Somerset
Going for the One
Deja Vu
By Grockle
August 27 2011
Well here we are again in the much improved press facilities at Edgbaston for Somerset's 2011 attempt to go one run further than last year. We have our opponents last year in the semi's this and that is the second of the two. No team news as yet Grockles will be updating with stuff all day.
T20 Finals Day @ Edgbaston Saturday 27 August 2011
Well here we are then people, the sun has come out though Bicknoller Towers was shrouded in mist and rain when I left at 8-ish. Decent trip up but beat most of the coaches as they mostly seem to have arrived after I did. Edgbaston is a different place to the last time I was at a Final here, the new Priory Road South stand is finished and the media facilities seem as good as the Lozenge at Lords. The stands are still not full 9 overs into the first semi but this place does hold a lot of people and Warks aren't one of the sides. More about Somerset in about an hour...
Semi Final 1 Leicestershire v Lancashire
Scorecard Semi Final 1
Commentary Radio Manchester (Five Live Sports Extra and 198 LW I would assume plus internet link)
Glen Chapple leads his side out and starts brilliantly with Cobb's wicket first ball and goes areoplaning around the strip. It doesn't remain as good though as he goes for 17 off his second as Will Jefferson gets his length. However Maharoof has McDonald for 7 after 4 and Mahmoud skittles Jefferson (off and middle) with his first ball in the 5th. Taylor arrives at 34 for 3 and takes them over 50 in the 7th off 42 deliveries. The first spin is ominous as Keedy spins one viciously and has Du Toit 2 balls into the 8th.
It's 74 for 4 after 10 with both Keedy and Parry getting lots of grip/movement with the ball. Taylor finds this really difficult and spenda a lot of time trying to sweep/reverse sweep left to every ball. He finally perishes to Parry at 82 1 ball into the 12th and Razzaq comes out to face another 8 balls before the rain sweeps in at 11:55 at 84 for 5. The amazing hover cover comes on and the whole wicket etc is covered in about 5 minutes as the main hover floats over the wicket and the main covers roll out of this unit to either side.
After a pretty heavy shower the plan is to resume at 12:40 with a reduction to 18 overs per side. SKY have suggested that if there is a significant reduction in the first semi there may be a related reduction in the second!! However, at the moment the only time reduction will be in the change of inings (down to 10 minutes). We'll keep an eye on that one!
The Foxes end on 132 off their 18 for the loss of 6 wickets - some say that is a par score here Razzaq hitting a very useful 36 off 28 at number 7 wth Nixon who was run out by Mahmoud.
A quick 10 minute turn around and the Lightening (apt given the weather) start with weather threatening over the Brum centre skyline. Moore and Smith start brightly and reach 42 before Henderson comes on and starts Leicestershire's account with the wicket of Smith plumb in front at 42. However the rain arrives once more at 1:40 with one ball of the 9th over bowled and Lancashire just passing 50 at 53.
We're back on at 2:05. They have a target of 81 in 11 overs. This seems to go to Croft's head as he top edges with a huge swipe and is caught by Henderson on the legside after the ball hand=gs in the air for an age. So they need 31 off 16 balls as Brown replaces the hapless Croft.
At the end opf the 9th they have 63 so they need 17 off 12 with Cobb bowling and looking to make up for his first ball duck. Brown looks for a boundary at long off. White comes in and almost misreads the shot and finds himself taking a diving two hander as the ball flies over his head. Moore faces Josh Cobb and is caught by Taylor and Cobb has a hatrick ball to come and the Foxes have two new men at the crease as Moore has produced most of the runs up to that point. 15 required off 8.
Cross fires the ball back through Cobb's hands and then is almost run out as he has to move around the infielder to make his ground as the ball is fired in from long off. 69 for 4 after 10 they now need 11 off 6. White has the last over and gets a wicket with the first as Horton doesn't get enough on it and is cuaght in the deep. 11 off 5. A single off the next and then a run out with one batsman (Mahmoud) going for the second and being sent back by his partner (Du Toit) - how do you NOT go for the second? 4th ball single and Lancs are coming to a stop needing 8 off 2. A miss and a quick single means the Foxes will be in the final but Cross hits a six and the match is tied!! Poor old White (it only got there)
So now we have a"Super Over" for the first time. This is because the D/L has been used. If it hadn't then the side with the fewer wickets lost would have been the winner and if that did not decide it then it would have been the highest score after 6 overs.
The "Super Over" is 3 batsmen v 1 bowler - you can't lose more than that. If there is a tie then it is the side that hits more boundaries will be the winner. First time ever - who'd have thunk it? The umpires are presently explaining the procedure to the sides!! Not surprisingly.
The Super Over
Henderson to Moore with Croft at the non strikers.... Ball 1 six. Ball 2 diving two. Ball 3 single. Croft on strike for Ball 4 - miscalculation by the boundary fielder who comes in too far and ten has to dive as the ball bounces just in front of the boundary for four. Ball 5 dot. Ball 6 dot. 13 runs to Lancs.
Jefferson and Cobb v Keedy. Ball 1 and 2 fours to WJ. Ball 3 and 4 singles and then Jefferson shoves one over the mid wicket boundary and the Foxes move to the Final as the rain comes down.
Semi Final 2 - Somerset v Hampshire Royals
We win the toss and will bowl.
The side is;
Trescothick, Kieswetter, Trego, Hildreth, Buttler, Suppiah, Dockrell, Kartik, Thomas, Meschede, Pollard.
Whew no Nick or Steve in a format that they don't suit. Meschede offers bowling variation and George gets his first T20 run out as we go with 3 spinners and we bat to eleven!! Strong side but nothing for granted!!
Hampshire open with Shahid Afridi (00) and Jimmy Adams. Murali Kartik will open from the "South Stand" end and Adams will receive and takes a single off the first ball and the first boundary comes off the 4th ball and they take 9 from the first. Alf opens from the "North End" and he will also be delivering to Adams. 4 balls down and Adams is still there and the last one went straight through him. They take a single off the 5thas the rain starts but Afridi can do nothing with the last one and Alf goes for 1 as they come off for the first time at 15:22. There is no leeway time so the game will be reduced as the water pours down - but it does look clear behind it. Play is expected to resume at 15:45.
We are back on on time with an 18 over game and George is given the third over. Adams takes a liking and the score is going up until he skies one into the wating hands of Jos at deep mid on with 18 on the board. He goes for 10 and this brings Vince to the crease who adds 1 before the end of the third. Kieron is given the 4th and is loose with balls 1 and 2 both of which are dispatched to the boundary by Afridi. He then gets it on the right length as the rain starts again and has pulled it back (though still gone for 11 - too many) we're off again at 15:52 and expected back at 16:05.
Again we are back on time and the match is now a 16 over game and Craig Meschede is given an over in which he does quite well but goes for 10 as Afridi starts to let fly. Banger looks to MK to tie him down but he fails to do that as Afridi takes him for most of 16. The last spinner is pulled into the attack for the 8th as Arul takes up the challenge and goes the way of his compadres as Vince and Afridi bring up a 50 partnership off 20 odd with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Our spin attack is not making a dent here as they go to 75 off 8 with Afridi moving towards a fast half ton.
But before that happens, the partnership of 64 off 38 comes to an end when Vince hits one to deep midwicket and is nonchalently plucked out of the air by KP. 82 for 2 simply brings Neil McKenzie to the crease to partner the Pakistan captain on 47.
Dockrell is on for the 11th but not before Afridi reaches his 50 off 28 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. It is 90 after 10 and a big score looms as 3 figures arrives at the end of the 11th. 100 off 68 deliveries. Meschede takes the 12th and has McKenzie playing all around a straight one first ball 100 for 3. Ervine replaces him and they get 4 off his over. Go Craigy boy! No over for Pete T though as the skipper goes back to KP. Afridi dismisses him into the South Stand without a bounce. Ervine is just playing to get SA back on strike so he takes a single when asked to face and he sixes him again before the end of the over to take the score to 119 after 13 overs. Not good enough and the Boss goes to the only man he can - Alfonso.
But Hampshire are flashing at everything now and they get a hard flash over the infield to the boundary from the master. Somerset have everyone on the boundary except for a backward point, square leg and extra cover. They'll give them the singles and hope to pouch smashes to the boundary. We need Alf to get Afridi out...and he duly obliges by wiping his stumps all over the place!! 128 for 4 as Dawson replaces Afridi. KP takes the penultimate over (is that a good flexible decision?). Afridi hit 80 off 42 and might have got them too far ahead...we need the batting to fire early and consistently....it's a big total and will probably reach 150.
Kieron goes for a creditable 6 (134 for 4) as Alf takes the last as the rain starts again. It's belting down but they'll finish.....no they won't as the umpire calls them off with one ball left. 138 for 4 - excellent last over from the man with the power!!!
The Somerset innings closes with one ball left and the rain takes time again. The umpires consult their tables and stuff and decide to start at 17:25 with Somerset needing 95 off 10 overs. Doable? Well yes but it is go for it from ball one. The much lauded Hampshire spinners can bowl only 2 overs each with Afridi, Cork and Mascarenhas putting in the others one would assume. We have 4 'Afridis' but he has failed against us many times and we can lose this as easily as we can win it. The biew in the local clutch of journos is that we will do it in 8 or throw it away in 6!!
But at 5:18 it is raining again and we expect a revision to the total..... Loss by DL is well on the cards here!
