Sport - for discussions of all sporting events

[Deleted]

Ffs

It was utterly cynical but there you go. Triggered Stokes’s fireworks which were fun.

They deserved the booing but don’t suppose they care.

[johntel]

@leftie Ah well, if you're going to bring the Laws into it then he's out of course  . They give the final verdict to the umpires, which is as it should be.

[Deleted]

After all the brouhaha and angst at Lord's yesterday, it was nice to just take in an enjoyable biff bash T20 match at a packed Taunton last night. Somerset had already won the 'Southern' group by winning 11 of their 13 fixtures, but Kent needed to win to have a chance of joining them in the quarter finals.

They won the toss and put Somerset in. Banton, who has been in great form, sadly fell cheaply, but his opening partner, the hit and miss Smeed, smote a belligerent 61 in no time flat. Somerset scored at a consistent 11 an over, so 221 seemed a very good effort. With Kent needing to win or bust, though, they set about their business competently. They were well up with the rate until the last few overs, but wickets at crucial times and some, (but not much!), containing bowling finally saw them dropping behind the rate, and they fell short by 15 runs. So they're out.

Somerset move on, with a home quarter final tie against Notts on Friday evening. After wrestling with the technology on my return, I have managed to rustle up a ticket for the match, so all good for Friday.

Thankfully, because it was a Sunday evening fixture, many of the spectators had work this morning, thus preventing them from getting too tanked up, and leading to a much more relaxed evening - for me, anyway!

[johntel]

Jul 3, 2023 9:53:40 GMT @isa said:

After all the brouhaha and angst at Lord's yesterday, it was nice to just take in an enjoyable biff bash T20 match at a packed Taunton last night. Somerset had already won the 'Southern' group by winning 11 of their 13 fixtures, but Kent needed to win to have a chance of joining them in the quarter finals.

They won the toss and put Somerset in. Banton, who has been in great form, sadly fell cheaply, but his opening partner, the hit and miss Smeed, smote a belligerent 61 in no time flat. Somerset scored at a consistent 11 an over, so 221 seemed a very good effort. With Kent needing to win or bust, though, they set about their business competently. They were well up with the rate until the last few overs, but wickets at crucial times and some, (but not much!), containing bowling finally saw them dropping behind the rate, and they fell short by 15 runs. So they're out.

Somerset move on, with a home quarter final tie against Notts on Friday evening. After wrestling with the technology on my return, I have managed to rustle up a ticket for the match, so all good for Friday.

Thankfully, because it was a Sunday evening fixture, many of the spectators had work this morning, thus preventing them from getting too tanked up, and leading to a much more relaxed evening - for me, anyway!

I've always had a soft spot for Somerset, adopted county of the masterful Viv Richards, who I saw on many occasions smiting bowlers  all round Trent Bridge in his imperious way in the Seventies, but I'll be rooting for the Outlaws as usual on Friday. 

[Deleted]

Jul 3, 2023 14:10:33 GMT johntel said:

Jul 3, 2023 9:53:40 GMT @isa said:

After all the brouhaha and angst at Lord's yesterday, it was nice to just take in an enjoyable biff bash T20 match at a packed Taunton last night. Somerset had already won the 'Southern' group by winning 11 of their 13 fixtures, but Kent needed to win to have a chance of joining them in the quarter finals.

They won the toss and put Somerset in. Banton, who has been in great form, sadly fell cheaply, but his opening partner, the hit and miss Smeed, smote a belligerent 61 in no time flat. Somerset scored at a consistent 11 an over, so 221 seemed a very good effort. With Kent needing to win or bust, though, they set about their business competently. They were well up with the rate until the last few overs, but wickets at crucial times and some, (but not much!), containing bowling finally saw them dropping behind the rate, and they fell short by 15 runs. So they're out.

Somerset move on, with a home quarter final tie against Notts on Friday evening. After wrestling with the technology on my return, I have managed to rustle up a ticket for the match, so all good for Friday.

