Will GD be the difference
By Grockle et al June 1 2013
Glamorgan arrive in Taunton hoping to face our Leicestershire bowling attack and not the Somerset run machine. They are hopefully wrong on both counts. With Marcus and James both getting significant runs in the CC game and Pete continuing his topsy turvey batting between the two competitions we want the run machine to be on song and the bowling to be tighter and bolstered by the return of spin king George Dockrell.
v Glamorgan YB40 @ TAUNTON Sunday 2 June 2013
Scorecard
Commentary
Brian Rose will start proceedings today at 1:45 by opening his gates at the Gimblett end to the side of the Somerset Stand. A worthy name to grace the hallowed ground and I hope there are a lot of people there to congratulate the man who really did bring us back from the brink in the mid noughties.
Now we have another 'brink' to deal with but not in this competition at the moment. We must be hoping to turn three victories into four today but the bowling attack is the area of debate in this shorter format. We are without both our international keepers today. Craig Kieswetter is still dealing with a finger injury while Jos Buttler is presently keeping to Jade Dernbach in the 20th over of the second ODI against the Kiwis. So in comes Alex Barrow to follow up his solid performance with the gloves in the Yorkshire CC1 during the week. We also have no Alfonso Thomas for a period so younger seamers get their chance to shine.
Marcus Trescothick can pick from;
Arul Suppiah, James Hildreth, Dean Elgar, Nick Compton (back from international duty for a couple of weeks but with a possible chest injury which may keep him out of today - though if he is named he is proobably available) Peter Trego, Craig Meschede, Alex Barrow, George Dockrell, Steve Kirby, Jamie Overton, Adam Dibble, Max Waller.
It seems likely that the first 8 and the skipper will be on the sheet so the debate is mostly about whether the powers will rest Steve Kirby and if they do will they go for two seamers (Dibble and Overton) or a seamer and a specialist spinner - Max Waller coming into the equation.
Arul Suppiah will probably maintain his place and be expected to double up as the second spinner. We all hope he also gets a bit of luck with the bat and gets something under his belt because it ia hard for the beneficiary at the moment in any game. Dean Elgar also gets to lay out his ODI 'wares' for his bosses for the first time at Taunton and we'll all be interested to see what kind of batsman he is in the 40 over game.
What Glamorgan bring with them is a little less clear and it will be interesting to see the 2013 version of the Dragons with the back up from their new cricket 'guru' the aforementioned Brian Rose he has been asked to stay on andd advise until the end of the season so he must be doing something useful too the Welsh. Let us allhope that whatever it is, it is not useful to them this afternoon and we end the day with the fourth win out of five, still competing for a place in that final four who will be fighting for the one day Trophy at the end of August.
To a great extent it willl depennd on the tightness of the bowling, especially if the young men are given the responsibility and Old Man Kirby is actually rested.
Glamorgan "Leek" Runs (Well we can but hope)
Posted by: Grockles.com (IP Logged)
Date: 01/06/2013 09:29
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:06:04:05:36:41 by Grockle.
The thought occurs to me that even if he does not make it at Test level with SA, his Test appearances so far mean he will be eligible for a UK work permit until at least 2017.
The reason I mention this is that it occurs to me that there may be a real opportunity to develop a long-term relationship with the guy and possibly, assuming he does well, get that rare thing - a regular overseas player.
However, that will only be likely to happen if he does not make it at Test level.
Australian overseas fast bowler Michael Hogan returns to the Glamorgan 13-man squad for tomorrow`s match. Former England fast bowler Simon Jones, who is only playing one-day cricket at the moment, is also named. Glamorgan are currently fourth in Group C. Squad:
Bragg, Wallace, Cooke, North (c), Allenby, Goodwin, Wright, Wagg, Owen, Cosker, Jones, Hogan and Glover.
The Somerset squad is: Marcus Trescothick (capt), Alex Barrow (wkt),Nick Compton, Adam Dibble, George Dockrell, Dean Elgar, James Hildreth, Steve Kirby, Craig Meschede, Jamie Overton, Arul Suppiah, Pete Trego and Max Waller,
Steve was showing some distress last week, Although he only went off for a short period. Nothing was reported to the public ( as far as I know). But feel they might want to to rest him.