Back on at 17:25 with a revised total of 95 off 10 and the floodlights just warming up. Marcus and Craig K start the chase. Mascerenhas takes over number 1 from the South Stand. Cover drive off ball 1 and then it's cover drive off ball 3. A single off the fourth brings Craig into the match. Half a run behind the run rate at the end of the first!!
Cork is on at the Northern End. Single off the first then CK stepping to leg and swinging but missing, he's up the wicket to the next and straight driving over the infield for four. He then sixes him to the other side to bring up 20. Ball 5 they run 3 Marcus ends with a cut for four and it's 27 after 2 with 18 taken from the Hampshire skipper.
Dim continues from the South. Craig squirts a run. The skipper swings and misses but nails the next one with a sparkling cover drive. He then takes them on for another 2. He then pulls DM to the legside for four more and they run two off the last. 40 off 3 and the powerplay is over. Can we keep this up?
Briggs brings spin into play for over 4 and he strikes immediately as Craig hits one straight to Vince on the legside boundary. Pollard arrives after the keeper contributes 14 from 7. KP defends his first ball...hopefully lulling him into a false sense of security. He plays the second back as well and then takes a single from the third. MT takes a single and Pollard misses the last and is nearly bowled.
Afridi takes the 5th and the first ball is a dot. A single off the second brings Pollard down. He flashes at the next and gets a dodgy 2 off a misfield. Straight four to the South Stand folows and then a single to bring up the 50 off 4.5 overs and that is where it stops.
45 off 30 is the ask as Tahir comes on at the Northern End and he takes Pollard first ball with an aerial drive to Mid on and a catch to Vince in the same place as Craig Kieswetter perished. 50 for 2 and Jos Buttler is the next man in. Marcus looks to slog sweep Tahir next ball and is caught by the man in the gully (McKenzie). It all changes as James Hildreth enters the fray. James leaves the hat-trick ball and takes a single off the next. Jos is beaten by the next and there is a shout for a stumping - Not Out is the answer and they take a single from the next. Last ball of a very good over sees a single taken. 54 after 6.
41 off 4 overs and the rate has gone back up after that spell from Tahir. Briggs switches ends and Hildreth takes a quick one to his first. Jos takes a quicker one to his second. Two off the third..we need boundaries and the pressure is now on Somerset. James tries a reverse sweep but only gets a single. Buttler restores order with a straight 6. Single off the last and the end of Briggs for 14 and 66 to Somerset. (29 off 3).
Tahir back on and a reverse sweep for 2 from Buttler. Up the wicket to him next ball and into the Northern boxes! Two off the third ball. Dot ball. Then straight at Tahir who almost hangs on! Six off the last and we need 13 off 2...Brilliant from the new England man.
Afridi is on. James is facing. They take two 11 off 11. A flip for one. 10 off 10. Four off the next from Buttler 6 off 9. Single off ball 4. 5 off 8. Hildy dies looking for the last shot and in comes Trigger. 90 for 4 needing 5 from 7.
Buttler faces the last one and stays in his crease. 5 from 6. Cork bowls the last one. Trigger faces. 1 from the first. 4 from 5 Buttler on strike. They take 2. 2 from 4. He chips it to Vincent and its 93 for 5. 2 from 3 and Arul is in.
Trigger facing Cork and he bump balls him for no run. Here we go again. 2 from 2 and they get a single. Arul faces the last ball needing 1. We had this!! Lots of field movement and a big discussion in the middle as Arul waits for the last one.
The the Somerset batsmen have a bit of a chat in the middle. All set? Off we go! In comes Cork and Arul is run out. The match is tied again!! Super Over number 2!
We bat first with Craig Kieswetter facing Afridi with Buttler at the non strikers end.
Ball 1 goes for 2. Ball 2 Boundary despite a diving effort from the Hampshire fielder. Ball 3 wide delivery and single. Ball 4 absolutely murdered along the ground from Jos. Ball 5 single. Ball 6 four. Somerset score 16.
Alf has to bowl the last surely? Or will the Boss go with Kartik?
Hampshire need 17. Alf is gonna bowl it. Afridi and Adams will face. Afridi will take the first ball.
Ball 1 dot. Ball 2 dot. Ball 3 four straight drive 13 off 3. Ball 4 Afridi out as Arul takes the catch coming in from the midwicketboundary. 13 off 2. Vince in. Ball 5 single
YESSSS!! Ball 6 12 needed single taken we win by 11!!
Jos Buttler is the Man of the Match for his brilliant knock. Modesty is obvious when he tells SKY he mucked it up. But even then we can turn to Alf to take us home with a masterful over.
Huge psychologic al win as well because we did not lose to them again on the last ball. Leicestershire will be up for this game but please God let us be good. I'm off for a shot!
The Final Somerset v Leicestershire Foxes
Marcus wins the toss again and we chase again. Dockrell is out and Kirby is in. The skipper starts with the same plan - MK takes the first and goes for 4 and Alf takes the second but goes for 17.
So, the big ask, can Steve bring it from the South Stand. Well he goes for 3 before he pushes one through which Cobb gives to Pollard cooly setting himself and taking the catch from the boundary. Ice in his veins. 24 for 1 Razzaq is joined by Jefferson and he gets nothing on the next ball from the old man!!
Pollard is on for number 4 - anyone see a similarity here? Jazzaq takes a streaky one but gets there as the ball skims past the poles. A slower second takes Jefferson by surprise and he nearly runs himself out wth the third ball as Razzaq sends him back. KP goes for 4...excellent first from the big man.
Kirby stays on for the 5th and nearly has Jefferson when Razzaq takes a single and Jefferson seems to not ground his bat as Arul throws the stumps down. He's given not out on review. Then he runs halfway down the pitch and although Craig takes aim he misses the stumps with Jefferson nowhere. The next ball, of course goes for four which along with the other boundary and the two wides takes the Foxes to 42 - 14 off that one.
The press then is put on by the slow men Kartik goes for 2 off the 6th and Suppiah folows that up with 6 off the 7th which sees the 50 arrive. MK takes the 8th and another 3 before Jefferson breaks the shackles with consecutive sixes off Arul pushing the score to 69. Then MT decides to hold on to some of Kartik and brings Pollard back on at the Northern End and he goes for 9 to put them at 78 after 10.
Suppiah took some tap and so Alf returns but does not hold them in check as they take 13 off him to go into the 90's and it isn't until KP takes Razzaq c&b with the slow one at the end of the 12th 94 for 2. Du Toit s the next man in and can't seem to get a bead on Arul who takes the 13th - the press seems to have be reset as the world record holder puts one on Jefferson's toe and it is 96 for 3.
The mighty Nixon comes in for his last T20 innings dangerous and requiring removal as Somerset turn to Meschede for over 14.
He gets Nixon to sky one to Pollard who fumbles it three times before hanging on to it and finishing Nixon's career. The keeper leaves to a well deserved standing ovation after bringing up the 100. 101 for 4.
Arul finishes with 2 for 27 after the uncomfortable Du Toit reverses a slog sweep into Steve's hands in at a position he had been placed in for just that shot 102 for 5.
'Nelson' arrives in the 18th and MK finishes with 4 for 14. Pollard takes the 19th and Macdonald holes out to Alftrying to push the score along 127 for 6 and KP ending with 2 for 34 and they are on 133 for 6. Leaving Alf to take the last from the Northern. The Foxes finish with a very creditable 145 for 6. 147 to win this one, 7.3 and over is no stroll.
The Reply
Marcus and Craig K take their usual positions to face the first from Hoggy and they take 4 off the first. bit one is recorded as short and so we have 3 after 6 balls. Razzaq will open from the Northern End to Craig K. He is up the wicket and flashing hard over the slip fielder for 4. Not pretty but it does get the job done. He is up the wicket for the next two as well but fails to hit anything at all resulting in his catain coming down the wicket to have a word with him! He clips the next one off his hips for 4....that's better.
Hoggard is keeping it tight though as the 12 at the end of the second becomes 18 at the end of the third. Let's hope panic does not set in and these two settle themselves into a long innings. Craig is outscoring his captain 5 to 1 until this over when the Boss flips the first for four and the second is flashed very hard through the non extent slip cordon for another to take us to 27.
Unfortunately his grip on this game loosens as he flat bats a Hoggard delivery straight to Cobb and departs to watch a 31 for 1 and sends in Peter Trego (whose name is mis-pronounced once again) and he takes a boundary of his toes from his first delivery. We reach 5 on 35. Just behind the rate. However Claude Henderson only goes for 1 off the 6th and Mc Donald taks over at the South Stand for the 7th.
At 42 we take another knock as Craig is bowled by McDonald and Hildreth strides out to the crease with the rate getting a little behind. We are going along at 6 and the rate required has moved to 8...it's not a real problem but it will need dealing with around the 10 over mark. Peter seems very circumspect after a beautiful shot to the boundary to get off the mark. 46 at 8 plays 53 at 8 and we thought we'd held them well.
The 50 arrives off a rare Hildreth boundary but Henderson and McDonlad are holding the line and we only move to 55 off 9. The 'singles only' policy continues into the 10th and it's just 58 for 2. The Foxes were 78 and we are letting this one get away from us! We need 88 from 60 balls - we have to push the ball and go for more than a run a ball! That will not be enough and Leicestershire are happy to give us the ones. Then, as if by magic Pete adds 8 off two balls and the score is moving again. More of that please Trigger. James is still having trouble piercing the field thoughand after 11 we only have 70. We are behind.
