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**Official** County Cricket 2017

theegyptian

International Vice-Captain
As an aside looking at the youngsters doing well at clubs around and under the first xi I would say Surrey and Middlesex look particularly strong right now, with Yorkshire, Worcestershire and Somerset following closely behind.

Surrey had Patel, Curran, Pope and Virdi all play a championship game this year- first time four teenagers have played in same championship team in the post war era. Will Jacks with England u19s another very talented cricketer and obviously Woods can’t even get a contract seemingly because of the strength. Bowling wise Mckerr and Pillans spent time away on loan and looked good, and are ready to challenge the established group.

Middlesex have a lot in the current England u19s (perera, hollman, bamber, davies), none of whom have broken through to the first team, and a lot of second team players (Scott, anderson, rath, white, lace) who have done very well at that standard and looking to make the breakthrough. There’s almost a logjam there with all the people under the first team. Makes it very competitive. Holden who is very highly rated had to go out on loan to Northants (and did well) but still couldn’t get in the team ahead of other strong top order options like Compton, Eskinazi, Robson, Gubbins. Higgins who is a promising white ball batsman left to Gloucestershire because he wasn’t getting many chances in first class cricket. Anshy Rath(hong kong) came through their youth setup but couldn’t get a work permit when they tried to sign him at start of 2017, but they may try again. Beneath the first team they have a **** ton of players who would possibly be getting chances at other counties.

Somerset with some good young cricketers. Green, Bess, Bartlett, Banton, Louie Shaw, Trenouth, lammonby who’ve all played England u19s in recent years.

Yorkshire have had to push a few through to the first team but guys like Fisher and Brook may be stars in the future. Coad already doing well. Still plenty of pace bowlers hanging around the 2s. Jared Warner has some serious pace. Plenty of other good cricketers that would maybe getting a chance elsewhere – Waite, Wainman, Shaw, Kohler-Cadmore. Players really need to grab their chance now because the first team players are struggling or getting old. Rhodes went to Warwickshire because he wasn’t getting the chances he wanted.

Worcestershire continue to have lots of players with England u19s and have a good success record in bringing youngsters into the first team. Tongue, Clarke, Kohler-Cadmore, Brown, Fell, Barnard all young and progressed to first team. Dell, Westbury, Scrimshaw, Twohig, Finch, Pennington, Malik all being around the England youth setup and still to progress to first team. Just a shame that Rhodes who has done so much to improve the likes of Cox and Barnard is gone. Very important they get the right coach to continue their youth policy.
 
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SeamUp

International Coach
Crazy that 11 of the 15 in your U19 CWC squad comes from 4 counties : Middlesex, Glamorgan, Worcestershire, Somerset
 
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flibbertyjibber

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My dad groundhops every year and makes an effort to see every county at home and away at least once a season and sees a few more than that taking in Yorkshire games and he reckons the cupboard is bare as far as quick bowlers is concerned and is the reason we keep going back to Wood and Finn as on their day they were quick. Hopefully somebody appears on the scene shortly or we will be getting hammered in Australia next time too.
 

SeamUp

International Coach
Crazier still that it's those four
Can say that again. Although Somerset and Worcestershire have a decent track-record.

But those powerhouses. Where they ? Lancashire is it ? :D


Notts are pretty poor for a big county. I do know though that there is massive talk around a young batsman Joey Evison breaking records. Youngest player to score a league 100 etc and in their Academy in-take at only 15/16. Obviously was a stand-out at Bunbury and debuted for their 2nd XI last season.
 
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SeamUp

International Coach
Just following up on theegyptian's post.

I see Yorkshire tied down their young talent recently.

Contract extensions ��️

Matthew Fisher to Dec 2021
Ben Coad to Dec 2020
Harry Brook to Dec 2020
Jack Leaning to Dec 2019
Matthew Waite to Dec 2019
Five of Yorkshire’s brightest talents have committed their long-term futures to the club.

Harry Brook, Ben Coad, Matthew Fisher, Jack Leaning and Matthew Waite have all put pen to paper to remain at Emerald Headingley for the next few years.