Thankfully, because it was a Sunday evening fixture, many of the spectators had work this morning, thus preventing them from getting too tanked up, and leading to a much more relaxed evening - for me, anyway!

I've always had a soft spot for Somerset, adopted county of the masterful Viv Richards, who I saw on many occasions smiting bowlers  all round Trent Bridge in his imperious way in the Seventies, but I'll be rooting for the Outlaws as usual on Friday. 

I feel quite lucky to be within fairly easy reach of Taunton's delightful little ground. It's a nice place to watch cricket, yobbos notwithstanding. I remember going to Trent Bridge to watch a T20 QF a few years ago and thinking "Blimey, Taunton would fit in this place two or three times over!". I thought Trent Bridge was a terrific ground, though.

Good luck, (but not too much!), for Friday. 

[leftieliberal]

England bring in Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood to replace Anderson, Pope, and Tongue. Brook to move up to bat at 3. With questions over how much Stokes can bowl, more all-rounders seems a good policy.

[Deleted]

Bairstow keeping very poor

[leftieliberal]

Fifer for Wood. That's what we have been missing apart from Tongue, some real fast bowling. The last 6 Aussie wickets went down for just 23 runs.

[RAF]

Jul 6, 2023 16:13:22 GMT leftieliberal said:

Fifer for Wood. That's what we have been missing apart from Tongue, some real fast bowling. The last 6 Aussie wickets went down for just 23 runs.

I still don't see why Tongue was dropped. He's better than Robinson.

[leftieliberal]

Jul 6, 2023 20:11:01 GMT RAF said:

Jul 6, 2023 16:13:22 GMT leftieliberal said:

Fifer for Wood. That's what we have been missing apart from Tongue, some real fast bowling. The last 6 Aussie wickets went down for just 23 runs.

I still don't see why Tongue was dropped. He's better than Robinson.

I believe the reason Tongue was dropped was to ensure he was not overbowled. There was only a four-day gap between the Second and Third Tests as there is between the Fourth and Fifth Tests. I agree it might have been a good idea to rest Robinson instead. England have lost this series already not because of their bowlers but because of their batters getting themselves out and by dropping so many catches in the field. Australia are the No 1 ranked team and World Test Champions for a reason; they rarely drop catches and their batters rarely get out to bad balls.

[mercian]

Andy Zaltzman came up with a couple of interesting stats on Day 1. Carey had had 15 chances by then and taken 14. Bairstow had 16 and got 9. Also, in the first two Tests England batsmen actually scored more runs than the Aussies. The total difference was because of the number of byes. They have to find a way to get Foakes into the side. Maybe drop Crawley and move Bairstow up to open?

Foakes has a better Test batting average than Crawley anyway.

[johntel]

@isa well done Somerset, I'll be rooting for you in the T20 semis. I may live in Surrey these days but I definitely don't support the cricket team!

[Deleted]

Jul 7, 2023 21:35:35 GMT johntel said:

@isa well done Somerset, I'll be rooting for you in the T20 semis. I may live in Surrey these days but I definitely don't support the cricket team!

Thank you, johntel . Very gracious of you. It was a tense old evening at Taunton. Somerset got off to a great start, with important early wickets, but Notts recovered well, inching themselves into a competitive position, ending on 157-6.

It still didn't seem enough, though, and I was fairly hopeful as the Somerset innings began. 9-2, (including a 2 wicket maiden! How often do you see that in a T20 match?), turned that optimism to disappointment, and 62-5 turned it to despair. I was thinking Somerset had been flattering to deceive all season, and they were crumbling as we came to the business end, with all the big hitters back in the hutch. Thankfully, Lewis Gregory payed a true captain's innings, with belligerent blows interspersed with sensible singles, and thankfully eschewing suicidal second runs, in spite of my encouragement! The rate at one stage rose to 11 an over, but Somerset managed to keep there or thereabouts, and 30 were needed off the last three overs. Gregory and Ben Green played very sensibly, though, and a couple of big hits brought it down to five required in the last over.