Naik is on from the Northern End and his first goes to the boundary. We are still 20 behind though the pair have started to push the score along with ones into twos etc. This they must do. Get the runs or get out and let someone else in to do the job. Don't leave it until the last overs. We can't afford the time. 80 after 12 and 66 needed off 48. As someone here has just said; at least they know what they are facing. Hildy tries to beat themidwicket boundary but is caught on it. 84 for 3 wth 2 balls of the 13th to go. In comes Kiern Pollard but we only move on to 86 at the end of the 13th...60 off 42.
White is on and they run two from his first. A dot for the second and Pollard goes for it off the third and is brilliantly caught by Nixon at full stretch. 88 fr 4 and it is squeeky bum time I'm afraid. We are being squeezed out of this one. Buttler is in and his first is a cover drive for 4. He then takes a single to steal the strike. It's 94 for 4 after 14 and we need over 50 off 6. Cobb takes the 15th and the second ball is caught by a sliding boundary fielder to say goodbye to a very under par Peter Trego 95 for 5 and Arul is in. Peter hit 35 off 25 but didn't look totally wth it. Speaking of which, Jos puts one back to Cob who catches Arul out of his ground and he is run out on review. Craig Meschede is the next in and the Sussex capitulation is coming back to haunt us!! 97 for 6 becomes 98 for 6 after 15.
48 from 30 means we are still in it but only by the skin of our teeth and only while Jos is there. Henderson takes the 16th and we manage to stagger past 100 5 balls into it. Jos keeps the strike but 101 leaves us needing 45 from 24 as Henderson ends with 11 for 0 off his four. He may have been the major difference. Well done that man (sod!).
Buttler has to hit...he does and finds te sub who has now taken three catches. Well done Michael Boyce. We have simply played exactly into the Foxes strategy and we are now without a strok maker to get us out of this with Alfjoining Craig M at the crease with far too much to do. 105 for 7 - 41 off 19 becomes 40 off 18.
I persnaly think it is over and we threw it away in the first 10....poor batting strategy and we've failed and left the back end too much to do unfortunately. We will be runners up nce again. The only consolation is that we will get a Champions League jolly out of it at the end of the season. The final has once more been an anti climax on a great day otherwise. We've choked again, using up too much energy in getting there and not being able to push on at the end.
Craig M is doing his best but the shoulders have dropped and there doesn't seem to be anything really left in the tank. 33 off 12 leads to an attempt by Alf to clear the boundary and he puts it into Boyce's hands once again. 115 for 8 brings Kartik in and we move to 121 with 6 balls to go. 25 off the last.
Kartik takes the single. 4 sixes with a ball to go. Well the next one goes up in the air...about 4 feet from the strip as it is caught. 122 for 9. Steve Kirby in but Katik facing 4 deliveries needing a six off all four to win this for us. A single puts it out of our reach. Gone, done and dusted once again!!
Good night one and all.
Postscript - Josh Cobb who was out first ball he faced right at the start of today came back in wonderful style to take the Man of the Match in the Final...lessons from this anyone?
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:29:17:12:04 by Grockle.
There will be a big in-house T20 game on Thursday. Brian says that if Lewis does not play vs Gloucs, then Brian would want him to bowl in this in-house game. I assume that if Lewis cannot bowl in the in-house game he would not be considered for Edgbaston. Brian says that he's "looking fine," but that the club are being careful with him as back injuries "can affect the future career of a player."
Kartik has had a further scan on his injury, and they will look at the results before deciding whether or not they can involve Kartik in the in-house practice game.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:26:12:37:41 by Grockle.
strength. If there were any injury worries, surely this is the match they would have been rested from.
It is good to have as few problems as we do and a week with just the two 40 over games rather than a 4 day one.
We should be more rested and more prepared and have less chance of a last minute injury.
I'm not sure if us playing a 4 day game is good or not. It's annoying that there's no rest days but at least players will be playing cricket and Cork and Briggs get some useful overs in after injury.
Mind you, the only thing that would spice up my father would be some Californian acid, I wonder if they can help out there?
Tres,Craig,tregs,Hildy,Pollard,Jos and Arul.
Several questions after that.
Kirbs or Gregory?
George or Max assuming Murali is OK?
Do we play Nick Compton as well and rely on Arul,Tregs and Pollard getting through 8 between them?
Why not play Murali , Max and George?
Will they go with Meschede or stick with experience?
Personally I think after the way he bowled last night Kirbs might just get the nod ahead of Gregory in the semi anyway.
Likewise I think George will start ahead of Max, with Alfonso and murali making up the 11.
Should we win the semi I've just noticed that the champions league coincides with the 2 2020 matches with Windies.That could mean playing without Tres,Craig and even Jos maybe!
KP is not available for the Windies to compete in this tournament.I wonder if the ECB will look at it the same way?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:25:14:58:31 by nelliec.
As for Saturday, I suspect Kartik will probably not make it. If Brian is good on his word then there is no prospect of risking Kartik if it might mean putting him out of the remaining CC games, so I think they'll go with the extra few days of rest for Kartik.
I think that I personally would play the following;
Marcus
Craig K
Pete
Jos
Hildreth
Pollard
Arul
Meschede
Alf
Gregory
Dockrell
Yes, Kirby did well yesterday in favourable conditions under the lights at a ground that he knows like the back of his hand. And, yes, Gregory's over was expensive. But assuming Lewis comes through the in-house T20 game okay, then I still think the value of his yorkers at the end trumps Kirby's value. In theory, Lewis also brings added batting value, although we have still to really see him prosper with the bat, I admit.
There would be seven bowling options in the above team, which I think should be sufficient.
If Kartik is fit then I think I'd play him instead of Craig M.
It started with some catching practice on the out-field; the young lad with the players is from the Huish Cricket Academy.
Kieron Pollard getting in some batting practice before Saturday.
Andy Hurry giving some of the players a bit of advice. (Caption on a postcard)
Murali Kartik testing his fitness for Saturday.
Good luck to all the players for the t20 final.
One wonders what on earth Charl was doing taking part in the T20 practice match? Just sounds like an opportunity to pick up an unnecessary injury to me!?
Quote:hantssabre
Official site says Kartik is now fit for finals day and the rest of the season.
Fabulous news.
I have a very good feeling about Saturday.
Fair enough i think, highly unlikely we'll pick 3 spinners plus Arul in any game and given last 2 weeks think we'd all admit that George has outbowled Max.
Don't think we need to read too much into this, next season i think his chances will be greatly increased.
Quote:hantssabre
Official site says Kartik is now fit for finals day and the rest of the season.
I am so glad to hear that hantssabre, Agod asked about his fitness I didn’t reply because I made a mistake once before thinking a player had back trouble when he was seem holding his back and nothing came of it thank goodness.
I did wonder when I saw him doing this but Mr Rose has answered my doubts.
Craig K has a superb record in knock-out cup games. Jos has a superb record in one day games, full stop and is in great nick. I think Lewis and George are both very talented and seem to have bomb proof temperaments.
Marcus, Craig, Pete, James, Kieron, Jos, Arul, Alfie, Lewis, Murali, George
It will take a lot of beating!
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:25:21:15:56 by Loyal of Lhasa..
My wig is being oiled as I write, LoL, come Saturday I've going to look slicker than Tarka the Otter.
I was once well known for making a nice curry, which was called a Chicken Tarka.
If anyone fancies the recipe then please PM me, you'll not be disappointed.
It's a bit like a Tikka, just a little bit otter.
I blame Tramadol.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
AG I think Willo and Hussain werwe there as fielders to create the match situation. I saw Tres bowled by Lewis and Compton bowled by Meschede. I am impressed by young craig I must admit.
Kieron Pollard appeared not long after you went, I was told he was arriving today he must have picked up his bat not long after he arrived in Taunton.
I quite enjoyed watching it whilst I was there.
Was at Bristol last night nad we are truly blessed to have Taunton as our home ground.
He was bowling in the practice game as if he was anyway.
Let's all have a good day.Im in in West Stand Lower
One view at Taunton is that Somerset will continue to go hard right from the start against Alfridi, Cork and Mascarenhas - three of the best up-front bowlers in the competition.
But should we lose early wickets, then Compton can anchor matters - rather in the manner of De Bruyn last year or Neil McKenzie for Hampshire - until Pollard and Buttler blaze away for the last six of seven overs.
There is no reason Hildy and Arul cant tap it around if that is felt whats needed but cant see need of a batter picked solely for that job.
I think that it will be between Craig M and George for the only spot i see up for contention.
Top 7 set in stone as i think has been quoted above, then Alfie, Lewis and MK, so just leaves the one spot up for grabs depending on conditions, opponents etc
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:26:00:48:50 by cricketjerry-mouse.
Quote:cricketjerry-mouse
I have a feeling the only change from the quarter-final side will be Nick Compton for Craig Meschede.
One view at Taunton is that Somerset will continue to go hard right from the start against Alfridi, Cork and Mascarenhas - three of the best up-front bowlers in the competition.
But should we lose early wickets, then Compton can anchor matters - rather in the manner of De Bruyn last year or Neil McKenzie for Hampshire - until Pollard and Buttler blaze away for the last six of seven overs.
That would mean no place for George Dockrell. Unless we're talking about a green-top seamer then, in my view, that would represent a grave error. In view of Brian's recent raving about George, then I would be surprised if that comes to pass (unless pitch is green.)
I would also certainly expect us to go hard, early, at Cork and Mascarenhas. We have little choice (unless we are chasing and they have made a rubbish total) unless we expect to get serious change out of the Hants spinners. But, again, unless it's a real green seamer, I'm not sure that I can see a reason why we should expect to lose a large number of wickets to that particular pace duo?
