Leicestershire County Cricket Club

[Mike Oxlong]

11 hours ago, Stadt said:

He had a broken rib which is why it took a while for him to get in. His howling has been very tidy when he’s played but he’s not got going when batting - so it’s pleasing he got a half century today.

 

I agree about the selections generally though, no rhyme or reason half the time.

I think the problem is that we’ve focused too much on the quality of our howling and not enough on batting and bowling practice 

[CrawlingFox]

Disappointed Barnes couldn't seal a deserved 50 but much credit to the Scriven-Swindells-Barnes engine of our batting order to get us level after top 5 capitulation. Scriven and Barnes have potential with the bat. If I was Nico I'd have Barnes working on it all Winter and bat him higher next season.

[Stadt]

Finan's our 6th highest wicket taker already 

[Voll Blau]

Quote

This is where county members' ears **** up, and here is the schedule proposal in a nutshell (much of it already reported by The Cricketer):

County Championship: May through July, and a conclusion in September. Ten games per season (plus the possibility of a playoff between two conference winners to determine promotion). A top tier of six teams, with one team relegated each year, sitting above two conferences of six. 

One-Day Cup: The whole thing in April - likely a short group stage followed by straight knockout. The panel say they are "investigating" the inclusion of Minor Counties in an "FA Cup-style competition". But what happens if your team is knocked out early? The panel proposes red-ball friendlies ahead of the first-class season starting in May.

T20 Blast: Late May until late July, primarily on Thursday and Friday evenings, and Sunday afternoons. The proposal would see a return to the days of first-class cricket and white-ball cricket intermingling, rather than being played in specific windows. 

The Hundred: Ain't going anywhere. There is a three-week block booked out in the ICC Future Tours Programme for the competition in August and September from 2024, to ensure England's star players are available.

First-class cricket festivals: This is where the sell to members becomes increasingly tricky. The panel debated several options for what should be played alongside The Hundred - they determined the integrity of the Championship would be undermined, but that too great a percentage (52 per cent) of the counties' best white-ball players were missing to The Hundred for the 50-over competition to remain (the research document suggests that 66 per cent of the best 200 English red-ball players were not involved in The Hundred.

The plan is, then, to play regional first-class cricket at outgrounds during this period. The panel proposes a "London Cup", "Roses Test Series" or "West Country Tri Series".

As a commercial concept, these might have some weight - and outground first-class cricket during high summer months is regularly called for by members. But the challenge for the ECB and the counties will be convincing members that these competitions are in fact competitions.

https://www.thecricketer.com/Topics/countycricket/what_is_in_ecb_high-performance_review_all_17_proposals_examined.html

 

Pathetic. Dress it up how they like, this is fvcking about all of English cricket for the sake of The Hundred. Really fear for our future with reduced fixtures.

[AjcW]

I think it's easy to focus on the many negatives, but can we just take a minute to say that adding Minor counties into the one day cup would be a fantastic idea! 

[Voll Blau]

26 minutes ago, AjcW said:

I think it's easy to focus on the many negatives, but can we just take a minute to say that adding Minor counties into the one day cup would be a fantastic idea! 

Agree with that. It's a format they should never have got rid of.

Edited 22 September 2022 by Voll Blau

[Lako42]

15 minutes ago, AjcW said:

I think it's easy to focus on the many negatives, but can we just take a minute to say that adding Minor counties into the one day cup would be a fantastic idea! 

Not for us it isn't. 

 

Getting embarrassed by proper teams is bad enough 

[AjcW]

3 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

Not for us it isn't. 

 

Getting embarrassed by proper teams is bad enough 

But this is the point I keep making, if there's no incentive for us to win (no fear of losing to someone smaller/being relegated) how do we ever improve?

[CrawlingFox]

For me everything about this is the tail wagging the dog.

 

Everything the ECB are proposing is supposedly geared towards making the England team succesful with the County structure seemingly seen as an obstacle to this rather than an enabler. I won't mention the Hundred too much.