It was a bit of an anticlimax, with a no ball bringing the scores level, and Ben Green getting the winning run despite being caught on the boundary off the ensuing free hit. 
Neil Diamond cleared his throat, 'Sweet Caroline' echoed, and the County Ground was rocking, despite having been like a morgue twenty minutes before.

So, off to Edgbaston we go. Not with me on this occasion though. I had a terrible experience a couple of years ago at the same stage involving being marooned in Birmingham City Centre at midnight on a Saturday evening, with no trains home until the next morning. Suffice to say, I am in no hurry to repeat the experience.

I notice all the semifinalists are from the South Group. Draw from that what you will. Surrey normally do us, but we had a good win against them at the Oval the other day, so who knows.

[RAF]

Jul 7, 2023 20:54:36 GMT mercian said:

Andy Zaltzman came up with a couple of interesting stats on Day 1. Carey had had 15 chances by then and taken 14. Bairstow had 16 and got 9. Also, in the first two Tests England batsmen actually scored more runs than the Aussies. The total difference was because of the number of byes. They have to find a way to get Foakes into the side. Maybe drop Crawley and move Bairstow up to open?

Foakes has a better Test batting average than Crawley anyway.

Did you see the Starc dismissal today? The ball was skied between Brook at short leg and Bairstow. It was Bairstow's catch but he wanted nothing to do with it, forcing Brook to take a spectacular catch which he thankfully did.

Bairstow cannot continue to keep wicket.

[mercian]

RAF
Yes, I always understood that in a situation like that the wickie would always take precedence because he's got flipping great gloves. Whether it's because of his leg injury, or lack of practice Bairstow is a liability as a wicketkeeper. He seems to have got worse. There was a time when he seemed at least basically competent.

[Deleted]

England's younger men won the Euro's (Under 21) at the same time as England public schoolboys were bowling themselves to contention in the cricket.

Lots of channel hopping and a great afternoon's sport - followed by the women beating Oz at cricket in a truncated innings in the evening.

[athena]

For me it's the time of year when I have to balance riding my own bike with watching as much as I can of the Tour de France (and earning a living!).

Because I can only watch on catch-up my intake of news and other sport falls almost to zero, so that I can avoid spoilers...
I'm glad the women managed to get a win, even if T20 is my least favourite format, but I reckon that it won't be long before India's women are clearly in second place behind the Aussies.

[RAF]

Jul 9, 2023 8:48:29 GMT athena said:

For me it's the time of year when I have to balance riding my own bike with watching as much as I can of the Tour de France (and earning a living!).

Because I can only watch on catch-up my intake of news and other sport falls almost to zero, so that I can avoid spoilers...
I'm glad the women managed to get a win, even if T20 is my least favourite format, but I reckon that it won't be long before India's women are clearly in second place behind the Aussies.

England women have shown a lot of mental strength to fight back after losing the Test to give themselves a chance of winning the series.

Cycling has never quite been as big here as it is in many parts of mainland Europe, apart from maybe track cycling. It's strange in a way as we have so many cyclists but outside of the grand tours and the Olympics there isn't that much media coverage of the sport.

[mercian]

Great win in the third (men's) Test in The Ashes. Mainly due to the Brummie Botham of course who scored the winning runs as well as taking lots of wickets.

[leftieliberal]

An incentive for all of us for England to level the Ashes series at Old Trafford: inews.co.uk/sport/cricket/fifth-ashes-test-free-to-air-tv-england-australia-old-trafford-level-series-2470641

[RAF]

England Women have just beaten Australia by 2 wickets in a thrilling finish to the first Womens ODI of the ongoing Ashes series.

The series is now tied at 6-6 (Englsnd were 6-0 down). There are two more ODIs left, each offering 2 points to the winner. As the Aussies hold the Ashes England need to win both to take the trophy.

[Deleted]

Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs. Somerset have only gone and won the T20 Blast! Two poor batting displays saw them having to defend 142 against Surrey in the semifinal and 145 against Essex in the final. And they only went and did it! Not great for my blood pressure, though!

