English Country "Franchises" - pick your teams

[Penguinissimo]

Imagine the County Championship were condensed (as it undoubtedly should be but never will be) into 6 regional teams.

The teams can be drawn as follows:

London - Surrey, Middlesex, Essex
Home Counties - Hants, Kent, Sussex
West / Wales - Gloucs, Glamorgan, Somerset
South Midlands - Worcs, Warks, Northants
North Midlands - Derbys, Leics, Notts
North - Yorks, Lancs, Durham

No picking anyone who is in the current England squad or overseas players - my purpose is to illustrate how much more competitive county cricket would be if this were the case.

What would your teams be for 4 day matches? I'll post mine in due course.

 

[stumpski]

Interesting ... but might I suggest, no Kolpaks either?

They're overseas players in all but name.

 

[fredfertang]

As a rather peurile illustration of why it will never happen, and without seeking to be disrespectful to an interesting question, my team for the North (assuming overseas includes Kolpaks) would be

Horton
Loye
Brown
Croft
Chilton
Smith
Cross
Chapple
Hogg
Newby
Keedy

 

[BoyBrumby]

As a rather peurile illustration of why it will never happen, and without seeking to be disrespectful to an interesting question, my team for the North (assuming overseas includes Kolpaks) would be

Horton
Loye
Brown
Croft
Chilton
Smith
Cross
Chapple
Hogg
Newby
Keedy

Can't imagine those east of the Pennines would be stoked on the idea either.

We love our parochialism, us English.

 

[superkingdave]

Gloucs, Glamorgan, Somerset would still be a sh*thouse side, Derbyshire and Leicestershire would be lucky to get a single player in a combined team with Notts and the North's seconds (Durham)would probably beat most of the other sides, their Thirds(Yorkshi*e) might challenge a couple as well

 

[TT Boy]

No Kolpaks (so Nel and Collins) but European cricketers included and just one overseas cricketer...

London - Surrey, Middlesex, Essex

Hughes (no overseas Dexter/Newman)
Godleman
Ramps
Morgan
Malan
RTD
Foster
Murtagh
Udal
Masters
Finn

 

[Goughy]

Yorkshire is already made up of 4 counties. No need to go further than that. It is already a 'franchise'.

A big county, powerful, successful county =/= a little, unsuccessful one.

3 in each group doesnt take into account the counties it includes.

By all means have a Northern group, but Yorkshire must be on its own and seperate.

 

[stumpski]

I'll post a 12 man squad for the South-East: (assuming I can pick those w/out central contacts)

Scott Newman
Dawid Malan
Nick Compton
Ravi Bopara
Jaik Mickleburgh
James Foster
Matt Spiegel
Graham Napier
Tim Murtagh
Chris Silverwood
Chris Jordan
Shaun Udal

Kind of underlines the lack of good young English spinners, in the south-east anyway.

OK then, Ramps for Mickleburgh - I was thinking ahead.

 

[TT Boy]

I'll post a 12 man squad for the South-East: (assuming I can pick those w/out central contacts)

Scott Newman
Dawid Malan
Nick Compton
Ravi Bopara
Jaik Mickleburgh
James Foster
Matt Spiegel
Graham Napier
Tim Murtagh
Chris Silverwood
Chris Jordan
Shaun Udal

Kind of underlines the lack of good young English spinners, in the south-east anyway.

You don't have to put Surrey cricketers in there for the sake of it...

 

[Jarquis]

Billy Godleman
Scott Newman
Owais Shah
Eoin Morgan
Neil Dexter
David Malan
James Foster
Shaun Udal
Tim Murtagh
David Masters
Steve Finn

 

[TT Boy]

Home Counties - Hants, Kent, Sussex

Have a stab...

Carberry/Adams
Denly
Key
Joyce
Yardy
Jones
Wright
Dawson
Mascarenhas
Tremlett
Saggers/Khan/Joseph

 

[stumpski]

You don't have to put Surrey cricketers in there for the sake of it...

Yes I do ...

One England 'A' tourist, one promising youngster and one future Surrey captain (I predict)

 

[TT Boy]

Yes I do ...

One England 'A' tourist, one promising youngster and one future Surrey captain (I predict)

That has to be Jordan as Spiegel is a nothing cricketer. 22 and he struggles to get a gig in an awful county side.

 

[superkingdave]

Surprised at that South East side really...it doesn't even look that much better than the sides individually (well Essex and Middlesex anyway, a leper could improve Surreys atm). The bowling in particular looks rotten.

Actually the same occurs up north, we'd probably struggle more with the batting and wicketkeeper all being mediocre and the same level (discounting foreigners) at each of the 3 sides

 

[rivera213]

Imagine the County Championship were condensed (as it undoubtedly should be but never will be) into 6 regional teams.

