he know. He's not a groundsman, right? Only groundsmen are allowed opinions on pitches, right? You said that, no?
> You appear to have left out what solution Rob Key has suggested to improve county pitches. Having opinion on a problem without suggesting a solution is just making a noise.

The first step seems to be getting people to agree on the problem. Of course, those that matter seem to all agree. It's just the arm-chair commentators here who don't.

On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 21:57:06 +0100, max.it <max@tea.time> wrote:

>
>If sense was common everyone would have it. Early April is a bit too
>early for timed cricket to begin, around here anyway, I'm sure England
>is not much different. The climate of the British isles is as
>different from postcode to postcode as the accents of the people are.
>Expect the cricket pitches to be the same.

Yes, but there are some general truths. Like that unless we have an
exceptionally dry March, April pitches will only be fit for boring
medium-pacers. They won't bounce, they won't turn, and they won't
abrade the ball to bring reverse swing into play. If you want a pitch
which brings first-class cricket skills to the fore, you have to play
later on when there's at least a chance of producing one.

There's no guarantee that a mid-July pitch will be hard, dry, and
deteriorate enough to be spin-friendly on day 4, but at least it's
within the realm of possibility, and in fact quite likely if the
weather is reasonably kind.

Cheers,

Mike

On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 17:24:43 +0100, Mike Holmans <spam@jackalope.uk>
wrote:

>On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 21:57:06 +0100, max.it <max@tea.time> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>If sense was common everyone would have it. Early April is a bit too
>>early for timed cricket to begin, around here anyway, I'm sure England
>>is not much different. The climate of the British isles is as
>>different from postcode to postcode as the accents of the people are.
>>Expect the cricket pitches to be the same.
>
>Yes, but there are some general truths. Like that unless we have an
>exceptionally dry March, April pitches will only be fit for boring
>medium-pacers. They won't bounce, they won't turn, and they won't
>abrade the ball to bring reverse swing into play. If you want a pitch
>which brings first-class cricket skills to the fore, you have to play
>later on when there's at least a chance of producing one.
>
>There's no guarantee that a mid-July pitch will be hard, dry, and
>deteriorate enough to be spin-friendly on day 4, but at least it's
>within the realm of possibility, and in fact quite likely if the
>weather is reasonably kind.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Mike

You're right, better to try at least to get the best cricket played in
the best conditions.
A dry March is a tricky one. After aerating the square in the winter
you'll be rolling and consolidating around March time. If it's too dry
it might not bind nicely.
By July everything should be nicely settled and only the overhead
conditions to worry about.

Around here we don't have our first matches until the last week in
April for premier and beginning of May for the rest (roughly). Almost
everywhere closes for the 'July fortnight' and the schools are off
from the end of June until September, so a lot of cricket is crammed
into June July and August.

max.it

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On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 20:06:42 +0100, max.it wrote:

> On Tue, 19 Apr 2022 17:24:43 +0100, Mike Holmans <spam@jackalope.uk>
> wrote:
>
>>On Mon, 18 Apr 2022 21:57:06 +0100, max.it <max@tea.time> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>
>>>If sense was common everyone would have it. Early April is a bit too
>>>early for timed cricket to begin, around here anyway, I'm sure England
>>>is not much different. The climate of the British isles is as
>>>different from postcode to postcode as the accents of the people are.
>>>Expect the cricket pitches to be the same.
>>
>>Yes, but there are some general truths. Like that unless we have an
>>exceptionally dry March, April pitches will only be fit for boring
>>medium-pacers. They won't bounce, they won't turn, and they won't
>>abrade the ball to bring reverse swing into play. If you want a pitch
>>which brings first-class cricket skills to the fore, you have to play
>>later on when there's at least a chance of producing one.
>>
>>There's no guarantee that a mid-July pitch will be hard, dry, and
>>deteriorate enough to be spin-friendly on day 4, but at least it's
>>within the realm of possibility, and in fact quite likely if the
>>weather is reasonably kind.
>>
>>Cheers,
>>
>>Mike
>
> You're right, better to try at least to get the best cricket played in
> the best conditions.
> A dry March is a tricky one. After aerating the square in the winter
> you'll be rolling and consolidating around March time. If it's too dry
> it might not bind nicely.
> By July everything should be nicely settled and only the overhead
> conditions to worry about.
>
> Around here we don't have our first matches until the last week in
> April for premier and beginning of May for the rest (roughly). Almost
> everywhere closes for the 'July fortnight' and the schools are off
> from the end of June until September, so a lot of cricket is crammed
> into June July and August.
>

Idle Question... Are any drop-in pitches in use in the UK?

alvey

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On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 2:24:47 AM UTC+10, Mike Holmans wrote:
> Yes, but there are some general truths. Like that unless we have an
> exceptionally dry March, April pitches will only be fit for boring
> medium-pacers.

Maybe you don't know as much about pitches as you think you do.

On Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 6:49:30 AM UTC+10, alvey wrote:
> Idle Question... Are any drop-in pitches in use in the UK?

Along these lines..
the ECB have allowed limited experimentation with glued wickets;
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Cricket%3A+ECB+sticks+by+glue+experiment.-a0143664849

Also see this;
http://www.club-cricket.co.uk/news/details/879
about a pitch-stitching experiment.

On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 06:49:29 +1000, alvey <alvey@is.invalid> wrote:

>Idle Question... Are any drop-in pitches in use in the UK?

The proximate cause of developing drop-in pitches in Oz was that most
of the grounds are at least dual-use with at least one of the uses
being inimical to a pristine square in the centre. Since that doesn't
happen here, there hasn't been the drive to push them into county
cricket. Yet.

I know that The Oval and MCC have investigated them and have some
growing somewhere, but they haven't managed to produce any which would
be a significant improvement on what they already produce, so there
isn't a lot of point yet. I believe they're going to try them out on
the Nursery Ground and see where it goes from there, if anywhere.

From what I've seen of drop-ins being used around the place, I'm
thoroughly convinced of their utility for hosting a number of
one-dayers in quick succession. The Tests I've seen may just have been
uninteresting for other reasons, but the pitches were fairly anodyne,
so I wouldn't want to put many eggs in the basket of pursuing drop-ins
as the way to fix f-c pitches. May help, may not, dunno.

Cheers,

Mike