Derby ( H) 2026

[pablo]

I have every respect for Harmer and by all accounts he's a really bright guy but his captaincy sometimes makes Westley look like Brearley. His bowling choices in his format are just plain odd. We could have won today with 3 or 4 overs to spare if we had bowled our best bowlers on the day - Akhtar and Mulder- out. Letting everyone bar Walter have an over or two just doesn't make sense. can somebody explain.

[nat]

I have every respect for Harmer and by all accounts he's a really bright guy but his captaincy sometimes makes Westley look like Brearley. His bowling choices in his format are just plain odd. We could have won today with 3 or 4 overs to spare if we had bowled our best bowlers on the day - Akhtar and Mulder- out. Letting everyone bar Walter have an over or two just doesn't make sense. can somebody explain.

I'm guessing he's trying to win games *and* develop the younger players e.g. Benkenstein.

[Bath Hammer]

That?s not a bad ploy. I?m heartened by us finding a bit of form. The Blast is less important to me but the initial matches were a bit embarrassing living in the heart of Somerset as I do!

[bwildered]

 Mix and match bowling changes is a standard these days. Keeps bats away from familiarity, especially if one has become settled in and scoring .
 Thought after, did the DJ go home after the ladies game or did I not hear the burst of music during the game.

[vim]

Now Essex has just crept into positive run rate territory.

[spirali]

Mix and match bowling changes is a standard these days

That's true of course - but it's also true that precisely because it's 'standard', it's sometimes done rather unthinkingly, which is how it looked yesterday. Still, all's well that ends well.

[bwildered]

Mix and match bowling changes is a standard these days

That's true of course - but it's also true that precisely because it's 'standard', it's sometimes done rather unthinkingly, which is how it looked yesterday. Still, all's well that ends well.

 Captains generally start off with a general plan, but has the game develops even the first delivery of the next over becomes a match up option. All bowlers must be ready now to bowl one over from either end throughout and with a bigger squad of bowlers available in the game also may not be expected to bowl their full quota.
Back in the day ends and quotas were set in stone and captains were less flexible in taking unlikely options.
Standard stuff now,  it is just has much about surprise.
One thing far more certain, the day of consolidation is over and trying to keep taking wickets much more a priority, which does makes it entertaining .

[JasonP]

I guess we should thank Andrew Flintoff or whoever decided to leave Allison out of the 2nd Lions match.  Doubtful we'd have won without him.
Incidently there are three 50 over matches between SA A and England lions to be played between 5th and 9th of June.  Not sure if they've named the squad yet but if not could easily see Cox or Allison playing in them.  Rehan Ahmed went straight from not playing in the IPL to playing for the Lions.

They seem to have gone for one player from each county- with a few exceptions. I don't think they'll pick both Cox and Allison, but I completely forgot about those 3 South Africa A games. If they're treating the Lions as the players who can step up to the full squad right away, then it would have to be Cox. But the squad they picked for the last set of 4 day games was more a development side.

No Cox for the next couple of matches

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/jordan-cox-ipl-stint-rcb-the-things-ive-learned-i-just-couldn-t-turn-it-down-1539298

But as Cox heads back home - he is expected to play for England Lions in their one-day series against South Africa A,