A record 15 wins out of a possible 17 in the competition as a whole this season, too. After being the bridesmaid so many times, it's nice to actually come home with the pot this time. Well done, lads. 

[johntel]

Both the games were very close - I think fielding and catching made the difference. Well done Somerset!

[Deleted]

Blimey, no mention at all of the Test Match? Despite Bairstow finally pulling off a worldy? We've certainly gone from feast to famine in terms of cricket coverage in double quick time!

Are people not so willing to engage on a subject if it's just not on the main thread? It would explain a lot.

[mercian]

Great day again today for the Brummie Botham and Bairstow redeemed himself somewhat. Despite last year's heroics I think he needs to play a significant innings to justify his place above Foakes.

[neilj]

Another superb game so far, we really have been spoiled this test series
Really hope the weather doesn't stop us getting a result. Mind you England are aware and are playing as if it's a T20 game

[Deleted]

Who was it here said Crawley(and Duckett) should never be near test cricket?

[pjw1961]

For @isa as promised. Harold Gimblett’s first class debut.

The following is summarised from a book by Ralph Barker called “10 Great Innings”, but I have read other accounts that confirm the accuracy. It is clear Barker got some of the story direct from Gimblett himself.

Bill Penny, who was a member of the Somerset CCC committee, but also secretary of Watchet cricket club persuaded Somerset that they should give a trial to a Watchet club player, a 20-year-old lad called Harold Gimblett, who he insisted had something special about him. In May 1935 Somerset did so, Gimblett spending 10 days with the club professionals.

The conclusion at the end of it was that he would never make it as a professional cricketer. He was a very good fielder, could possibly bowl a bit of useful medium pace as a change bowler, but in terms of his reported strength – batting – he looked hopeless in the nets, ungainly and stroke-less. He was told he would be paid for his time, but then was no longer required. Gimblett himself was untroubled by this. He enjoyed cricket as a pastime, but his intention was to follow his father into farming and he had no ambitions to play the game for a living.

In those days Somerset had only six professionals. Frank and Jack Lee opened the batting, Arthur Wellard and Bill Andrews the bowling, Wally Luckes kept wicket and Horace Hazell bowled slow left arm spin. The rest of the team was made up of amateurs, whose availability varied, and it so happened that for the match at Frome against Essex Somerset had exactly 11 players available. Then one of the amateurs pulled out with an injury. Somerset were faced with playing a three-day County Championship match starting the following day a man short.

Then it was recalled that young Gimblett was Somerset born and so could play for the county at any time. Even if he batted at 11 and didn’t bowl, his fielding was worth a place in the side given the circumstances. So the club secretary got in touch and Harold agree to play on a one-off basis. The only problem was how to get to Frome, which was the other end of Somerset from his home on a farm outside Watchet. It was agreed that if he could get to Bridgwater by bus the next morning, Wally Luckes would give him a lift the rest of the way.

There was only one bus that would do the job – at 6.30 a.m. and Gimblett had a three mile walk to the bus stop. Despite getting up at 5.30 he just missed the bus. There would not be another for two hours in that rural location. Fortunately, a lorry appeared, and Harold flagged it down. The driver wasn’t going to Bridgwater but thought he could catch the bus up given it would be making stops, so he gave the young man a lift. Seeing Gimblett’s cricket bag, he asked him who he was playing for – when Harold replied “Somerset” the driver refused to believe him.

Anyway, they did catch the bus up and Gimblett got to Bridgwater and then Frome on time. The next piece of fortune was that the Somerset captain Reggie Ingle, asked his pros where they thought he should put Gimblett in the batting order. Their view was that if he was going to be given a trial, they ought to give him a bit of a chance. It was agreed he would bat at No. 8, above Luckes and Andrews, both of whom could bat reasonably and Hazell, a genuine No.11. In the dressing room, Arthur Wellard took one look at the aged, yellow-coloured bat that Harold was proposing to use and loaned him one of his.