There's the forecast for a few showers around. I wonder if this might impact Marcus's toss decision. All things being equal, we would surely prefer to bat first, so denying Hants the chance to put a score on the board and then defend it with the spinners. But Marcus might be tempted to field if the spectre of Messrs D & L are going to hang over the game?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:26:11:51:03 by AGod.
But, having given this subject serious consideration, studied the weather, considered the vagaries of the wicket, thought about how conditions can vary due to the new build, read the stars, paid a visit to the girl with the crystal balls at the end of Mumbles pier and even written a letter to the Government, I have come to the following conclusions.
Eleven men shall be picked.
They shall be the men the management consider the best to get the job done.
They shall wear the colours of the mighty Somerset CCC.
All of us, well most of us, sorry AS and Clazza, shall support them and cheer madly as they bring home the trophy.
The church bells shall ring, and they'll be dancing on the streets of Crowcombe Heathfield on Saturday night.
Great game this cricket.
So simple.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:26:10:14:41 by Big Jim.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
A new dress for each occasion.
I might have to get my hair done special.
So, if you are thinking of getting there in time for the second game, as opposed to the first one, then I'd probably aim to get there pretty darn early for a parking space.
Rain coat at the ready.
Scheduled Hours of Play
1st Semi-Final – Leicestershire Foxes v Lancashire Lightning
Session 1: 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Interval: 12:15 pm – 12:30 pm
Session 2: 12:30 pm – 1:45 pm
2nd Semi-Final – Hampshire Royals v Somerset
Session 1: 2:30 pm – 3:45 pm
Interval: 3:45 pm – 4:00 pm
Session 2: 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm
Final
Session 1: 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm
Interval: 8:00 pm – 8:15 pm
Session 2: 8:15 pm – 9:30 pm
There is a reserve day scheduled for Sunday 28th August.
Match Officials
1st Semi-Final
Field Umpires: Neil Mallender and Michael Gough
3rd Umpire: Rob Bailey
4th Umpire: Richard Illingworth
2nd Semi-Final
Field Umpires: Rob Bailey and Richard Illingworth
3d Umpire: Michael Gough
4th Umpire: Neil Mallender
The match officials for the final are to be confirmed, but will be from the same group of umpires listed above.
Why 45 mins in between each semi? I'd turn it around in 25 mins, tops.
And 90 mins before the final is nuts. Only been to this once before - at the Oval and, apart from the rain delays, the time was filled with a risible performance from 'Girls Aloud' that was enjoyed by, well, nobody, so far as I could ascertain.
If the issue is that they want at least some of the final to be played in the dark, then why not simply start the day later? They could start at 12pm, have shorter breaks between games and still get some of the final in the dark?
It needs to be knocking out middle before he gives an lbw shout.
Still, we wouldn't need to worry about him, if at all, until the final.
Come on Somerset.
Wurz
The break before the final allows the team winning the second semi a break. (Although the winner of the second semi has a good record going on to win the trophy, this has not (unfortunately) been the case in the last two years).
I have never had problems parking near the ground as there are plenty of small informal parking places where people open up their drives or front gardens for people to park at a reasonable charge.
Thunder, lightning and a dowpour of biblical proportions in Liverpool tonight. Fear I may need a boat to get to Edgbaston tomorrow. Hope the weather doesn't play too big a part tomorrow - the forecast suggests the first semi may be ok but rain later. Would be a shame for supporters if it goes to the reserve day, but a lottery if the matches get shortened.
Still soggy in Liverpool but the forecast looks better in Birmingham.
Safe journey to Edgbaston everyone and hope we're all singing Blackbird before the end of the day!
Quote:hantssabre
Official site says Kartik is now fit for finals day and the rest of the season.
The BEP don't quite read the same as the above. [www.thisisbristol.co.uk]
The England and Wales Cricket Board website ecb.co.uk is currently closed for maintenance
Maybe it is only for a short while.
Why no Jimmy A for Lancs? Surely he would have been released by England?
Marcus having a bat yesterday with our reserve-reserve wicketkeeper with the bowler sporting a nice tattoo.
Hang on a minute that will not work, what if they did shorten both matches to fifteen over and Somerset’s match is further interrupted by rain we then could end up playing fewer overs than the first match.
Let’s hope the situation doesn't arise.
Edit wrong number of overs.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:27:12:31:17 by Mike TA1.
I forget who they said the player was
3:15 start. Somerset won the toss and decided to chase.
Dockrell in
Kartik in
Meschede in
Strong Hampshire side and a pretty well balanced game which the weather hopefully will not affect.
Somerset: Trescothick (C), Kieswetter (W), Trego, Hildreth, Buttler, Pollard, Suppiah, Meschede, Thomas, Kartik, Dockrell
Too many loose deliveries and we have created a rod for our own bat and a 10 an over ask affected by D/L one would assume.
We can do it...whether we will do it depends so much on the first 4 overs!!
Rain at moment but blue sky about and we want it to stop early so we have overs. Don't want 50 off 5!!
Come on boys!
Better than i thought.
A couple of quick 30's and we win it, and
we have the players !
We just need one or two players to find the middle for 20-30 mins.
How did we lose/win/tie that one ?
Can't watch the super over. Will just keep fingers crossed !
Aaaarrrgghhh....
Grizzzly
Apparently one of the Hants XI has been injured in the 10-minute interval as Carberry is fielding sub. How unfortunate for them.
We are better than Leicestershire - we will win!
Thought he was lucky not to be called for a wide (2nd ball) but he has better nerves than I do for sure .....!!
Can I come out from under the desk now ?!!
Now lets win it !!!!
Grizzzly
I do think Afridi deserves MoM.
Funny that in the first over of the final Murali immediately starts turning it square. Presumably they're all being played on the same strip.
Who is off and what is the nature of their injury? Do we know?
Are we cursed, or something?
They did well to get this far, there are sixteen that didn't get to the final.
Let's not beat about it.
We have the resources to be the best T20 side in England and we do not get our plans right and we cannot adapt when it starts to go wrong. This is not a freak occurance and we are not getting it right despite being told we are working on this finishing aspect.
We do not finish well - it seems we only have the resources to get one game right in a two game tournament final. Poor Poor performance against the supposedly weakest team in the four....unhappy and have been here before 2009, 2010 and now 2011.....
Compare that to Henderson who took no wickets but bowled 4 overs at a rate of less than 3 runs per over. That wins t20 matches.
Having said all that and in fairness to the lads the whole competition, especially on a weather day like today, is a stupid lottery by a purists standards. The difference between a six and caught out is too fine a line to be judged by any player.
I would swap losing this one for winning one of the other two any day ( but I have to admit it was an exciting day ! )
I will now go and wash my mouth out for posting that !
We have now been 2nd out of 6 out of last 7 domestic trophies by my reckoning. What is going on?
Champo looking unlikely now so CB 40 seems best option it seems.
Every County would want to be in our shoes, and whilst we're not quite getting over the line it's only a matter of time before we do.
Plus I'm also led to believe we're in the qualifying rounds for that thing I know nothing about.........careful.
Well done lads, now let's make sure we're unbeaten for the rest of the season.
I never did get to wear my special frock.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:27:22:41:42 by Big Jim.
In my view we should have sent Jos out at four in the second game, too.
He's the main man, in prime form, and he could have seized the game, IMO.
Far too many wides when we bowled.
Jos's semi innings magnificent, as was Alf's super over.
I thought that Craig M bowled well, overall.
I think Marcus has come a little out of nick since his knee injury.
That was the lowest T20 score that has been successfully defended in a final. We really should have put it away – plus we nearly lost the semi from a position of strength.
The team have had problems with slow wickets before in the past few years, in fact it appears to be the main weapon teams use in trying to defeat us. So the batsmen should have learned to counter it by now.
Listening on the radio it appeared no one took responsibility to chase down the target, a modest one however well Leicestershire bowled,
Oh well, barring a disaster on Monday we are two wins from a cb40 title
We did brilliantly to get to the final, yet we don't seem to have the bottle to step up to the plate when it really matters.
Don't know why, but someone needs to really take ownership when the chips are down, as if we had performed to anything like the standards we are capable of, we would have squashed Hants & Leics without any fuss at all.
Not sure I would bother with Pollard next year....
Grizzzly
Agree with you sentiment Grockle but not sure about your statement that we have the resources to be the best.
We have a strong batting line up but lack a consistent grafter in the Durston / DeBryn mode - or we choose not to play them if you consider Compton as such.
Bowling wise, although Alf got us to the final, he then went for over 11 an over. In summary when they fielded they had 2 nb/wides, 3 bowlers below 6 an over and none over 10. We had 8 nb/wides, just one below 6 and 1 over 10.
Just not good enough.
Finally Marcus is a super chap and a wonderful batsman but as a captain, especially in t20 he is very much below par IMO. His batting order, field positions and bowling choices are not good.
Again though, I would say that this is lottery cricket where lady luck is the top player on the day.
My second was that we fielded. Was that just me?
"We have the resources to be the best T20 side in England and we do not get our plans right and we cannot adapt when it starts to go wrong. This is not a freak occurance and we are not getting it right despite being told we are working on this finishing aspect.
We do not finish well - it seems we only have the resources to get one game right in a two game tournament final. Poor Poor performance against the supposedly weakest team in the four....unhappy and have been here before 2009, 2010 and now 2011.....
Of course 100% correct Grockle Imagine what the reaction would be if I posted it.
There's something wrong when a team cannot perform when it really matters ,in a FINAL, all the talent but you got to be able to do it on the day, the mark of a better than average side
A really big job for our guys to get back up for the final 2/3 weeks now.
