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Post by hhsussex on Jun 8, 2015 6:37:00 GMT
308 runs for 14 wickets; 226 runs for 14 wickets; 290 for 12; 272 for 17; 296-10; 319-10; finally at Hove 367 runs, about 150 of them, shared between both sides, superbly played, for 14 wickets. On a lovely day, with a crowd that grew as the afternoon lengthened, we had superb entertainment with a match that constantly switched between bat and ball, with neither side dominant for more than a few overs at a time, right up to the close. Most wickets fell to the bowlers who had learned how to find the right spot to pitch and kept line and length constant, though a few were gifted by batsmen in a hurry to complete a shot before the ball had pitched. This is a proper game of championship cricket and I'm glad, as so often in this enthralling season, to find my local team accepting the challenges, sometimes making mistakes, sometimes overcoming them. The pitches that abound this season, witnessed by yesterday's scores, are more testing and not all the lessons will be learned overnight, but the journey towards mastering them is infinitely rewarding.
Already this season we've seen some precocious talents arising - Robinson here at Sussex, and Wood at Durham -and some slightly older players flowering, such as Stokes internationally and Coles, back at Kent and taking hatfuls of wickets. Batsmen are finding it more difficult, but the turgid pitches that came into vogue around 2000 and have formed their education have been unfair in their own way, failing to nurture the discretionary element of the game. Really good stroke players, such as Wright and Vince yesterday, will win through and learn quickly, and so will bowlers with intelligence and imagination to find that perfect place to pitch and the right amount of movement - Berg showed this, and Robinson again, along with the old master Magoffin.
It is profoundly depressing to see former players tweeting about the "result first culture" and "do we really think it helps our players develop". Firstly, that kind of outlook betrays the professional bubble into which players withdraw, where they exist in a separate universe from their spectators, and where a draw on flat wickets brings technical compensations as well as inflated batting averages. Secondly, it presupposes that the only kind of development that is valuable is hitting harder and further, rather than promoting better selection and the ability to stay at the crease, learn to adapt and then prosper from the less skilful bowlers.
Plenty of Sussex's strengths and weaknesses are on show here, and our average runs are down considerably: 336 runs in 2013, 329 last year but only 248 so far, and it's hard to argue with the proposition that we ought to be looking at employing a batting coach or consultant. Plenty of our opponents do this formally - Hampshire have Tony Middleton with the formal title, as does Tony Frost at Warwickshire - and others have the regular services available of former players who have coaching appointments with schools, such as Mark Ealham. The bowling obviously has suffered from the appalling run of injuries and we desperately need the double injection of skill and sheer competitive enthusiasm that Shahzad will bring on his return. Hobden too will be grateful of the opportunity to work on his approach and footfall out of the spotlight.
It should be another enthralling day and I couldn't begin to predict the outcome. It seems to me quite nicely poised, and I hope we carry on learning, getting better and winning through.
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 8, 2015 7:26:03 GMT
hhs,
An excellent post.
Cricket is changing both at an international and county level and this can only be a good thing. The cream will come to the surface
along with those who have the flexibility and intelligence to adapt to these changes. The ECB may dream of 4 day Tests and 3 day
Championship cricket. Given this season, they may get their wish. Is this a good thing? I believe so.
The public will see fewer bore draws, batsmen gorging on flat wickets, and the emphasis should return to the bowlers, much maligned in
the OD format. This in turn will encourage the public to return to watching Championship and Test cricket if they believe it to be more
exciting with an end result. Watching all 3 days of cricket sounds more feasible than 4 and in return county grounds may gain higher
attendances and greater income over the entire game.
But how do you help county batsmen to adapt?
Surely, employ a freelance or part-time batting coach with experience of playing on such spicy wickets. There are few batsmen who
have the ability to learn the skills themselves, particularly the senior ones, who for so long have been spoilt by kind and forgiving pitches.
The purists, understandably, will talk of the dangers of damaging the batsmen's development etc.. but humans are designed to adapt out of
necessity and cricket is no different. In fact, the opposite may occur, and batsmen will become better and more-rounded as players.
I am excited by these changes and Sussex both pitch-wise and seam-wise are at the forefront of this perceived revolution.
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Post by coverpoint on Jun 8, 2015 8:15:24 GMT
We have a Director of Cricket, bowling coach, fielding coach, 2XI coach and Academy coach. Surely there must be room for a full-time batting coach!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2015 9:47:31 GMT
Excellent posts and it certainly was an enthralling day's cricket yesterday.
How refreshing that we are seeing more 'results wickets' , not just at Hove but around the country.
This par by hh sums it up for me:
"It is profoundly depressing to see former players tweeting about the "result first culture" and "do we really think it helps our players develop". Firstly, that kind of outlook betrays the professional bubble into which players withdraw, where they exist in a separate universe from their spectators, and where a draw on flat wickets brings technical compensations as well as inflated batting averages. Secondly, it presupposes that the only kind of development that is valuable is hitting harder and further, rather than promoting better selection and the ability to stay at the crease, learn to adapt and then prosper from the less skilful bowlers."
The way some players and coaches spit out the phrase "result wicket" as if it's a swear word is ridiculous. The opposite is a "non-result wicket"; is that what they really want? A case in point is the article by Pietersen in the Telegraph last week, attacking Essex for preparing 'result wickets' at Chelmsford. That, by the way, is the same Pietersen who told us that the county stalwarts who don't get near the England team are "muppets" who should "go away and do something else". As it happens, the policy has rather backfired on Essex as the 'result wickets' at Chelmsford keep working against them, even permitting Leics their first win in three years. But Essex surely deserve nothing but praise for their policy of seeking to even up the contest between bat and ball, to minimise the number of games that take four days to end in stalemate and to curtail the excesses of the flat-track bullies.