Somerset won the toss and batted. Essex had a decent and well-balanced attack – the stars being fast bowler Stan Nichols, who had already played for England and would again, and leg-spin and googly bowler Peter Smith, who would also be a test player in time. They were backed up by Ray Smith with medium-fast swing, Laurie Eastman who seam or spin and Vic Evans, an off-spinner. Nichols was in form and Somerset were soon in trouble. At lunch the score was 105-5, with the top five batsmen out. Nichols had four wickets and Peter Smith one. In the first over after lunch the score became 107-6 and Nichols had his fifth wicket. As Gimblett went out to join Arthur Wellard his captain suggested he should try and keep an end up and hopefully his partner would get some runs. Arthur Wellard, a fine all-rounder, was a noted hitter of sixes and one of the fastest scoring batsmen in the county game.

In the next nine overs – all bowled by Essex’s best two bowlers, Nichols and Peter Smith – the pair added 69 runs before Wellard was out, of which Wellard scored 21 and Gimblett 48, with a six and eight fours. He was a completely different batsman in a match situation to the one they had seen in the nets, driving powerfully with a free swing of the bat and cutting and pulling in text-book fashion. Gimblett was joined by Wally Luckes and promptly pulled a short ball from Peter Smith out of the ground to reach his 50 – made off 33 balls in 28 minutes. The pair put on 47 runs in 23 minutes, of which Luckes made 7 before being dismissed. Somerset, having been 107-6 when Gimblett started his innings, were now 223-8.

The Somerset dressing room and even the crowd, as word had gone round, were aware Gimblett was now approaching a century on first class debut. He, however, had no idea as the Frome ground’s scoreboard showed only the team score, wickets fallen and the score of the last man out. He only realised what had happened when he pushed a ball into the covers and ran two and the crowd rose to him. Gimblett was 101 not out off 71 balls in 63 minutes, scored out of 130 added while he was at the wicket. It was destined to win the Water Lawrence trophy for the fasted century of the season.

Gimblett celebrated by straight driving Nichols for his second out of the ground six before he was finally out for 123. Bill Andrews then further battered the demoralised Essex attack, and in the end, Somerset totalled 337 and went on to win the match by an innings and 49 runs.

Somerset decided that maybe Bill Penny was right. Gimblett spent the rest of the season learning county cricket and didn’t do anything else dramatic, but by the following season he was batting well enough to make his test debut for England v India. He didn’t fail either and yet for their own perverse reasons the England selectors never gave him the chances he deserved. I suspect if he had played for (say) Middlesex rather than Somerset, he would have been capped for England a great deal more. But no one has made a more dramatic and unlikely impact on first class debut.

[Deleted]

Thanks, pjw1961, that's brilliant. I'd done a bit of research since you mentioned Harold's début last night, so knew most of the facts, but it was still lovely to see the story set out like that. Marvellous. It really was the cricketing equivalent of 'jumpers for goalposts'. Somerset have never been a fashionable club, still less so in those far off days, so it used to, and probably still does, take someone pretty exceptional to get picked for England from Somerset. Nice when it happens though.

I actually saw Bill Andrews at a Sunday League match in Yeovil in the '70s. A big, avuncular chap who jokingly used to say to people "shake the hand that bowled Bradman", which was technically true, but only happened after Bradman had already scored a double century and was getting bored with things!

Thanks again for your efforts here.

[mandolinist]

Jul 20, 2023 16:33:20 GMT @isa said:

Thanks, pjw1961 , that's brilliant. I'd done a bit of research since you mentioned Harold's début last night, so knew most of the facts, but it was still lovely to see the story set out like that. Marvellous. It really was the cricketing equivalent of 'jumpers for goalposts'. Somerset have never been a fashionable club, still less so in those far off days, so it used to, and probably still does, take someone pretty exceptional to get picked for England from Somerset. Nice when it happens though.

I actually saw Bill Andrews at a Sunday League match in Yeovil in the '70s. A big, avuncular chap who jokingly used to say to people "shake the hand that bowled Bradman", which was technically true, but only happened after Bradman had already scored a double century and was getting bored with things!

Thanks again for your efforts here.

If you think Somerset is unfashionable, try supporting Gloucestershire.