Team selection I will question dropping George Dockrell for the final, not playing our top wicket taker in the t20 Lewis Gregory instead of Craig Meschede. Meschede’s time will come he is not consistent enough yet for a major match.
Let get as far up in the CC as we can and maybe win the 40 over comp.
It must have been some celebration for you last night.
As Meatloaf's once said, you took the blinking words right out of me gob.
Why oh why do they feel the need to clear the ropes and in so attempting throw their wicket away.
The one thing that surely comes out of this is that we use the money which we don't use on Pollard next year to tie Jos down to an untouchable 5/10 year contract before the Surreys, Warwicks or Hants try to knatch him away.
Nobody died, we live to fight another day.
Don't turn it into something its not.
We threw it away, got it back and then threw it away again.
Marcus did say the Dockrell decision was marginal but was taken and Steve did his job in final before we go looking for a scapegoat who isn't there.
The Foxes were good and we have to be better and we simply weren't.
The skipper had no answers in the press conference afterwards - will listen to it again and put it up f the recording is good enough.
We've extended our season so that is something but it will be a learning curve for some because we presently don't have a keeper for the CL.
Jos is simply awesome. Alf got us to the final with a bit of help from Craig.
Lewis must have been injured. He was going through warm ups but not at pace.
Please please please can we stop harping back to Wes Durston and Zander de Bruyn would have won it for us! They didn't in the T20 last year and they didn't in the CL the year before. This was a team unit failure not the lack of one individual
In terms of the resources we had.... we have the world record holding spinner in this competition, we have the best T20 death pace bowler in the world IMHO, we have two other international spinners. Lewis would have finished that off but was not available through injury. If that isn't a set of resources to win this then please tell me how it can be improved.
Pete T seemed off the pace and wasn't used as a bowler at all...no idea why.
One other thing...Arul is looking for a two year contract discussions are underway and expected to be sorted soon.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:28:10:03:32 by Grockle.
It takes a very good side in 3 seasons to reach consecutive 'lottery' t20 cricket finals, CB final and now close to reaching semi's again, joint top of the championship last year losing on games won and at the end of August still in the running this time around.
We are not a big club with a big test ground but we punch above our weight and are established in the 1st division an achievement in itself.
I wouldnt swap our team and club for anyone's.
I take your point about resources but the simple fact is that very nearly a third of the Leics total was scored from Alfs four overs.
Might be the exception for him and he might have got us to the final but he chose a terrible time to concede so many.
Composure is what we needed not a different player.
Using Suppiah/Hildreth in that role might have helped but they both failed to deliver, James up front and Arul (used too late once again) through a lack of concentration...we could always have picked Compton of course. (TIC)
People always use Wes, Zander, Ian as examples. Tends to happen when something doesn't quite happen...my point is these things didn't happen when those "examples" were part of the side so the point is?
We had no right to walk the final, they were there like us, on merit.
Instead of trying to find fault with our lads let's give Leicestrshire credit, they did a brilliant job.
We came up short right at the death, and that I'm afraid, does happen.
I said " and he might have got us to the final " so yes I do realise that and don't need the sarcasm thank you.
If I ever mention them it is only to be very happy for their successes in their new homes.
Should they ever come back to play against us at Taunton and do well, I would be pleased for them like any opponent that does well and provides entertainment for us.
As far as our future is concerned I do hope that we manage to get at least one gold medal to 'stand on the mantelpiece'. At the end of the season we can then look at how we stand.
My earnest hope is that whatever happens BR keeps his promise, and next year we truly embrace using our youngsters in a way that enables them to prove to us and themselves that they have the skills to have a happy and successful cricket career.
Alternatively they will be given the opportunity to fail and consider making careers elsewhere before they are too old. To achieve that IMO that means not paying out thousands of pounds on older players 'pension plans'.
Our neighbours, Gloucestershire, won I believe seven one – day titles over a period of about five years because they knew how to win in tight situations. We have not learnt how to do that, and therefore cannot be considered to be a good one – day side until we actually win a title.
We are all still waiting. People only remember winners – not runners – up.
Twenty 20 cricket is only an exhibition format of the great game, especially Semi Finals / Final day, so well played Somerset in getting to the Final, and yes – very well done to Leicestershire. I don’t know for sure, but perhaps they were more ‘up for it’ on the occasion than the Somerset team were and, should that indeed be so, maybe therein lies the reason (but not the cause) of why we are inevitably tagged the “nearly men.”
PS
Quote:old boy!
I agree with Grockle but God help me if I had penned it - the wrath of some other Grockle posters would have condemned me to the outer reaches of Siberia!
Quote:averageside
Of course 100% correct Grockle. Imagine what the reaction would be if I posted it.
There's something wrong when a team cannot perform when it really matters, in a FINAL, all the talent but you got to be able to do it on the day, the mark of a better than average side
Just ignore such a person(s) completely, ‘old boy!’, and likewise ‘averageside’ - I most certainly do. I like your postings, because you talk a great deal of sense having put much thought into what you say, and long may that continue. Your opinions are as worthwhile reading and being duly considered as those of anyone else.
Keep posting.
Keep posting.
Oh indeed Clarence I ignore the blind loyal and unknowledgeable lot.
There was a certain Welshman on here that criticizes posters when the county are losing for "being negative and to go away"
What are Messageboards for? It's not me who's "pathetic" I think.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:28:12:48:50 by averageside.
Quote:Bobstan
Before the final my first surprise was that Marcus won the toss.
My second was that we fielded. Was that just me?
No.
Sending Hildreth in, to me, sent the message 'we're going to try to push it around and hang in there and then hope to beat you later.'
I would have preferred to send Jos, the message being 'We are going to take this game away from you right now and right here.'
Carpe Diem and all that.
This season, I don't think we did, necessarily deserve to win the T20. It was, after all, only a moderately good qualifying campaign. Nor were we 'unlucky,' not to win it this season. Make no mistake, we were outplayed by Leics.
We're obviously not favourites in the CC either, at the moment and nor do I feel, based on the season so far, that we deserve to win that.
The question, now, is what happens going forward?
I think Brian will have to work hard to get the guys back up for the rest of this season. And then?
If we're going to be minus Craig K and Jos on a regular basis and Alf is going back to the IPL, then we will surely need to strengthen from without, if the finances permit?
In the very short term, we have the CL for which we have not only no keeper, but also no T20 opener. I wonder if Brian will look for an overseas opener to replace Pollard?
Cobb, Razzaq and Jefferson were their key figures - none of them spent their time expertly placing balls for 2s and 3s.
Leics scored 66 runs in boundaries, We scored 52. They executed their attempted six hits better than we did, I'm afraid.
Clearly, the overall performance in relation to last year has dropped (worrying in itself, considering we didn't win anything), and I think it may be to do with -
TRES - think we'll all find in hindsight that the injury is affecting him more than we think. Clearly not the force to be reckoned with compared to last year and earlier this year.
CRAIG K - always the Musketeering 30 or 40, even for England. With Marcus not quite firing, we need more than this from him now. He needs to go on. 80 off 60 balls better than 30 off 15. He does'nt need to hit every ball for 6.
TREGO - a comparison to the Trego of last year simply not worth thinking about. Could be relied on last year, this year, again 30 odd is about it.
HILDRETH - a previous post mentioned anchoring the innings. He did this numerous times last year. Not so successful this year, as again his form is nowhere near that of last year.
JOS - HERO plain and simple. Really hope he doesn't get affected by the pressure of having to perform EVERY TIME HE COMES INTO bat - after yet another failure of the "much vaunted Somerset batting top-order".
POLLARD - why oh why does Marcus throw him the ball ? A few good games, but we need more from someone of his calibre. Won't be missed next year.
CRAIG MESCHEDE - everyone talks about his 'promise'. Maybe, the jury's out in my opinion. Seen him play one good innings this year - well hit a few sixes off a poor bowling attack at Taunton. Don't really think he is up to this level at the moment.
MURALI - seriously guys, when we wil realise that he is simply not as good as we (or he) think he is. The Indian selectors would tend to agree, preferring to pick up spinners 'off the street' rather than turn to him. Why is it that these 'slow pitches' always seem to "behave differently" for the opposition spin bowlers. A pitch isn't a living thing. Maybe, just maybe, the opposition spinners are either better, or just perform better when needed (Afridi / Cobb ?).
ALFONSO - the "Great Alfonso". An earlier post had it spot on. Another whose performances this year are well below those of last year. Flashes of brilliance of course, but still more than likely to go for 10 an over, than not.
KIRKBY - yep, again earlier post had it right. Likely to pick up a wicket or 2, if lucky, but more than likely to go for a few than not.
Marcus's comments after the match about the team just keeping on and eventually it will come, also worry me ! The saying "if you keep on doing what you are doing - you'll keep on getting what you are getting" springs to mind.
There was an earlier post a week or so back, after the Notts CB40 loss, saying that we were in all 3 competitions and would be the envy of all other teams for being so.
I fear, that there will be 2 other teams, in addition to Leicestershire, that will not be envying us when all is said and done this year.
I know that this post will not go down well with some of you. But I feel that if we want to turn this team into winners, we need to face up to the fact that this needs to be addressed.
At the moment, we are clearly a team that is no way greater than the sum of its parts, and probably less.
Somehow, someone needs to fix this.
Do agree that Marcus has looked subdued since injuring his knee.
Do agree that the line of 'we'll learn to do it eventually,' is not helpful.
I think some plans need to be re-appraised. A lot to be said for batting first on slowish tracks.
