Essex Outfielder : The Unofficial Essex CCC Forum
Off-Topic => In The Hut => Topic started by: Topperssnr on January 02, 2015, 01:27:50 PM
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Happy New Year to all. Rumours are surrounding Jesse Ryder has sustained a back injury and is out of all cricket at the moment. That's worrying for Essex as he bowled more than at any time in his career whilst at Essex last summer. So no mention of hotspots/stress fractures but either way this may restrict his overs this coming summer.
The point is: am I the only bloke concerned about Essex's bowling resources? Three youngsters (who cannot be expected to play too fixtures, a slightly more experienced youngster coming back from serious stress fractures) and two elder statesman (both were injured last summer) is not enough strike power to challenge for championship or even one day honours.
The problem is a quality top performer in the peak of his career will be expensive too. But we desperately need more bowlers.
Perhaps the Club should cover all bases by investigating a replacement overseas pro now rather than waiting to the 11th hour and then sign a 3rd Division cheap opening bowler who is no better than what we got?
May be a new Kolpak player, after the forthcoming World Cup will relinquish his international career and play domestic cricket?
On another note has anyone noticed that the Big Bash use 5/6 proper bowlers, not make do with part timers to make up overs - something we do a lot in English Domestic Cricket.
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Big Jesse has got a 'disc' injury which occurred in the gym. The latest info is he will be able to play by the end of January.
Re: The Big Bash - Their teams can afford to employ 5 proper bowlers, in other words, lots of top players because there are fewer teams generating a lot more money than the UK game through huge crowds, television and sponsorship.
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Exactly and I believe the way forward for English cricket is Franchises and probably just 9/10 of them. The current system
dilutes the talent. Is History and tradition stopping the progression or even the survival of our game?
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SOS Saj.
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Exactly and I believe the way forward for English cricket is Franchises and probably just 9/10 of them. The current system
dilutes the talent. Is History and tradition stopping the progression or even the survival of our game?
I don't agree that 'city' franchises are the way ahead. In Oz the people have more of an affinity with their local city rather than their State. In the UK I still think there is a fairly strong association with your county although this has been somewhat diluted in recent years (I won't articulate the reasons as we don't want to get into politics).
I'd suggest the answer is to play 20-20 games at larger stadiums, in the evenings and weekends, and invest in retractable roofs (expensive I know but cricket does attract society 'high rollers' so there is potential to tap them up... plus TV revenue). The UK population is large enough to support the existing 18 counties, perhaps more.
I'd even go as far as to suggest 40-40 games (in place of 50-50) could also be played in this 'format'.
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City franchises probably too complicated and a bureaucratic nightmare, I would guess, as the ECB would drag this process out. I think T20 definitely needs an overhaul; first of all condense it. The Friday night project hasn't worked, we need it to reflect something like the Big Bash and run it over say three weeks, with each game being played in the evenings. Keep the teams as counties, but run[/i] them like franchised teams, where you could attract in the T20 "specialist" players from around the world, dropping any restrictions on the need to field a certain amount of county players. This would keep county regulars fit for championship and RL50 games (while at the same time encouraging them to compete for place more), but also you would attract sponsorship from bigger sources, maybe new to the sport, but interested in aligning themselves with some of the bigger names from world cricket. I also think T20 in England needs to liven up, matches still feel like being at a party where someone's dad is invigilating, deciding what music gets played and how much anyone is having to drink. It lacks the abandon of the Big Bash and IPL and needs to distinguish itself from other forms of the game and align with T20 elsewhere around the globe.
p.s. "SOS Saj"....hahahaha
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I am in agreement with the proposals. I have not attended T20 since it went down market. Anything to turn it into what amounts to a completely different sport is all right by me.
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Darren - Friday nights in miserable May all over the Uk doesn't really sell except at Essex & Somerset and when the Oval offers £1 tickets. We only moved away having group t20 blocks in July/Aug in 2013 when they brought in weekly Friday nights from May cause that's what the public wanted!