Batsman Brook, currently in South Africa captaining the England Under 19s as they warm-up for next year’s one-day World Cup, starred in second-team cricket last summer and debuted in the firsts.

He scored a scintillating century in the final of the Second XI one-day Trophy against Middlesex and later debuted in the County Championship against the same opponents at Lord’s.

The 18-year-old from Burley-in-Wharfedale has signed a contract through to December 2020.

That is the same length of deal penned by seamer Coad, who was the major positive to come out of a largely disappointing 2017 for the county.

In his first full season of first-team cricket, Harrogate-born Coad, 23, claimed 50 wickets in the County Championship and cleaned up at the club’s end of season awards dinner in October.

He won the Players’ and Members’ Player of the Year awards and the Young Player of the Year to boot.

Of those 50 wickets, 31 came in the first five matches of the season, including two six-wicket hauls and two more five-fors.

Twenty-year-old Fisher, another seam bowling prospect, will remain at Headingley until at least December 2021.

Fisher was the youngest post war county cricketer when he debuted for Yorkshire aged 15 years and 212 days in June 2013, but the last couple of season have been frustrating.

He has had to bounce back from a series of hamstring injuries, but he shone during the final two Championship matches of 2017 with eight wickets against Warwickshire and Essex.

His 5-54 in the first innings against the Bears was a career best, while he hit 37 and 15 down the order with the bat.

The latter knock was crucial in helping recover from 96-7 in pursuit of 174.

It was a win which secured the county’s Division One status for 2018.

Leaning, also from York along with Fisher, is the most experienced of the quintet.

The batsman, 24, won the County Championship title in his first two full seasons of first-team cricket in 2014 and 2015, and he has posted four hundreds in 51 first-class matches to date.

Leaning’s development has been clearer in white ball cricket than red during the last couple of summers.

He has penned a deal through until December 2019.

That is the same situation with Leeds-born all-rounder Waite.

Yorkshire’s young player of the year in 2016 endured a mixed summer just gone.

Having impressed in the early season Royal London one-day Cup, the soon to be 22-year-old (his birthday is on Christmas Eve) also made his debut in the County Championship win over Somerset at Taunton in June, taking three wickets and scoring 22 runs.

Yorkshire won that match by three runs, another result crucial to their Championship survival.

Unfortunately, however, he suffered an impingement in his left ankle and did not play any cricket beyond mid-August.

Waite had to go under the knife earlier this winter, but he is now back in pre-season training with his team-mates ready to make his mark in 2018 and beyond.
 

SeamUp

International Coach
ENGLAND LIONS SQUAD for WINDIES

England Lions squad
For whole tour

Keaton Jennings (Lancashire, capt)
Joe Clarke (Worcestershire)
Liam Livingstone (Lancashire)
Sam Curran (Surrey)
Jamie Porter (Essex)
Paul Coughlin (Nottinghamshire)
Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire)
Nick Gubbins (Middlesex)
Alex Davies (Lancashire, wicket-keeper)

Red-ball only:

Haseeb Hameed (Lancashire)
Dan Lawrence (Essex)
Ben Foakes (Surrey, wicket-keeper)
Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex)
Jack Leach (Somerset)
Mason Crane (Hampshire)
Josh Tongue (Worcestershire)

White-ball only:

Sam Northeast (Kent)
Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Dominic Bess (Somerset)
Tom Helm (Middlesex)
George Garton (Sussex)
Matt Parkinson (Lancashire)

Schedule
5-7 February - Tour Match, Sabina Park, Jamaica

11-14 February – West Indies A v England, Trelawny Multiplex, Jamaica

18-21 February – West Indies A v England, Sabina Park, Jamaica

26 February - 1 March – West Indies A v England, Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua

4 March - Tour Match, Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua

6 March – West Indies A v England, Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua

9 March - West Indies A v England, Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua

11 March - West Indies A v England, Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua

(North-South Series follows in Barbados from 18-23 March. Squads to be announced in January)
 
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Woodster

International Captain
I like the squad, also like the fact it's a proper schedule and a worthwhile looking tour. Three proper four-day games and three one-dayers should prove a most worthwhile exercise, for both sides.