I don't think Hildreth is ideally cut out for T20 - not explosive enough and has not really performed very well, overall, in six Finals Day knocks - has neither made a big score, nor a 35 or so at a very high strike rate. Best was 30 odd at about a run a ball in the first of his six innings.
We also have a couple of anomalies. Pete is an all-rounder but seems to be deployed as a specialist batsman in T20.
Arul is, mainly a batsman but is almost deployed as a specialist bowler in T20 - hardly ever gets a chance to play an innings.
Clearly we have the players, who have the talent.
Fair point about Hildy, and they have of course got to work with what they have.
Keep coming back to the posts referring to the "mental blocks".
Maybe it is this, maybe its a case of underestimating opponents, based on performances at Taunton ?
Where does BR fit into this.
Not sure whether he was the strongest captain in his time ?
If if is mental rather than performance based - who / how can it be addressed ?
Quote:AGod
Just checked the stats and Hildreth has hit only 5 boundaries in 6 Finals Day innings, and only one boundary in his last 5 Finals Day knocks. THAT is why Jos should have come in ahead of him, in yesterday's final.
And this, is exactly what I am talking about.
Great stat AGod.
Question is, why oh why, did the powers that be still stick with sending him in when they did.
That assumes that they did know.
These are the things that can be fixed - but no one seems to want to do it ?
I think that's fine when the ball is coming onto the bat, a la Taunton ( and Trent Bridge for the QF.) However it's a risky approach on slower surfaces UNLESS the top three have really broken the back of the target already - and that had not really happened yesterday. In other words the rate required was already high when they sent Hildreth in. Hildreth did the job that, one assumes, they wanted him to do - pushed it around so I don't fault James - but I do think they picked the wrong medicine for the Leics' attack - we needed to take the initiative.
Seems to me that we / they / someone has a much too rigid mindset.
As posted Pete does not bowl in t20, Arul does not bat until very late, Hildreth will come in at four no matter what, Pollard gets chucked the ball come what may and so on.
No flexibility or thinking on your feet or changing things depending on the opposition.
Whether that is a "mental block " or arrogance or poor leadership who knows.
Last year he also said that we lose at the final hurdle "for a reason and why it keeps happening" and we will seek the answers and learn. Well guess what we haven't learned. There no point coming on and keep saying well played to the opposition. Some may think thats the way but to be winners you need a bit more than just to say that and its all okay.
Maybe now that we are underdogs and not favourites for the CC we will perform better and nick it at the end. That thought is keeping me going at the moment
If the lost was a one-off, it could be put down to bad luck, but it's a pattern where at least three times the batsmen have underperformed (last year t20 was more flukey), usually against spinners. So if we are to win something then it can't just be dismissed as unlucky or not proper cricket, lessons have to be applied. Otherwise every team in the land will bowl with the pace off and turning it.
After the Unicorns match, I was next to him when he was chatting with a mate and said "its really not good".
This was after he came out and literally limped around doing the press interviews etc etc.
I still wonder if it is a lot worse than they are letting on.
But yep, all the best to them tomorrow.
Really hope they bounce back quick, and secure a home semi-final.
If they don't, well we all know what's coming - maybe even our old mate Ollie Rayner bowling it so slow he could collect the ball back if he didn't like the delivery !
More generally a wet summer, such as this one, will often lead to slow surfaces even when an opponent - such as Leics does not get the chance to prepare a specific type of pitch.
I understand that our CL qualifiers are in Hyderabad. Last time we were there, the track seemed to play much like Taunton, so let's hope for a repeat.
Now, back from Birmingham and having caught up with others' thoughts, which I find very useful, as I actually woke up today feeling very dissapointed after yesterday... (ok, I agree, that the C40 and championship is a greater prize, but watching my team lose is never good)
I think we can go into individual decisions and players performances, but in essence we have a very good team, with players that will not always perform brilliantly. We beat the two league winners on our way to the final, but in the end, when being clear favourites to win, our performance dipped (again)
IMHO, there appears a correlation to when we are favourites and a reduction in our performance. We're made favourites for the championship and we perform like relegation candidates. When, it appears we are too far behind (losing to Sussex, 6th game) and are written off, we go on a winning run.
Yesterday, we were coasting in the s-f, but managed 4(I think) runs in the final 8 balls. Then, when it seemed it might be lost, we play an immaculate elimination over...and I could go on.
So, why is this. Do we get complacent, is this due to Tres's leadership style? Is he/his style ruthless enough. Or, do we simply choke and why is this?
Ever hopeful that we can win the c40, as I think it is asking too much for us to win the championship(especially with the prevalence of rain in the west at this time of year and with our sub-standard outfield, which takes longer to drain), but it would of course be brilliant if I was proved wrong and we did.
Imo, next year will be harder. It is very possible that Buttler (he was wanted this year, but was refused by Somerset)will join Alf in the IPL.
Finally and sadly, I am starting to think, we do need a new captain. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Tres is considering his position, as this must be taking such an emotional toll. I sometimes read Ponting's name and believe this would be a good choice....but would he be interested?
Anyway, maybe we will go on and win the C40 and Championship and all this analysis and occasional bitterness to our fellow posters will be forgotten and binned in our memories...let's hope so.
I think it may be time for a winter of contemplation, especially if as you say Buttler joinms Thomas in the IPL and Kartik doesn't come back. Also take into account Kieswetter may go to IPL, and it doesnt take a genius to see where our batting may be.
Ive always been a Ponting for Somerset fan but dont know if that will happen. Major decisons in the winter for BR and the management.
Boyo.
How did we get from there to him becoming a virtual specialist batsman in T20?
A lot of the posts above sum things up well.
I don't buy the 'Leicester played well, let's move on' philosophy. Fact is we flunked in a Final again.
Can't imagine Bill Shankley,Brian Clough or Alex Ferguson saying "well played lads for coming in second".
What turns a talented team into a great one, is the ability to crush opponents when it really matters.The fact that we continue to fail to do this is both a crying shame and an issue of great concern.
Having said that, I agree 100% that most teams in the land would happily swap with our structure, set up & talent. To that extent, yes we are punching above our weight.
However, relative to our capabilities we are still under performing when it matters. As someone said above, Gloucs won a bucketful of one day titles a few years back, with half the talent we have now.
It's so b***dy annoying that we can't get over the line.
If there is one thing we simply must do for the future, it is to become more ruthless. To go for every opportunity & to step firmly the necks of opponents when we are in a winning position. Then to keep the foot there until every last breath of the opposition is extinguished.
Anyway, rant over. Let's take our frustrations out on our opponents & stuff everyone out of sight !
Grizzzly
The England Wales Cricket has threatened to stop its county teams from competing in this year's Champions League Twenty20 in India unless the organisers of the event, the BCCI pay them the participation fees in advance, according to a report. [www.dnaindia.com]
Essex tomorrow - CB40 home semi at stake
Hampshire Wednesday - CC1 title chase still on and we are still in it
The glass is still half full as well as being half empty
Lots of debate in the off season and some very difficult questions to find answers to once this season is over (it isn't yet by the way)
A few who need to calm down
All this is what a messageboard is for:-)
If just a couple of the Boyce catches had sailed
over his head we would have won.
Fifteen minutes more of Pollard, Butler or Trego
we would have won.
A very great pity but they did not happen.
On the day several things just went against us.
Mind you one run different and we lost the Semi.
Glad we did not.
Entertaining as always !
Unlike others we move on with a chance of winning the other
two competitions. This is a superb couple of years. Well done Somerset.
1 Injury to Jefferson meant they could deploy Boyce as a sub. (Not suggesting it was a tactical injury).
2. Dropping George was in retrospect a mistake. Well as Kirby bowled the ball was easier to grip than in the semi.
3. We do find it difficult when the ball is turning or nipping about as we like the ball to come onto the bat and we can hit through the line.
4. We made a few fielding errors - missed runouts (jefferson 2/13 times before he got under way), overthrows, fumbles that cost us a few runs.
5. Trying to strike Cobb for sixes to a very long boundary.
6. Alf not being on-song with the ball.
7. Pollard not looking like he could strike runs.
8. Henderson bowling quite beautifully.
Enough to add up to the difference and more.
My wife was disgusted with Nixon's behaviour. Was it unreasonable or legit. sledging? (I was at the match and am not willing to rerun the whole thing on recorder to find out!!).
Edgbaston is far improved with its new developments. But the sound system in the S Barnes stand was pathetic. Beer and cider £3.90 a pint and Guinness £4!! Good service tho. They had laid on BRMB with a pretty good rock band so the £100 day was not wholly wasted!!
Lots still to play for still. Onwards!
The Sky commentators (David Lloyd in particular) all seemed to think it was jolly fun.
Isn't he a character and all that .....
I know its part of the game - but think he overdid it.
Not sure whether it had an affect, but a bit desperate in my opinion.
Firstly congratulations to Leics for some superb fielding and showing a lot of bottle.
We lost it, I believe for two reasons, the unbelievably crass decision to replace Dockrell, on a turning wicket, with one of our least athletic fielders, too short a fuse and too chancy for T20. The second, perhaps more serious mistake was allowing Henderson to bowl over 6 (powerplay) for 1 run. You cannot allow a bowler to establish a rythmn and not to take him on, with so many wickets in hand was suicidal.
I thought Craig Mechede bowled well in final, he doesn't look right batting yet though.
Bowling wise we look light, the development of GD and LG will be key to future success.