Dibble, think he might well play today, as the DOC will at some point want to have a look at him in the first team squad, so today may well be it.
Max is worth 20 runs in the the field in most one dayer's.
Dibble can bat a bit and, more specifically, give the ball quite a whack so he ever could stay fit he could become a potentially valuable member of the one-day side.
Mike TA1 The Somerset squad is: Marcus Trescothick (capt), Alex Barrow (wkt),Nick Compton, Adam Dibble, George Dockrell, Dean Elgar, James Hildreth, Steve Kirby, Craig Meschede, Jamie Overton, Arul Suppiah, Pete Trego and Max Waller,
From the other site.
Given this squad
Marcus, Alex, George, Dean, James, Pete, will play
Nick may play though it's not guaranteed is it? Chest muscle pull? Not his best form of the game? CC game next week? But I'd expect him in.
Steve will play if he is fit one would expect. Difficult to rest him with Thommo out as well.
With 5 main batsmen in I would expect Arul to play instead of Max to give the dual option - though AS's batting has not fired all season so this may be where they say enough.
Craig Meschede should play.
So then it's Dibble or Overton J for me. Though both might be included instead of the dual spin option but i'd be surprised.
Unless he is too injured to play, there will definitely be ECB pressure to play NC in this one, IMO.
There might be a possible issue with NC and Elgar in the same side. Elgar's record from SA suggests he is a very good limited overs batsmen, but that he perhaps tends to play the anchor role a la NC. I think his strike-rate is about 74 - as slow as Ian Bell.
Having said that there was an interview with DE in which he mentioned that he plays on a home ground with massive boundaries - I think it's Blomfontein. So boundaries may be much harder to come by at home than at Taunton. The commentary on the Yorks game made it sounds like he is quite a powerful unit.
I'd think Arul should play, having done well in the last home game vs Middx. Of course, we are also probably still hoping that a good one-day knock will get Arul going in the CC.
There was a story on the official site that said that he and Marcus have now put on more than 5,000 runs together in the CC, with an average opening partnership of 55. We could certainly do with getting back to that.
Yep, unless the pitch is something very different to the norm for a one day game at Taunton it looks a very strong position for us and a thoroughly inadequate one for Glamorgan.
Nevertheless I still can't understand George not getting a game. He looked one of the best slow bowlers in the World Cup to me - getting guys like Tendulkar out, but not deemed worthy of a game against Glamorgan?
What evidence is there that the ECB want Nick to play? I've seen or heard none. Of course, they would want him to get his form back, primarily in the CC, before the Ashes Tests. Similarly, I'd fully expect SCCC to want Nick to play, one-days as well as CC.
I can't see the alleged difference of opinion here at all, I'm afraid.
Great start, esp by the youngsters - keep it going lads.
Could someone at the ground please tell Kirby it's all right: I CAN hear him well enough in South London, in case he was wondering, and feel much lifted thereby.
If you mean what evidence is there that Somerset don't want NC to play then I'd agree with you, SP - there isn't any.
I think England certainly do want him to play though - see public comments from Flower along the lines of "the one day games should be good for him as he can get out and hit the ball" etc.
Sounds like both Pete and Elgar led slightly charmed lives and as though Elgar just got away with another one then - at a point where him going would have been a huge boost to Glamorgan.
And I look at their spinners causing a collapse, and wonder how much George may have helped in not allowing Glamorgan to get away with all those runs in the final 12 overs or so having been 6 or 7 down for not all that many.
Sad to say as I posted some time back our short form has followed our long form ( history says this almost always happens with all counties ) and we will now need a miracle to win this one. That will be two defeats on the trot and not enough runs from our top five as per the CC.
I will eat much humble pie if proven wrong but I don't think I will need to - NC way out of form and MT once again not really firing. Age is the enemy none of us can defeat and too many of this squad are fighting a losing battle - sad thing is we have some great young prospects but nothing much between the old and the young - there is a moral there but in the past now I guess - bit like me and my opinions before you post to that effect Grocks !