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Post by jonboy on Jun 8, 2015 9:51:55 GMT
If this is to be the way forward, at least it could free up some of the fixture congestion, with all four day matches, becoming three day games. Might need to look at the bonus points system as well
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Post by freddy838 on Jun 8, 2015 11:56:18 GMT
I don't see how it's a good thing if medium-fast bowling is being so successful on result pitches. These bowlers won't make the step up, spin bowling is almost non-existent, and batsmen won't be facing conditions that they will see in international cricket.
Is Hudson-Prentice injured or just not fancied? Only bowled 3 overs. It's a shame that even under the circumstances we are in, they don't give Beer a go.
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Post by fraudster on Jun 8, 2015 12:07:33 GMT
If you have bowler friendly wickets though HH isn't that as bad as batsmen friendly wickets? It isn't quite because it's more exciting but it's just the other end of the extreme. Hopefully we'll get the balance right because at the other end of that extreme is ordinary bowlers averaging 25 and good batters averaging 35. What happens on the last day or two happens but it has to be true for the first day or two. Good batsmen get runs without falling to one that keeps low after ten overs and good bowlers get wickets if they bowl well. Then the pitch gets worn and spinners turning it big and uneven bounce are normal. Not to start with though.
Anyway, Hants have just gone past us with three wickets in hand. Note to Joyce and Nash, if you don't trust a bowler to bowl, don't pick him. Looks like we're playing with three bowlers in this match which won't win you many on any track. Piolet and Beer are names that spring to mind.
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Post by Wicked Cricket on Jun 8, 2015 12:26:18 GMT
freddy,
You make some good points but international cricket is changing led by New Zealand and Australia. The public want to see more
thrills and spills, a faster paced results game, and as for top spinners they are becoming, sadly, an extinct species. And these
developments already touch county cricket.
One can long for the past flat wickets, the 400+ bore draws, where batsmen devoured and guzzled the pitch, but the public want
more today. T20 has given them a taste and as the recent World Cup clearly showed, the changes have been fast and brutal as
England discovered.
Even Boycott, who exemplified this past, admits the "new cricket" is good for the game. The sport must evolve to survive. It always
has done and always will. Whether you agree with these changes or not is another matter. But to survive one must go with the public's
desire. Four day Tests and three day Championship matches are inevitable, imho.
The one sadness are the spinners who are finding it difficult to adapt except in OD formats. The days of the Warnes, Muralis and even
the Swanns may become memories on a DVD. Therefore, the art of spinning needs to be encouraged and supported, otherwise,
this field could become the biggest casualty to "the new cricket".
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2015 12:42:13 GMT
I think the clatter of wickets around the country yesterday was not only down to the pitches, but also due to batsmen suffering from white ball fever. They're all now in T20 mode and have forgotten how to build an innings.
Another reason the Friday night drunken bacchanalia spread over four months is a bad idea and why T20 should be concentrated into a four week period in the school hols.
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Post by freddy838 on Jun 8, 2015 14:09:20 GMT
'The public' don't turn up for county championship matches. Just members and a smattering of others. It should be a competition and a breeding ground for England players in equal measure. At the moment it seems a bit of a lottery.
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Post by coverpoint on Jun 8, 2015 14:19:11 GMT
What a load of rubbish!
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rusty
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Post by rusty on Jun 8, 2015 14:36:32 GMT
Does this mean that the pitch is not as spicy as it was?
Presumably we'll make 350 and leave them 200 odd in the last innings in a close contest.
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Post by fraudster on Jun 8, 2015 14:43:28 GMT
freddy, You make some good points but international cricket is changing led by New Zealand and Australia. The public want to see more thrills and spills, a faster paced results game, and as for top spinners they are becoming, sadly, an extinct species. And these developments already touch county cricket. One can long for the past flat wickets, the 400+ bore draws, where batsmen devoured and guzzled the pitch, but the public want more today. T20 has given them a taste and as the recent World Cup clearly showed, the changes have been fast and brutal as England discovered. Even Boycott, who exemplified this past, admits the "new cricket" is good for the game. The sport must evolve to survive. It always has done and always will. Whether you agree with these changes or not is another matter. But to survive one must go with the public's desire. Four day Tests and three day Championship matches are inevitable, imho. The one sadness are the spinners who are finding it difficult to adapt except in OD formats. The days of the Warnes, Muralis and even the Swanns may become memories on a DVD. Therefore, the art of spinning needs to be encouraged and supported, otherwise, this field could become the biggest casualty to "the new cricket". You're confused by the argument. Nobody is longing for 400+ bore draws, just an even contest between bat and ball. That will be the ultimate in 'new cricket' because the pitches aren't the biggest factor in evolving cricket, it's the mindset. Take that mindset onto true wickets, not minefields or featherbeds. I have to agree with Sharkey about our performance so far though. |
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Post by jonboy on Jun 8, 2015 15:09:59 GMT
Where's the fight Sussex, a shameful capitulation against the basement boys
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Post by gowerforpm on Jun 8, 2015 15:32:44 GMT
Why do we have so many bowlers (when fit) and so few batsmen (admittedly Prior and Hamilton-Brown are big misses)? If, as now, we have a few out of form there is little to change it to. Joyce and Machan were always going to miss games to Ireland and Scotland so we went in looking thin. I just don't see where a run of good team scores is going to come from. The cracks have been papered over somewhat by the bowling which has performed as well as could be expected but we look in grave danger of a plunge down the table to me. And what was going on at the T20 against Middlesex? When you can only bowl 4 overs each why pick 7 bowlers and only 3 batsmen? The pressure on Wright is huge. If he had been out cheaply we would have struggled to get 120. Really disappointed with selections and tactics.
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