On a positive note I think if Buttler sorts himself out (i mean in the 4 day) he could be one of the very best, and unlike KP (not ours) he has the right mentality, he looks like he expects to win a game for us when he comes out, but he doesn't *look* to have the arrogance that comes with it....but IMO we need to realise he IS our best one day batsmen and we should be looking always at the right time to put him in. Although he got caught in the final he looked like the only batsman who was going to save us.
Another positive note, at least we got to the final. Hopefully the champs league can be successful (although we look very very light for that).
I fear that this could cause a knock on (or back) affect as we had last year and other silverwear could also slip away like last year. I fear that the first casulty could be a personal one and I may not be able to defend my cookery cup at the local flower show tomorrow (this could have been third time in a row) but yestersdays events have set me back a bit. It would be good if the team could draw strength from the loss a bit like Mike Tindall is quoted that England's rugby win against Ireland stems from them being beaten by Ireland in the grand slam match earlier this year.
Lets hope the team can bounce back. Lets hope they can thrash Essex and Hampshire and that my Victoria Sponge (it's a hobby) is outstanding, although I've more hope for the cricket
Dear me, I'd relish the chance to play against him even with my crutches.
For whatever reason we did not start our innings with the intent of getting on top of the run rate.
However we set up a platform that should have guaranteed at least a challenge at the total instead of the dismal effort that had us beaten with 4 overs to go.
So why do we fail at the last hurdle on so many occasions.
Is it the coach, captain, players?
Perhaps a more dynamic captain would help and the release of that aspect may help Tres to concentrate just on his game.
Did we have the right team? Why didn't Gregory play? If he was in the sqaud surely he would have been fit enough.
I can understand the logic of playing Kirby. He did well in similar conditions only 3 days before and the spin threat appeared to be less in the second semi-final.
I can also understand choosing to chase as we have been successful with this strategy this season and also batting James H at number 4 as we appear to be comfortable chasing 9-10 an over for the last 6 with KP and JB to come.
I also think that Murali bowled beautifully in the final as his figures would testify and that Alfie who did so much in the semi was unaccountably poor. I cannot blame him as he has done so much for us in the last 3 years or so.
The season is still alive although I do not think we will win the championship, or indeed deserve to, but we should be contenders for the Pro 40. I would settle to win that and in the close season take a long hard look at how we can win the CC next year and the personnel we would need to achieve this.
In this list of 2nd place finishes in recent years, by far the most inglorious one came on Langer's watch - T20 vs Sussex.
I think we, pretty much, panicked yesterday as we failed to get ahead of the rate early on and then realised that we'd left ourselves too much to do on a very dry pitch with the ball gripping.
I saw the highlights and the amount of turn that the seamer, McDonald got with his off-break slower ball to get Craig K scary and symptomatic of this facet of the pitch.
I'm not 100% sure Pete Trego was fully fit either.
Now this Kirby 'scapegoat' theory.
Admittedly it was a marginal decision but none of our spinners did well in this "spinning pitch" in the semi. Dockrell (in his first Somerset T20 I think) took 1 for 19 in his 2 overs and was the third best bowler and the only spinner not to go into double figures.
However, do you drop Arul to get another bowler in the side? Do you drop Kartik to keep George in?
Now even Marcus admitted it was a marginal decision but he went for another pace man. He also admitted that the spinners did better in the final but the wet ball was a consideration and MK had had real problems with it the year before in the game under lights.
Now SK is not a T20 bowler I think we've established that. However he went for 17 off 2, kept his cool, took 1 wicket and (for a poor fielder) 1 catch so I submit he did the job he was brought in to do and DID NOT CONTRIBUTE TO LOSING US THE FINAL.
Would George have won it for us? I doubt it - it wasn't lost in the Leicestershire batting aspect of the game. and we were 18 runs short. If you want to blame a bowler then get on Rodders wagon and go for Alf he did concede 47 but we wouldn't have been there without him and who would have thought it?
Leave the hindsight and the individual blame culture and take it that Leicestershire got the game right and we got the chase badly wrong.
I am a Somerset supporter, have been since my 1st trip to HQ in 1993 and will be forever more.
Nobody forces us to support Somerset or to attend matches.
There are 17 other counties out there many of whom would welcome more support.
I think 3 T20 finals in a row, 2nd in Championship last year, runners up in Pro 40 shows remarkable consistency.The brand of cricket we play is a joy to watch most of the time.
I'm gutted we haven't managed to win any of these opportunities but to be in contention shows how good we are.
Yes there maybe something small missing somewhere which is stopping us just getting over the line but i'm happy to keep supporting us (not constantly criticising) whilst we find it.
Would we really prefer to be any other county in the country, i know i certainly would not.
Our players, ground, supporters make us the special county we are. A few trophies that we richly deserve would be very very welcome but i see little merit in such negativity towards a team as good as ours.
I can't wait until Sept 17 when we win the P40 final at Lords and see how the comments suddenly change then.....
With the run rate slipping away jos should have been sent in earlier, but then again there are others can hit ahead of him.
I really think we NEED to win the CB40 otherwise we'll further cement our reputation, a top 3 finish in the CC also would make it a fairly good season.
The positive thing is that although we at the top end in all comps the are some blatant weak points that we need to improve at e.g.
1. Lack of depth in batting - no one was able put pressure on arul and jos's replacements did no better than him, with more call ups pending this needs to be sorted.
2. Slow starts - was it a complacent start? Was it the lack of IPL players? (another depth issue). We have got to look at our sqaud available at the start of next season and if the team doesn't look strong enough a defensive signing should be made.
3. No Plan B - We need to do some serious work on slow pitches and/or recruit a top class one day batsmen in the stoke making mould.
Despite all the negative thoughts I look the team we've got together at the moment, I wouldn't trade Jos or Tres for anyone in the world and Hildreth WILL be back with a bang next season.
However I don't think pur squad is complete, we're a one day pace bowler short (LG will hopefully fill the hole) and one batsmen short, we don't have the depth Durham have.
Im sure they would not like to go back to the "Reeve" or "Shine" era!!!
COACH
You forget that some are never happier when we're losing.
Sad.
But true.
However, I can set your mind at rest on one immediate worry.
You fear that if we lose against Essex tomorrow, we will face an away CB40 semi-final against Sussex `when we all know what`s coming - maybe even our old mate Ollie Rayner etc etc etc.`
As Rayner has been sent out on loan for the rest of the season to Middlesex (currently bottom of their group), and is in line to sign for them permanently during the winter, this is one hurdle we are unlikely to face.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:28:20:18:26 by cricketjerry-mouse.
Interesting you mentioned Pete - I was expecting him to bowl and think he would have been very effective in the circumstances. I would have thought he would get the nod over Craig M, even though his performance was beyond reproach, but the fact he didn't get a bowl in two games suggests a niggle.
Celebrate. It actually doesn't get any better than this.Enjoy the ride. I am and I have been watching the boys since 1962. I would rather have our second place last year than win a championship on the basis of dodgy dealings twice by Lancashire. And if we come second or third to Lancashire this year they will have won it on dodgy home pitches.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:28:21:01:03 by Alan Tucker.
I also blamed the batsmen for allowing a spinner to bowl the final over of the PP for 1 run, setting the tone for the rest of the innings.
Clearly my thoughts are filtering through, as one of yesterdays 4 teams posted a ftm.
It is infuriating to com second so often and I wonder if the determination to win became counter productive. I posted on Thursdaythat I thought Pete would win it for us...and I thought I was going to be right.If Pollard's edge had been 2 inches wider and missed Nixon's glove we had 4 more runs and another quick dozen from KP would have seen us home. Such small margins between defeat and victory . Now, let's win tomorrow,even if it's only to let me stay in Taunton another night instead of travelling to London or Hove.
All I did was explain that he a) wasn't a poor T20 bowler in the game b) did not show his poor fielding skills in the game...was there anything else you mentioned about him?
Tell you what before you suggest him as some kind of weak link look at the stats of the game perhaps?
I agree with you he would not be in my first eleven but he was NOT a mistake in the final because he did everything he was supposed to and George probably would have had to concede -2 runs to have made any significant difference in his place.
Keep posting, Sir.
It's lovely to see you.
It would help if you read the posts before replying to them.
I made no comment about George's ability. That wasn't the issue. The issue you brought up was the weakness of Steve in T20 in relation to George.
The weaknesses you identified were NOT apparent in the Final and spin was not a factor in the defeat from our side therefore the reason for a reply to your implied 'mistake' of picking Kirby.
Marcus went with more pace in the Final. It didn't cause any more problems. He could have gone with spin and had the same result. But he didn't and when he trusted Steve to do a job. Steve did the job.
I'm sure if he'd asked George he would have done the job as well... but there was no indication yesterday that he would have operated with any more significant influence on the result which is what you seemed to imply
Seems you to do Jim especially where other posters are concerned!!
Lets get into the cricket eh man? Might be good for the soul you never know? Cmon Somerset!!!
Quote:AGod
Kirby did okay, wides apart. The decision to pick him was an interesting one, though, given that he had apparently taken zero wickets over his past SEVEN T20 games combined. I guess his Pro 40 effort at Bristol must have been uppermost in management's minds.
So were Pollard, Alf and Craig M 'OK' as well? (why does this little comment have to be there? Give the man credit for doing his job and just leave it at that)...oh and does that compare with Murali's wide and no ball in the semi did he do OK as well (actually he didn't by his standards but I doubt we'll ever read even mild criticism of him)?
The explanation from the captain on the day? Possibly in hindsight he could have gone with spinners but the wet ball was a consideration and the spinners hadn't exactly covered themselves with glory in the Hampshire game.