 

I feel like instead we should be trying to create the best possible County structure for the Counties and for spectators and future players with the priorities being:

 

Ensure all players are playing all the time, so for instance remove situations where players like Callum Parkinson or Ben Mike barely play in August.

 

Provide as much opportunity as possible for spectators to actually attend for instance by playing four day games over the weekends. Force Counties to cap four day ticket costs at a fiver (attendances are tiny anyway so won't hit revenues much).

 

Actually cater for spectators for instance by bringing back 40 over cricket and involving the minor Counties in a competition that everyone, everywhere can get interested in.

 

Invest money in coaching ground staff to produce high quality pitches and getting coaches and equipment into state schools

 

Help County Cricket be good and it will produce the players for England as it always has. Stop messing about with it.

Edited 22 September 2022 by CrawlingFox

[AjcW]

3 minutes ago, CrawlingFox said:

 

Actually cater for spectators for instance by bringing back 40 over cricket and involving the minor Counties in a competition that everyone, everywhere can get interested in.

 

This is an interesting one. I went to the 50 over final Saturday and to be honest it was dull as dishwater. I almost felt bad thinking it as someone who has followed cricket since just before T20 was a thing. But it was just too much, it lead to teams having too much patience almost, to the point where Lancashire cocked up massively in their reply.

I think 50 over at international level is different because the talent is enough that big exciting scores will be registered. 

 

Bringing 40 overs back is a great shout to get the excitement into that competition. 

[Voll Blau]

6 minutes ago, CrawlingFox said:

For me everything about this is the tail wagging the dog.

 

Everything the ECB are proposing is supposedly geared towards making the England team succesful with the County structure seemingly seen as an obstacle to this rather than an enabler. I won't mention the Hundred too much.

 

I feel like instead we should be trying to create the best possible County structure for the Counties and for spectators and future players with the priorities being:

 

Ensure all players are playing all the time, so for instance remove situations where players like Callum Parkinson or Ben Mike barely play in August.

 

Provide as much opportunity as possible for spectators to actually attend for instance by playing four day games over the weekends. Force Counties to cap four day ticket costs at a fiver (attendances are tiny anyway so won't hit revenues much).

 

Actually cater for spectators for instance by bringing back 40 over cricket and involving the minor Counties in a competition that everyone, everywhere can get interested in.

 

Invest money in coaching ground staff to produce high quality pitches.

 

Help County Cricket be good and it will produce the players for England as it always has. Stop messing about with it.

Agree with all of that except the 40 over thing. No point in playing a format that doesn't replicate a format played in international cricket.

Edited 22 September 2022 by Voll Blau

[harpendenfox]

This is the third day of a County game and right now it could be argued we are on top. Let's enjoy the moment. It's rather like City recording a clean sheet.

[AjcW]

10 minutes ago, harpendenfox said:

This is the third day of a County game and right now it could be argued we are on top. Let's enjoy the moment. It's rather like City recording a clean sheet.

Not sure I can... if Div one teams are getting skittled for 50 we can definitely go down that path , their lead is 79....

[Sunbury Fox]

Middlesex scoring way too quickly here. Need to get some control ASAP.

[harpendenfox]

1 hour ago, CrawlingFox said:

For me everything about this is the tail wagging the dog.

 

Everything the ECB are proposing is supposedly geared towards making the England team succesful with the County structure seemingly seen as an obstacle to this rather than an enabler. I won't mention the Hundred too much.

 

I feel like instead we should be trying to create the best possible County structure for the Counties and for spectators and future players with the priorities being:

 

Ensure all players are playing all the time, so for instance remove situations where players like Callum Parkinson or Ben Mike barely play in August.

 

Provide as much opportunity as possible for spectators to actually attend for instance by playing four day games over the weekends. Force Counties to cap four day ticket costs at a fiver (attendances are tiny anyway so won't hit revenues much).

 

Actually cater for spectators for instance by bringing back 40 over cricket and involving the minor Counties in a competition that everyone, everywhere can get interested in.

