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FAO Mike Dagley

jf2001

Cricket Web Staff Member
Mike, you can copy this from here if you don't get the email. The article is too long for one message so see the other part of the article in a sperate message.

For anyone else reading this, it is an article I wrote for the taunton Times on Twenty20 cricket which might be of interest.

TWENTY20 VISION

The last week has seen much back slapping for the ECB over its new 20 overs county competition, the twenty20 Cup. Billed as a revolutionary new concept, cricket clubs up and down the country have been playing twenty overs cricket for years but despite the rose-tinted outlook, there has been no question of its early success. Innovations such as a batsman’s bus shelter just off the boundary rope and a 90 second timeout for incoming batsmen have caught the eye of old and new fans of cricket alike. The marketing men have sold this concept as high-speed cricket and the early indications are that the game will certainly prosper from this shortened format. Crowds have been between 5,000 and 10,000 which easily beats the three men and a labrador often seen braving the elements at a deserted County Championship venue. With bouncy castles and girl bands completing the attempt to draw the younger generations along to the cricket, the ECB cannot be faulted for effort. Indeed, the only shame is that the players who would probably most benefit are preparing for the one day challenges of Pakistan followed by South Africa and Zimbabwe. Not only has the Twenty20 Cup attracted younger and larger audiences, the players have given the new competition a resounding thumbs up. With batsmen given no time to settle at the crease and bowlers no such luxury as a warm-up over, the pressure is on from the first ball. Early matches have shown that the fielding has to be first class and there has been plenty to marvel at within the county game. However, behind the novelties lie the growing understanding that for all the blaring music and face painting in the world, the teams that are canny limited overs campaigners will be the ones to adapt the quickest. Anyone watching the coverage of Gloucestershire’s home match with Worcestershire on Channel 4 will have noticed that when the home side seemed to have lost the plot chasing a win, it was the experience of Mark Alleyne and Jack Russell who saw Gloucestershire to an exciting last over win. As for Somerset, the management were said to be taking the Twenty20 Cup very seriously though there was no masking the chance for younger players to make a name for themselves with the introduction of Wes Durston against Warwickshire at Taunton last Friday. With the champions getting £42,000, runners-up £21,000 and losing semi-finalists £10,000 each, it was easy to see one perfectly logical reason for angling for success.
 