Pleased to see Porter, Roland-Jones and Hameed recovering from their respective injuries, it's a good chance for Foakes and Crane to get some cricket under their belts if they don't feature much in the Ashes series. There's some good, young and fairly raw cricketers that should improve with this kind of exposure and also some youngsters that will be hoping to enhance their growing reputations.

And Sam Northeast getting a bit of recognition, albeit just for the one-dayers.
 

SeamUp

International Coach
Porter, Mahmood & S.Curran being the seamers for the whole tour is interesting.

Also Dan Lawrence is one of those funny one's. An aggressive batsman who still needs to improve on early List A showings. Saying that - some of the batsmen for the whole tour is suprising.
 

Woodster

International Captain
Porter, Mahmood & S.Curran being the seamers for the whole tour is interesting.

Also Dan Lawrence is one of those funny one's. An aggressive batsman who still needs to improve on early List A showings. Saying that - some of the batsmen for the whole tour is suprising.
Would say I'm surprised with Porter staying for the one-day leg aswell, can understand the other two a bit more. Maybe England just want to have a proper look at Porter, assess his strengths and weaknesses in more detail.Thoroughly deserves to be playing the four-day stuff out there.

As for Lawrence, he can score quickly but I think naturally he likes to bed in and bat long. Played a couple of fantastic knocks last season, the one against Lancs (including Jimmy) where he batted out the entire final day for about 140* first game of the season showed what he's capable of. Think he's going to be more of a Test player than an ODI player.
 

Pup Clarke

Cricketer Of The Year
Tom Helm is one guy who I think could jump to the front of the queue if he can stay fit. I expect him to feature in the 2019 Ashes if so.
 

Woodster

International Captain
Cameron Bancroft has signed for Somerset next season after a couple of years at Gloucester. Somerset were in desperate need for a bit of additional quality at the top of the order, and while he's not exactly set the CC on fire, he should represent a fairly solid and reliable signing.

Good for him also to try and build on the platform he's got with making his Aussie debut, so should benefit both parties, plenty to prove and work on so you wouldn't expect any complacency. Should be a good signing.
 

theegyptian

International Vice-Captain
Northeast and Kent at odds over captaincy future - ESPNcricinfo

Northeast might be gone from Kent. One year left on his contract but at this point doesn't want to sign a new one, but wants to keep captaining.
Kent are going no-where. Agree with the article their bowling is so lacking. Good batting but just don't have anywhere near the bowling to get promoted. Best bet would be to make Canterbury a dustbowl and play Tredwell and Qayyum, and maybe even get a spinner allrounder as overseas. They are not getting promoted by being reliant on their fast bowling stocks.

Willey the other day suggesting he might become a limited overs cricketer. Hardly a surprise. Not a great loss for the test side if he is lost. However the more that do go down that route, the shallower the pool of players to pick from. Talented players say like Billings, Buttler, Willey would in the past have worked hard on their longer form game and may have made it as test cricketers, but it's not going to happen so much these days. It's too easy for them to make good money playing T20 leagues around the world.
 

S.Kennedy

International Vice-Captain
I just do not know what he could do to get selected from England - he has done everything conceivable. The selectors clearly have something against him. Northeast wasn't even getting picked for Lions tours! His career is a bit like Stoneman's had been for years, doing everything, 1000 plus each season (first division) but completely overlooked (until recently).
 

S.Kennedy

International Vice-Captain
Vaughan had another idea to completely destroy cricket in this country: play the opening two rounds of the county championship in the UAE or West Indies!!!
 

theegyptian

International Vice-Captain
I think they name the test squad for NZ in the next few days. Not ideal with the lions tour in between. What happens if they pick Livingstone and he flops in the lions and Lawrence bangs two hundreds?

Would be nice if they picked a bare 13 and then waited for the lions tour and picked two or three after that tour was over.
 

Woodster

International Captain
I think our counties need to have a serious think about the overseas player, and more specifically giving exposure to very possible Ashes candidates ahead of the next Ashes over here, and not just Aussies, players from any country that is due to tour these wonderful shores during the same summer. Fair enough if our players get game time in other countries, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
 

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