The teams can be drawn as follows:

London - Surrey, Middlesex, Essex
Home Counties - Hants, Kent, Sussex
West / Wales - Gloucs, Glamorgan, Somerset
South Midlands - Worcs, Warks, Northants
North Midlands - Derbys, Leics, Notts
North - Yorks, Lancs, Durham

No picking anyone who is in the current England squad or overseas players - my purpose is to illustrate how much more competitive county cricket would be if this were the case.

What would your teams be for 4 day matches? I'll post mine in due course.

I don't agree with excluding Kent from "London". The old county system brought Kent up to the Thames (Lewisham- where I live and Greenwich). You'd have to exclude Essex as part of London too.

So, I'm going to include Kent as part of London:

1- Rob Key (Kent- C)*
2- Joe Denly (Kent)
3- Mark Ramprakash (Surrey)
4- James Benning (Surrey)
5- James Tredwell (Kent)
6- Graham Napier (Essex)
7- James Foster (Essex- WK)
8- Stuart Meaker (Surrey)
9- Jade Dernbach (Surrey)
10- Maurice Chambers (Essex)
11- Robbie Joseph (Middlesex)

A few of those could/should be in various England squads but that's for another thread. Lol

Also, a few of these names are relatively unknown, but I would like to bring some young English players and see what they can do.

My new ball partnership would be Meaker and Chambers. The less pacy Dernbach & Joseph as 1st change. Napier and Benning can bowl a bit, maybe a few overs each max before the 2nd new ball.

Ramprakash is 1 of the best county players I've seen. It's a shame he couldn't transfer that form to test level.

My other squad players (a squad of 17):

Varun Chopra (Essex)- Opening Batsman
Sam Northeast (Kent)- Middle Order Batsman
Alex Tudor (Surrey)- Seam allrounder
Steve Finn (Middlesex)- Freakishly tall bowler
Matthew Spriegel (Surrey)- Spin allrounder
Dawid Malan (Middlesex)- Batsman who does part-time spin


* I'd have Key opening at county level.

 

[Jarquis]

Paul Horton
Mal Loye
Michael Vaughan
Anthony Mcgrath
Mark Chilton
Ian Blackwell
Luke Sutton
Adil Rashid
Plunkett/Harmison
Hoggard
Davies

 

[superkingdave]

Paul Horton
Mal Loye
Michael Vaughan
Anthony Mcgrath
Mark Chilton
Ian Blackwell
Luke Sutton
Adil Rashid
Plunkett/Harmison
Hoggard
Davies

Probably put Chapple or Bresnan at 8 unless its a rager, in which case i'd pick Gary Keedy. Rashid would have to displace Blackwell for mine, can't play two essentially part time spinners. Sutton is gash, but then so are Brophy and Mustard really. Would have plenty of players in there before Plunkett.

 

[superkingdave]

I don't agree with excluding Kent from "London". The old county system brought Kent up to the Thames (Lewisham- where I live and Greenwich). You'd have to exclude Essex as part of London too.

So, I'm going to include Kent as part of London:

1- Rob Key (Kent- C)*
2- Joe Denly (Kent)
3- Mark Ramprakash (Surrey)
4- James Benning (Surrey)
5- James Tredwell (Kent)
6- Graham Napier (Essex)
7- James Foster (Essex- WK)
8- Stuart Meaker (Surrey)
9- Jade Dernbach (Surrey)
10- Maurice Chambers (Essex)
11- Robbie Joseph (Middlesex).

Wow that's a terrible side, you have a biffer who can't buy a run at 4, a part time spinner who can hold a bat at 5, and a bowling alrounder at 6. The one thing the south east can do is have a decent batting line-up.
Plus that bowling line up is abysmal.

 

[Jarquis]

Probably put Chapple or Bresnan at 8 unless its a rager, in which case i'd pick Gary Keedy. Rashid would have to displace Blackwell for mine, can't play two essentially part time spinners. Sutton is gash, but then so are Brophy and Mustard really. Would have plenty of players in there before Plunkett.

Bresnan is int he current Englans squad ...
Could put Flintoff in TBF...
Chapple was the other option I considered it's just I have a soft spot for Rashid.....
Sutton is the best of a bad bunch.
And yeah Plunkett is another player I like.. But a bowling attack of
Davies, Hoggard, Harmison, Chapple and Blackwell isn't too bad.
Considering you could have Flintoff in that bunch going by our criteria.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Paul Horton
Mal Loye
Michael Vaughan
Anthony Mcgrath
Mark Chilton
Ian Blackwell
Luke Sutton
Adil Rashid
Plunkett/Harmison
Hoggard
Davies

Loye is garbage. Would also sooner have Will Smith or whoever than yet another over-rated Lancashire player(TM) like Chilton.