A Proposed franchise system would pool the better cricketers and make a better spectacle with only say 9 teams - look at the Big Bash! This would work because it would have to & doing nothing now is not an option. Our domestic history and traditions are preventing progression and we are already just rearranging the deck chairs on this Titanic. The recent sore analysis or health check of the game just backs this all up.
Major changes are needed but as we all know turkeys never vote for Christmas. I reckon the professional scenery will be very different in say 10/15 years. One or two counties will go to the wall which I reckon the ECB privately may welcome, whilst being saddened. One or two will join forces preventing more closures but once franchise t20 (with huge external and private investment) shows the way forward County Cricket will be ended as we know it. In its place will be something that has a better chance of surviving.
So IMO County Cricket will be 'relegated' and become more developmental whilst Regional cricket (maybe Franchises too in the longer game) will take over as the official practice/preparation for the 5 day test arena which will be dominated by England, Australia and India. The other international countries will play each other when they can afford too. Rightly or wrongly t20 cricket will dominate world cricket! When? Possibly in 10/15 years time in my humble opinion.
The MCC will not want to miss out and probably already has affiliations with an IPL team and may have a nomadic existence as a star studded side in other t20 competitions around the World. I reckon they may be even one franchise in the Uk as they already have their own ground! Perhaps their tenants, Middx, will join Surrey? Kent with Sussex, Hants has investment, Somerset with Glos, Worcs with the Bears, Durham with Yorks, Lancs with Derby, Leics with Nhants. Private investment is the key not annual handouts from the ECB. Remember the ECB is keeping many alive but for how long?
Doing nothing is no longer an option. I would love to see Essex CCC win trophies and be at the top of the tree of our domestic cricket, but we all need to be realistic.
I could go on!
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I failed to mention....Essex could merge with Middx and play their main t20 matches at the Olympic Stadium? There's a thought!
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This would work because it would have to .......
...has got to be one of the best arguments put forward on this site.
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Some excellent ideas on here that don't go far enough in my view.
Why not do away with Essex altogether and sell what's left of the ground and make more money for someone. Enjoin with Middlesex and Surrey and become Surfeitofsex ( geddit - there's a lot of money in sex) and play all our games at the Olympic Stadium which may not actually be in Essex anymore, or even be big enough as a cricket venue but hey ho as we and cricket won't exist as such it won't matter. 20;20 is outmoded anyway so let's reduce it to 10 overs aside to accommodate dwindling attention spans ( I would'nt go so far as David East and propose publicly five overs a side - I mean that's ridiculous!) and giving players more downtime. In lulls in play we could have in house tattoo parlours operating for players and supporters alike ( a lot of money in that currently)and say cheerleader competitions.If it rains we could ensure that bars have a continuous 'inclement weather' happy hour ( think of the profit) so most patrons wouldn't know if play was taking place or not
Test matches should consist only of games between England and Australia on a sort of continuous loop( because that's the only way to guarantee any money).
The trouble with people these days is that so many oppose change without giving a fair chance. I mean if we don't change with the times cricket as we know it will die.
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Andrew Gale joins the debate:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2895324/Yorkshire-captain-Andrew-Gale-calls-reform-domestic-Twenty20-cricket.html
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Good idea. You'd need to use the 10 biggest grounds with lights so no Yorkshire as they haven't got lights so they could amalgamate with Manchester.
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The thing about cricket is that there are not masses and masses of new fans out there incremental icreases are interest are possible. The danger is with the franchise system is you alienate more fans than you would increase. Can you really care about a london team or a north/south london team, thats middlesex / surrey. Crickets appeal is that it is county/ smallish town rather that city (more football). And why does essex/somerset have such good crowds no competion from other sports in there town/city of the stadium. Why derbyshire /leicestershire struggle for fans is that derby / leicester have football and rugby league to compete with.
andrew gales yorkshire will not get extinguished in a franchise system. Oh i really want to say a lots and lot of rude words about the whole idea *@~~###?!!!
