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county cricket underated?

kendall

U19 Vice-Captain
In recent years many people have atacked county cricket saying that the quality is not good enough too produce quality test players. With the introduction of the academy which i do think is a good thing with young players being fast tracked into the english side county cricket has been further undermined.
I feel that county is being underated and still has a vital role too play. If think the standard is higher than people say and although the huge amount of international cricket that is now being played mean we now see less quality overseas players than we used too many high class players still play in our domestic game. Micheal clarkes performance for hampshire last year also shows that county cricket can be tough although his average performance can partly be blamed on the rose bowl pitch. The mental gap between county and test cricket is certainly a huge one but the value of county cricket can be seen in 2 england players.
Andrew strauss has played county cricket for years and has made the step up too tests remarkebly well. While james Anderson seems to have been ruined by not actualy playing cricket which he could do for Lancashire it is vital that young players still play in the domestic game whare they can learn their trade.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
The simple fact of the matter is that a player who has not had success in the domestic arena is almost certain to be a failure at the international.
That does not mean every domestic success will be an international success, of course, which is where so many people go wrong.
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
As Hamish is now quite clearly showing.

As Vaughan and Trescothick are now quite clearly showing...
 

Swervy

International Captain
kendall said:
In recent years many people have atacked county cricket saying that the quality is not good enough too produce quality test players. With the introduction of the academy which i do think is a good thing with young players being fast tracked into the english side county cricket has been further undermined.
I feel that county is being underated and still has a vital role too play. If think the standard is higher than people say and although the huge amount of international cricket that is now being played mean we now see less quality overseas players than we used too many high class players still play in our domestic game. Micheal clarkes performance for hampshire last year also shows that county cricket can be tough although his average performance can partly be blamed on the rose bowl pitch. The mental gap between county and test cricket is certainly a huge one but the value of county cricket can be seen in 2 england players.
Andrew strauss has played county cricket for years and has made the step up too tests remarkebly well. While james Anderson seems to have been ruined by not actualy playing cricket which he could do for Lancashire it is vital that young players still play in the domestic game whare they can learn their trade.
I think alot of the problem in the last 20 or so years with County Cricket has been the intensity at which it has been played at....there is and always has been some great players in county cricket..but the problem has been the step in intensity from domestic to international...I do think that intensity is coming back into the game though
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
marc71178 said:
As Hamish is now quite clearly showing.

As Vaughan and Trescothick are now quite clearly showing...
And as countless other players have shown.
There are anomalies in every trend - Hamish and Trescothick (the very lucky Trescothick) are two of them.
Vaughan is not, because he's had success at the domestic level far greater than in his Tests since 2000.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Swervy said:
I think alot of the problem in the last 20 or so years with County Cricket has been the intensity at which it has been played at....there is and always has been some great players in county cricket..but the problem has been the step in intensity from domestic to international...I do think that intensity is coming back into the game though
No, there's no problem with the intensity, and the problems are currently getting worse... the scoring-rates are far to fast, the pitches too flat and the bowlers too wayward.
 

Swervy

International Captain
Richard said:
No, there's no problem with the intensity, and the problems are currently getting worse... the scoring-rates are far to fast, the pitches too flat and the bowlers too wayward.
well that put me in my place didnt it
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Take a look, and see the truth of what I've said.
Then go making silly "of course none of us know what we're talking about compared to you" comments... if you feel they're appropriate.
 

kendall

U19 Vice-Captain
it might be true that too much cricket is played especialy one day games but for young players playing on a regular basis is very important
 

sledger

Spanish_Vicente
kendall said:
it might be true that too much cricket is played especialy one day games but for young players playing on a regular basis is very important
agreed, and i agree with your earlier point, county cricket is indeed under valued in my opinion, and about trescothick being lucky is irrelevant whether or not it is true or not, quite simply if you are good enough then you will be found and put in the team, this has nothing to do with luck
 

kendall

U19 Vice-Captain
yes although trescothic has faults in his game he has played many vital innings for england and when in form looks a class player. He got his chance and like strauss grabbed it.
 