 

Invest money in coaching ground staff to produce high quality pitches and getting coaches and equipment into state schools

 

Help County Cricket be good and it will produce the players for England as it always has. Stop messing about with it.

The ECB basically pays for Leicestershire. Our income level sits at around £4.2 million per year. About three quarters of that is a grant from the ECB. Well over £3 million. And the vast amount of ECB income comes from Sky. There simply isn't the interest in County Cricket beyond fanatics like us, even then I rarely go and watch LCCC live, even though I have a season ticket at LCFC. Frankly reducing the number of County games from 14 to 10 makes sense to me. Typically there are more stewards and staff than spectators at a day's play of County Cricket at Grace Road.

 

Yes we do need a competitive County structure to make England successful, but the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope don't really improve their skills playing County Cricket. They're too good for it. County cricket does need to be more competitive. 

[when_you're_smiling]

5 minutes ago, harpendenfox said:

The ECB basically pays for Leicestershire. Our income level sits at around £4.2 million per year. About three quarters of that is a grant from the ECB. Well over £3 million. And the vast amount of ECB income comes from Sky. There simply isn't the interest in County Cricket beyond fanatics like us, even then I rarely go and watch LCCC live, even though I have a season ticket at LCFC. Frankly reducing the number of County games from 14 to 10 makes sense to me. Typically there are more stewards and staff than spectators at a day's play of County Cricket at Grace Road.

 

Yes we do need a competitive County structure to make England successful, but the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope don't really improve their skills playing County Cricket. They're too good for it. County cricket does need to be more competitive. 

The argument the ECB pays for Leics is all well and good, but the ECB are also putting restrictions on what clubs like Leics can generate with the structure being as it and is and how it’s proposed.

 

Is this all about generating better England players, or is it about the ECB attempting to get in as much money as possible for themselves via The Hundred because they’ve smashed all their eggs in that basket?

[Voll Blau]

19 minutes ago, harpendenfox said:

The ECB basically pays for Leicestershire. Our income level sits at around £4.2 million per year. About three quarters of that is a grant from the ECB. Well over £3 million. And the vast amount of ECB income comes from Sky. There simply isn't the interest in County Cricket beyond fanatics like us, even then I rarely go and watch LCCC live, even though I have a season ticket at LCFC. Frankly reducing the number of County games from 14 to 10 makes sense to me. Typically there are more stewards and staff than spectators at a day's play of County Cricket at Grace Road.

 

Yes we do need a competitive County structure to make England successful, but the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope don't really improve their skills playing County Cricket. They're too good for it. County cricket does need to be more competitive. 

That's why they have central contracts? It's the next generation of talent who need to get that experience that only game time can bring, and a two division structure does make things competitive already.

 

As has been mentioned if you schedule any cricket at sensible times and on sensible days, and market it correctly, then people will go. The ECB clearly had the will and marketing budget to promote their sport on every crisp packet in the country for some made-up teams, so why couldn't they bring themselves to do that and show some faith in the historic clubs that have sustained the sport professionally for decades? The ability to make counties more sustainable has been there, if only the ECB had decided to back the sport they run instead of effectively trashing it - and all the people across the country who already love it - instead of betting the house on some fly-by-night fad.

[Sir Steve Howard]

Call me petty but I hope we lose to Middlesex. If they beat us and Glamorgan finish Derby off then there's still an outside chance of Notts bottling promotion...

[CosbehFox]

52 minutes ago, when_you're_smiling said:

The argument the ECB pays for Leics is all well and good, but the ECB are also putting restrictions on what clubs like Leics can generate with the structure being as it and is and how it’s proposed.

 

Is this all about generating better England players, or is it about the ECB attempting to get in as much money as possible for themselves via The Hundred because they’ve smashed all their eggs in that basket?

Superbly summarised 

[CosbehFox]

2 hours ago, CrawlingFox said:

For me everything about this is the tail wagging the dog.