And the pace alternative was?
In 2005 Caddick hardly played in the T20 campaign after being taken apart for 22 in one over in one game. He played in the final and did the job...wonder if he bowled any wides.
The issue here was NOTHING to do with Kirby as a T20 bowler over a season. It was the implied comment that his presence in the side was an error that lost us the final because we did not play a more effective spinner in his place.
His presence did not lose us the final. George would not have had a significant influence. Pace gave them more runs but that was NOT because of Kirby and his wides.
This is not about him as a T20 bowler or George's strengths as a 19 year old spinner.
This was about people looking for someone to blame and trying to put some of it on a bowler who did his job in ONE 20 over match last night but is not a great T20 bowler generally (it is a bit of the 2011 obsession for a certain poster - though it seems that might relate to two posters perhaps).
Can't you give an honest bowler a break when he does his job?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:29:11:10:51 by Grockle.
I think the selection for the Final was entirely understandable, taking into account the circumstances which Grockle has already described. I don't think that any other selection would have changed the pattern of the match. I suspect that Trescothick opted to bowl in anticpation of possible further rain and D-L coming into play.
As BJ has said, one of the things which makes sport special is its glorious uncertainty. Unfortunately, other teams are allowed to play well - and hats off to Leicestershire, who did so on this occasion.
I agree with Alan Tucker, N. Hughes and others who have said that we have a great team. They have given me a great deal of enjoyment (not only when they are winning) - and I am sure that, when they do win a trophy, victory will taste even sweeter after the recent near misses.
If you have the pleasure of speaking to the grumpy one can you please tell him that I made it out of the bedroom, despite everything, at three o clock yesterday afternoon.
Next time he sends me to a darkened place then he needs to be a bit more considerate about letting me out.
You just can't abuse six foot three back rowers in such a manner, it's not fair, we need our cartoons and warm milk.
I'll have him.
assumed you would be able to work out for yourself when it was safe to come out.
Saturday evening was disappointing, but very easily forgotten. There was much to enjoy during the day but perhaps one lesson is that attempting to score three fours in an over is potentially as rewarding and certainly less perilous than attempting to hit two sixes. That catch of Pollard by Nixon was crucial, just as the injury to the same batsman was crucial last year, but cricket will always produce those game-chaning moments and Leicestershire are to be commended for their whole-hearted performance and brilliant fielding and certainly deserved to win.
Life is too short for the reading of every posting on this thread, for I have come to it only this morning. I shall mark it as "read" and move my focus to today's match against Essex, as a sub plot of the renewal of our CC bid to start on Wednesday.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Since when have rugby players been able to do that?
As for not reading the entire thread, you're bang on the money there sunshine.
However, I shall précis the whole thing for you.
We did well, then we didn't do so well.
Some were happy, others not so.
A few people got angry, a few giggled like schoolchildren.
However, the bit which you be need to know is that I was correct all the way through, my uncanny aloofness shining like a beacon from the outset.
I may or may not have had my name scratched off a few Christmas card lists, but as you know, we don't do that sort of thing in......Basingstoke.
Do we boyo?
Quote:GrockleQuote:AGod
Kirby did okay, wides apart. The decision to pick him was an interesting one, though, given that he had apparently taken zero wickets over his past SEVEN T20 games combined. I guess his Pro 40 effort at Bristol must have been uppermost in management's minds.
So were Pollard, Alf and Craig M 'OK' as well? (why does this little comment have to be there? Give the man credit for doing his job and just leave it at that)...oh and does that compare with Murali's wide and no ball in the semi did he do OK as well (actually he didn't by his standards but I doubt we'll ever read even mild criticism of him)?
The explanation from the captain on the day? Possibly in hindsight he could have gone with spinners but the wet ball was a consideration and the spinners hadn't exactly covered themselves with glory in the Hampshire game.
And the pace alternative was?
In 2005 Caddick hardly played in the T20 campaign after being taken apart for 22 in one over in one game. He played in the final and did the job...wonder if he bowled any wides.
The issue here was NOTHING to do with Kirby as a T20 bowler over a season. It was the implied comment that his presence in the side was an error that lost us the final because we did not play a more effective spinner in his place.
His presence did not lose us the final. George would not have had a significant influence. Pace gave them more runs but that was NOT because of Kirby and his wides.
This is not about him as a T20 bowler or George's strengths as a 19 year old spinner.
This was about people looking for someone to blame and trying to put some of it on a bowler who did his job in ONE 20 over match last night but is not a great T20 bowler generally (it is a bit of the 2011 obsession for a certain poster - though it seems that might relate to two posters perhaps).
Can't you give an honest bowler a break when he does his job?
Wides were costly, Grockle, whether you like it or not. I think we sent down seven of them to one by Leics? 7 extra runs, 7 extra balls. And no, I'm not saying Kirby bowled all of them, but I think he sent down at least two of them, and maybe three.
In any event, I wasn't criticising his performance, just observing that the decision to pick him was a big surprise.
And, yes, if Kartik leaves the one thing I won't miss about him is front-foot no-balls, especially in one-day cricket. But since I was talking about the decision to include Kirby, as opposed to criticising his actual performance, Kartik is not relevant here, unless you are suggesting that his inclusion for the Final was, in any way, controversial.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:29:11:43:44 by AGod.
But would they? It was a bit on the slow side, certainly by the final game. There was plenty of turn. And Leics had no bowlers of real pace... meaning all the impetus has to come from the bat.
I cannot see how our record of chasing in such conditions over the past few years is anything like good enough to draw such a conclusion?
When chasing on such surfaces (including in the 2009 final on the same ground) Somerset's record is less than stellar, overall in one-day cricket. Indeed, I would say that that remains our one real achilles heel in one-day cricket.
In fact, if we are talking about batting generally, rather than specifically chasing, I would guess that we failed to score the sort of total that we needed in yesterday's final in about half of our non rain-affected group games? I think we lost four to the weather? Of the other 12, I think we probably scored fewer than 146 runs at the following grounds in T20 this season;
Bath
Bristol
Cardiff
Southampton
Hove
Southgate.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:29:12:09:23 by AGod.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
I'll start......bois bach, that Tibetan chap......what a moaner he is...dreadful.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
And he never buys a pint.......and he claps the opposition.
Sometimes.
Quote:Loyal of Lhasa.
I can't read that posting of yours, Mike, as I've already stopped reading this thread.
I can’t understand your post LoL will you explain it to me.
Especially now that I've had the enlightening news (without a hint of patronisation) that wides (which it seems I like) are "costly"!
Bloody hell and here I was thinking we needed more of them after 16 years watching the game...well I gu't foot of our stairs!!
I expect a full apology once you've had time to eat all that Kate Humble pie, Grockle.
Wanting us to bowl wides?
It's a disgrace....a disgrace I say.
It is not known if Marcus suffered a new injury today or aggravated the previous one.
Compton is also injured (unspecified).
Nash seems to think that Craig K would be available if we made the Pro 40 Final.
I told Alf, Kieron and Steve that wides were valuable (mistakenly of course) and they should all try and bowl as many as possible.
They only managed two apiece (Steve's obviously being the most costly because they were the only ones mentioned in dispatches). That Meschede bloke didn't listen and only bowled 1!!
Is a wide more costly if bowled by an ex Gloucestershire second division player who has a bit of a temper and is getting on in the field I wonder.
Seems so...though I think I'm right in saying that it is only so in the eyes of some observers who seem to hold a slight bias against players with that kind of background. It makes no difference in the scorebook I believe.
You'd think his 58 wickets would do something to equalise the importance of his wides against those of players perceived to have more status but it seems not in the view of some.
The injury to Marcus is the same one by the way....why is this here shouldn't it be on the Essex thread?
I put it on here because AN said he was struggling with injury at Edgbaston.
How do you know it wasn't... if Andy Nash doesn't and you weren't here?
I'll confirm at least one thing for you categorically... it wasn't his knee.
Brian Rose. A possible source? Says Marcus went over on the same ankle and althought he will wait for the scan it doesn't look wonderful.
Concern over Nick Compton with a side muscle injury.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:29:20:03:03 by Grockle.
Know until the scan results are back.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:30:10:10:59 by AGod.
I believe that each and every one of us has a right to express our own opinion, without having to encounter abuse and sarcasm from those who give the impression that they are carrying out a vendetta.
I disagree with LoL when he says that “life is too short for the reading of every posting”, but would dare to suggest that life is indeed too short for such ill feelings towards one another to manifest themselves on a public forum, or anywhere else for that matter!
This season is drawing to a close, so let us all enjoy what little remains of it irrespective of what Somerset’s results may, or may not, bring!
Palairet.
Happy days!! We'll be there on Sunday!
I know I should not feel like this as most teams and supporters would give anything to have a team competing as much as Somerset do however it still feels like it’s been a tough 3 season, what with the 20/20 finals days as well as being at the cb40 final last season and Durham for the last 2 days of the CC and the last home game of the cb40 when it was a league format (2009), all finals we have managed to lose.
I don’t want to blame anyone I just want our beloved Somerset to get over the winning line in any format.
Come on Somerset.............please........
Wurz
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Talk about fickle.........
It is possible, although difficult, for one person to embody both types. My football supporting persona is less contemplative, more impatient, than my cricketing self. I see the good in cricketing opponents far more than in football rivals.
Well said, Palairet; lovely to see you posting again.
Edited to make it clear that I would far rather SCCC win than not! I should love us to win the County Championship in my lifetime, but there are even more important things than that!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:08:30:22:42:23 by Bobstan.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
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