sledger

Spanish_Vicente
kendall said:
yes although trescothic has faults in his game he has played many vital innings for england and when in form looks a class player. He got his chance and like strauss grabbed it.
precisely, whether you are lucky or not doesnt bare any influence in my opinion, if you have the talent then you will eventually get your place in the side, whereas if you do not have the talent you will be found out and dropped,,
 

wpdavid

Hall of Fame Member
kendall said:
In recent years many people have atacked county cricket saying that the quality is not good enough too produce quality test players. With the introduction of the academy which i do think is a good thing with young players being fast tracked into the english side county cricket has been further undermined.
I feel that county is being underated and still has a vital role too play. If think the standard is higher than people say and although the huge amount of international cricket that is now being played mean we now see less quality overseas players than we used too many high class players still play in our domestic game. Micheal clarkes performance for hampshire last year also shows that county cricket can be tough although his average performance can partly be blamed on the rose bowl pitch. The mental gap between county and test cricket is certainly a huge one but the value of county cricket can be seen in 2 england players.
Andrew strauss has played county cricket for years and has made the step up too tests remarkebly well. While james Anderson seems to have been ruined by not actualy playing cricket which he could do for Lancashire it is vital that young players still play in the domestic game whare they can learn their trade.
From time to time I have a reasonably friendly disagreement elsewhere about the benefits or otherwise of 2 divisions. My view is that it's done little to raise the standard as many of the current & potential England players are in Div 2 and there's been hardly any sign of the "cream rising to the top" that was supposed to happen. Others insist that the increased competitiveness due to promotion & relegation has in fact caused standards to rise. I don't deny that competitiveness helps, but, IMHO, it won't make silk purses out of sows' ears, and I think there's still a lot of very ordinary cricket being played in the CC.

I'll be more convinced about current standards in the CC when we regularly produce players who can consistently cut it against good international sides. When Richard describes Tresco as lucky, I think he means in terms of the bowlers he's been able to face for much of his test career, and, if so, then I think he's right. Given current standards, his & Vaughan's averages in the low 40's really aren't that special, and both are lucky that they didn't arrive on the test scene 10 years earlier. Strauss has done little wrong so far, but he hasn't faced any strong attacks. If that seems harsh on SA, look at how their bowlers got on against NZ & WI in the past 15 months or so. You're dead right about Anderson's lack of match practice, but his success when he has played in the CC compared to his test performances even in 2003 against SA when he did play regularly don't suggest that the CC is up to much, I'm afraid.
 

marc71178

Eyes not spreadsheets
Interesting point about the 2 divisions - IMO it's most likely because 3 up 3 down is far too many.
 

sledger

Spanish_Vicente
marc71178 said:
Interesting point about the 2 divisions - IMO it's most likely because 3 up 3 down is far too many.
i agree, it would be like england soccer team picking players from league 1 (the old division 2) it would just be stupid and highly unorthodox in my opinion, picking a player to play tests from a cricketing division 3 would be a wild radical move that would probably result in a dramatic failure in my opinion, and besides there arent enough counties to make up the numbers for that sort of idea, and even if there were then the quality of the cricket and players produced would just deteriorate.
 

kendall

U19 Vice-Captain
wpdavid said:
.

I'll be more convinced about current standards in the CC when we regularly produce players who can consistently cut it against good international sides. .
England have their best side for years, i think plenty of good players are coming through. and how many quality atacks are their in world cricket at the moment?
 

sledger

Spanish_Vicente
kendall said:
England have their best side for years, i think plenty of good players are coming through. and how many quality atacks are their in world cricket at the moment?
i think the proof will be in the pudding, when englans batsman take on the australian attack in this summers ashes we will see how good they really are, the last time they faced a better than mediocre bowling attack was against sri lanka before they toured the windies last year, that was a failure, albeit on a series of sharply turning pitches england were comepltely undone by murali and co.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
wpdavid said:
When Richard describes Tresco as lucky, I think he means in terms of the bowlers he's been able to face for much of his test career
No, I refer to the fact that his first-chance average after 25 Tests was 28; his scorebook-average after 26 was 43. He'd not have lasted 5 matches, probably, if he'd been caught when he offered chances in his early Tests.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
sledger said:
i think the proof will be in the pudding, when englans batsman take on the australian attack in this summers ashes we will see how good they really are, the last time they faced a better than mediocre bowling attack was against sri lanka before they toured the windies last year, that was a failure, albeit on a series of sharply turning pitches england were comepltely undone by murali and co.
As just about every team is.
Including the Australians.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
kendall said:
yes although trescothic has faults in his game he has played many vital innings for england and when in form looks a class player. He got his chance and like strauss grabbed it.
Trescothick has played perhaps 3 vital innings in his Test-career.
 

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