 

Everything the ECB are proposing is supposedly geared towards making the England team succesful with the County structure seemingly seen as an obstacle to this rather than an enabler. I won't mention the Hundred too much.

 

I feel like instead we should be trying to create the best possible County structure for the Counties and for spectators and future players with the priorities being:

 

Ensure all players are playing all the time, so for instance remove situations where players like Callum Parkinson or Ben Mike barely play in August.

 

Provide as much opportunity as possible for spectators to actually attend for instance by playing four day games over the weekends. Force Counties to cap four day ticket costs at a fiver (attendances are tiny anyway so won't hit revenues much).

 

Actually cater for spectators for instance by bringing back 40 over cricket and involving the minor Counties in a competition that everyone, everywhere can get interested in.

 

Invest money in coaching ground staff to produce high quality pitches and getting coaches and equipment into state schools

 

Help County Cricket be good and it will produce the players for England as it always has. Stop messing about with it.

Never understood why they haven't done this and then you put on decent meals like I know Leics do at the Meet, there you go. What would be wrong with inviting school kids / local clubs youth sections? 

 

I have banged on long and hard about the one day tournament involving the minor counties FA Cup style 

[Corky]

1 hour ago, harpendenfox said:

The ECB basically pays for Leicestershire. Our income level sits at around £4.2 million per year. About three quarters of that is a grant from the ECB. Well over £3 million. And the vast amount of ECB income comes from Sky. There simply isn't the interest in County Cricket beyond fanatics like us, even then I rarely go and watch LCCC live, even though I have a season ticket at LCFC. Frankly reducing the number of County games from 14 to 10 makes sense to me. Typically there are more stewards and staff than spectators at a day's play of County Cricket at Grace Road.

 

Yes we do need a competitive County structure to make England successful, but the likes of Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope don't really improve their skills playing County Cricket. They're too good for it. County cricket does need to be more competitive. 

Put the Hundred at 10.30am on a Tuesday morning in September and see how many people attend that. The Blast is played at more convenient times and gets good crowds. Surrey have won the Championship today and on Sky the ground looked virtually empty.

[Corky]

4 hours ago, AjcW said:

I think it's easy to focus on the many negatives, but can we just take a minute to say that adding Minor counties into the one day cup would be a fantastic idea! 

Honestly don't know why it was ever removed. The obsession with endless leagues and group stages instead of the intrigue of knockout matches is baffling.

[Voll Blau]

1 minute ago, Corky said:

Honestly don't know why it was ever removed. The obsession with endless leagues and group stages instead of the intrigue of knockout matches is baffling.

In fairness, you do need a secondary 50 over competition with at least some kind of group/league stage too for that to work - otherwise some players could risk only playing one game each summer.

[AjcW]

8 minutes ago, Corky said:

Honestly don't know why it was ever removed. The obsession with endless leagues and group stages instead of the intrigue of knockout matches is baffling.

Yep. Honestly it was just the most boring one day final with two Division One sides who had 'done the honerable thing' and kept their reserve XI's.

 

At least with extended knockout there's the chance of a giant killer emerging and adding an element of excitement to a final.

4 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

In fairness, you do need a secondary 50 over competition with at least some kind of group/league stage too for that to work - otherwise some players could risk only playing one game each summer.

Just spotted this as I was replying. A good point! 

Potentially for the 40 over comp (to replace 50 over comp) you could have round one as the 'everyone in, straight knockout, mix of Div 1, 2 and minor counties with no seeding' (meaning you could have two minor counties playing each other) then whoever is left goes into a shorter round robin. Then back into knockout games (QF, SF, Final) 

 

I know that still means some will only play one game, but again, there is the reason to compete! It's what county game lacks currently, there's next to no incentive to be good.

 

If you get knocked out then you know that your white ball cricket is going to be friendlies, seconds and village cricket!

Edited 22 September 2022 by AjcW

[Voll Blau]

Good comeback on the pitch for a second day in a row. Don't expect us to get these but good to see that fight.