jf2001

Cricket Web Staff Member
Second Half of Article

Somerset’s first Twenty20 match was played on Friday evening in front of a crowd around five thousand people and they were glad they made the journey. Warwickshire batted first and by the eleventh over were struggling on 76-5 with Laraman, Francis and Burns all getting early wickets. However Trevor Penney helped transform Warwickshire’s fortunes with a tempestuous 52 from 28 balls including four 4’s and three towering sixes. Backed by the only Kenyan in county cricket, Collins Obuya who hit 34 in 25 balls, Warwickshire raced to the highest total in the country in Twenty20’s brief lifespan with 188-7 off 20 overs. Wes Durston showed admirable calm in the closing stages to bag a very respectable 3-31 from his 4 over spell.
Jamie Cox went out guns blazing for Somerset but Gazzard and Blackwell fell with the score on 49 to leave the home side reeling. When Cox was third man out for a handsome 47 from 27 balls, Somerset went into freefall. With the exception of Keith Dutch who did his level best to win the match single-handedly, wickets fell regularly as Warwickshire dominated. Obuya followed his batting exploits with a quite marvellous spell of 3-16 from 3 overs. In this madcap cricketing mayhem, such a spell will be rare indeed. Dutch was last man out for Somerset having walloped a fine 70 from 52 balls before falling to Waqar Younis. The result was a convincing Warwickshire win by 19 runs with Somerset having reached 169 all out. So further disappointment for Somerset who approached this replacement for the Benson & Hedges Trophy as the ideal way to play themselves into form for the National League. It would take an unhealthy departure from reality to argue this was what happened but Somerset were about to pleasantly surprise themselves in their National League fixture at Taunton against the Scottish Saltires. Meanwhile Somerset coach Kevin Shine was refusing to be down beat after the Warwickshire setback: "Just because we have lost tonight people shouldn't start to write us off. We think that we have got a strong side for Twenty20 and a good chance of winning this competition so of course it's disappointing to lose our first match but we have seen a lot of good things here tonight. A very good crowd, many of whom have never been to a cricket match before have been thoroughly entertained by what has gone on here, and that is a very big positive." So to the Scotland match and the scene was set for a cracking match after the clash in Scotland left Somerset humiliated and the opener Ryan Watson a happy man after his blistering century off less than forty balls. Revenge was in the air down at the County Ground but Scotland’s chances were doubled by the presence of that most fiercely patriotic of Scots, Indian Test Captain Rahul Dravid.
Scotland won the toss and chose to bat first but at 49-2 were soon under pressure with Simon Francis causing problems. However any notion Somerset had of an early finish were swept aside with Ryan Watson and Dravid pairing up to take Scotland past 150. When Watson departed for an excellent 75, Dravid took it upon himself to move through the gears. He reached his century of the penultimate over and ended with 120 from 97 balls to leave Scotland aiming for the double over Somerset in the National League. Their end total of 296-4 from 45 overs was a superb effort and Mr Dravid was rightly feeling happy with himself afterwards calling it ‘my best innings for a while.’ Dravid hit his first fifty in 57 balls and it is a measure of the man that he expressed disappointment at the way he started ‘slowly.’ Scotland no doubt will take such pedestrian efforts on a weekly basis, thanks very much.
Faced with a rather daunting 297 to win, Somerset lost Bowler a little too early for their liking. 1-1. But from then on, Gazzard and Cox took it upon themselves to flay the Scottish bowling to every far-flung corner of Somerset. It was exhibition batting which one felt could well have been a hangover from the Twenty20 mindset. The selection of Gazzard has been questioned in some quarters over the weeks with Piran Holloway seemingly stranded in the seconds. However, the heir apparent to Rob Turner repaid the faith shown in him with 81 from only 61 balls to get Somerset up and running. Jamie Cox continued his fine summer with 82 and Keith Dutch kept up the pressure with 32 at less than a run a ball. Having suffered poor form in this competition coupled with deserved criticism, this was a match Somerset just couldn’t lose and they batted as if their careers depended on it. Blackwell (27) and Burns (34 not out) gave plenty for Scotland to think about but Blackwell’s dismissal prompted a mini collapse that threatened to undo all the hard work. While Burns chiselled away, Brinkley accounted for Rob Turner and Steffan Jones and Aaron Laraman was run out. Simon Francis joined his captain at the crease and together they administered the last rites to Scotland’s fight back as Somerset scampered home to 299-9 for a sensational one wicket win with 5 balls to spare. Only time will tell if this is the turning point in Somerset’s recent one day slump but having batted like kings, it would be the perfect time to sweep away past misdemeanours and remind themselves quite how good they can be when they put their mind to it.
Meanwhile, as Somerset set about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, England were doing their best to start Michael Vaughan’s reign as one day skipper with an embarrassing defeat to Wales in Cardiff. Wales of course would like nothing better than to put one over their more esteemed cricketing neighbours as they did in recent times when the boys from the valleys proved too strong for a humbled England team. This latest contest saw England bat first and Marcus Trescothick hit 55 to further dispel the ridiculous notion that somehow the man is a quivering wreck on the verge of quitting cricket and taking up fishing instead. Trescothick has yet to hit top gear as he did when he first burst on the scene three years ago but he is now scoring more consistently and has the air of someone whose confidence is somewhere close to where it normally is when he crashes centuries for Somerset. Certain sections of the press will doubtless harp on about his poor winter in Australia but Trescothick was always going to experience a slump after his initial honeymoon period (which lasted several years!). With Aussie-***-Welshman Kasprowicz ripping through England’s top order, it was left to Anthony McGrath with 50 and Rikki Clarke with 46 to put England’s house in order as they reached 235-8 off 50 overs. It was hardly a batting demonstration to send the touring Pakistanis racing for cover but a major disaster was avoided after England were 44-4.
Wales did their level best to spoil England’s domestic preparations with Robert Croft hitting a belligerent 59 but some scintillating fielding from England with Solanki running out Ian Thomas and Michael Powell also being run out as the ‘visitors’ buzzed around energetically. David Hemp threatened for Wales but Croft’s dismissal by fellow twirler Giles allowed England some breathing space and eventually Wales tied themselves up in knots. That the Welsh lost a game they might and perhaps should have won will be of no great concern to England. A win is a win while the fielding was hailed as the best performance by an England side for many years. With a collection of talented, mercurial youngsters in the squad backed up seasoned pros like Darren Gough, England can look forward to Pakistan with a measure of confidence. England are alarmingly wet behind the ears in terms of one day experience but what they lack in one day caps, they make up for in potential and enthusiasm. The clashes with Pakistan promise to fire and brimstone all the way and it is a shame Somerset’s latest England recruit, Richard Johnson, misses the series with a niggling knee injury. The good news is that Johnson is expected to be fit for the challenges beyond Pakistan and furthermore England seem likely to welcome him back with open arms rather than demanding another year on the county circuit before picking him again.
With one-day international cricket at the forefront of everyone’s minds at present, it came as little surprise that Ian Blackwell’s name was seen in print once more (is he ever out of it recently?) connected with an England call up. Paul Allott writing for The Times heaped praise on the squad chosen for this summer but reserved special mention for Blackwell: “Ian Blackwell should be in the squad, but he does need a kick up the backside – he’s very talented but not fit enough. It needs someone to give him a good shake...” Praise indeed. In a manner of speaking. But enough of Blackwell and of England. What of Somerset?
Kevin Shine must take all the positives from the excellent run chase against Scotland and ensure that his team do not, come what may, lose the next National League match. Somerset are not out of jail yet and if they have seemingly spurious ambitions of promotion then a serious winning streak has to start now. As for the County Championship, Somerset must bounce back from defeat when play resumes and hope to take advantage of Worcestershire whose squad are currently riddled with injury worries. But do Somerset have the Twenty20 vision? Perhaps the Scottish game will awaken the boisterous, successful Somerset that loyal fans know lurks beneath the surface. I don’t believe Somerset can beat the likes of Gloucestershire and Surrey to the financial honey pot at the end of the Twenty20 rainbow but if, in the process, Somerset rediscover their swagger then this entertaining boost to the English cricket coffers will have nicely served its purpose.
 

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