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Good discussion albeit off the topic.
We are still a fairly parochial country (thankfully!) so I don't think a franchise system would work - heaven forbid a Middx/Essex team!!!!
Toppers-snr - you may well be correct that the future of professional (and probably all) cricket is T20. If that is the case then it ceases to be 'cricket' in my view. Might as well call it baseball.
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I might also add ...
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How can anyone say that the Friday night T20 'experiment' has been a failure? It has only been running for one season!
It should be reviewed after 4-5 seasons as per current ECB plans.
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Ok then which County/Regional Side or T20 Franchise will have the first retractable roof? Huge amounts of money but will guarantee matches stay on without rain and bad light? Someone will in the next 10/15 years I reckon.
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Ok then which County/Regional Side or T20 Franchise will have the first retractable roof? Huge amounts of money but will guarantee matches stay on without rain and bad light? Someone will in the next 10/15 years I reckon.
Yep Lords and the Oval at least. Then throw in the 'old' Olympic stadium (WHU)... plus Cardiff (must!), Headingley, Old Trafford and Edgbaston. Someone should tap up the Getty foundation for the funds to build the roofs. Maybe Mr Mick Jagger could set aside some funds in his will!
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Ridiculous. Sport in this country is based upon either city/town or county. In Aussie it is City or state. Their states are equivalent to our county.
Yorks & Lancky to merge? Give me strength. The problem with English cricket is no one plays it outside of the posh schools and it's not on terrestrial TV.
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The Oval needs to deal with the pigeon infestation before they start thinking about retractable roofs.
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I don't think large Franchises are the answer & I for one am not watching Essex with Kent/Surrey ever!!
It may well work in Australia but it will mean cricket only being played in approx 10 towns/cities in England & in certain areas there will be no 1st class cricket at all.
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I agree. I still support Essex even though I don't live there anymore. I do not want to see them joining with Middlesex, Kent or Surrey thank you ...
When I lived in Sussex I had absolutely no inclination to join them at all!
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in certain areas there will be no 1st class cricket at all.
There's next to no 1st class cricket in Chelmsford as it is.
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Ok, so going back to the original topic and on the reasonable assumption we could be exposed on the bowling front, which overseas player would we like to see Essex sign, particularly for T20, this summer?
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Ok, so going back to the original topic and on the reasonable assumption we could be exposed on the bowling front, which overseas player would we like to see Essex sign, particularly for T20, this summer?
Shakib Al Hasan
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Would the pitch turn early season to justify him, jesse will surely recover by mid season? Otherwise a good call
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Shakib's compatriot Tamim Iqbal might be worth a punt, a hard hitting opener capable of fast scoring (important for a good start in T20), if not then any half decent unsigned Aussie or Kiwi as they are usually good VFM.
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We've got the ball rolling with good suggestions. Kiwis have always been successful at Chelmsford and Shaun Tait was a good addition a couple of years back. I also wonder about Sri Lankans that might be available, given their national team's T20 prowess...???
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Good discussion albeit off the topic.
We are still a fairly parochial country (thankfully!) so I don't think a franchise system would work - heaven forbid a Middx/Essex team!!!!
Toppers-snr - you may well be correct that the future of professional (and probably all) cricket is T20. If that is the case then it ceases to be 'cricket' in my view. Might as well call it baseball.
that's an insult to baseball, a game that values tradition far more than cricket apparently does these days. It used to be said baseball was to cricket what draughts is to chess, with T20 that has been reversed. Give me the major leagues over the big bash any day.
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is ryder missing the start of the season? If so i would take guptil, darren bravo, mohammed hafeez, chris lynn (ipl?), pete forrest. if we are talking about t20 i would go for a bowler (assuming ryder is fit and playing). Kemar roach, jason bheirendorf, junaid khan, trent boult, marchant de lange
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for t20 surely a biffy alrounder is what we want shakib fit bill quite well
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Ryder hit 50 for Otago today.