Well, Rodders it's certainly true that Compton's 4 from 15 balls did not help much.
As the radio commentators said, Suppiah seldom makes runs in one-day stuff when he's down at six or seven, but did make 60 or whatever in good time in the last home YB40 game vs Middx, batting at three.
So we might well have been better leaving Arul at three.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:06:02:19:07:35 by AGod.
Well Done Somerset! Today two of our young cricketers came of age and got us over the line when hope was fading. Really terrific from Craig and Max and a real tonic after what's gone before in the Championship.
That brightened up a rather dull evening in Lilongwe. Congratulations to the whole team - lovely to see three of our younger players defy the odds at the end.
I am sat here in my corner and am absolutely delighted to be proven a complete ass when it comes to opinions about cricket - never been happier to be shown to be a total @#$%& !
Eating large doses of humble pie and very well done to our two saviours - apologies all round especially to CM who bowled pretty well also - perhaps time to give our youngsters their head in the longer format ?
Well,well,well. One tremendous over from Craig and a blossoming from Max and there we are. Can we persuade Pete that all matches are 1 day and whites are just a figment of his imagination
Fantastic - absolutely nothing better than a few young guys playing really well and pulling a game out of the fire...I don't like being like this, but it is made just a little sweeter by rodders popping up and proclaiming his usual doom and gloom. Fair play rodders for your post-match post - hope you enjoy BJ's pie.
Still Naxxar needs to pour some cold water on the rest of us - what a sad life that must be...I'm chuffed to bits and have opened my first beer of the evening a little earlier than usual
I sent a piece of the pie to a rather gobby Welsh friend who believed the mighty Glammy were home and hosed when we wobbled.
Never in doubt if you ask me.
Ronniesabre Young mesch may just have come of age and max showing us why he scored those runs in the seconds a couple if years back
Well said Ronnie. A great days entertainment. First our top batters tried to throw it away, then Glamorgan's seamers picked up our seamers bad habits and panicked after one bad over. It was wonderful to see CM and Max bat so sensibly in the end. Surely along with Pete, the new boy and Barrow (a superb catch which couldn't have been bettered by CK or Jos) CM and Max have proved that when the youngsters are asked and given time to contribute, they are up to it.
The other lesson surely from today was that Max, Elgar (we could also have used Arul) North and Cosker were the only bowlers to exert any influence in slowing down the scoring (and getting wickets). With the quickies, the faster they bowled, the faster it went to the boundary.
However about our next 1 day game having Max, George, Jack, Arul AND Elgar in the team to bowl!!
I'm still not convinced that SK and Pete's bowling this year are good enough in both forms of cricket. Alfonso probably OK when he gets fit IMO!
Big Jim Somebody reporting that Simon Jones "lost the head" after getting carted....any truth in this, or was Craig simply too good for him?
I don't think just Simon lost it. It was led by Marcus North who spread the panic by lengthy committee meetings about field placing after virtually every ball.
Fantastic afternoon, but we nearly threw it away twice. We had them on the ropes with 5 wickets down but inconsistent pace bowling gave them the chance to score quickly, then with Tregs and Elgar going well, Pete's luck finally ran out. We reckon he had five lives today!
We were coasting with Elgar at the crease, then inexplicably he gave his wicket away.
I thought their attack was generally far more disciplined than ours an they bowled to their field very well.
When Craig came in we had once chance, to make use of the powerplay and boy did he do that
Brilliant exciting finish from Craig and Max, but some of our players looked out of their depth.
Noisy Glamorgan fans throughout until about 7.15!
Glamorgan must be wondering how they managed to lose, but they didn't reckon on Craig and the churchyard challenge!
As an aside, the cider is pricey at £3.40 - no wonder our fans were quiet!
Anyone still think £25 for an afternoon's entertainment like that is too steep? Should have charged people a surcharge to get out!
Craig M - came of age, stood up, took on the challeng and refused to buckle. Showed more presence in one over than the rest of our young guns (Jove apart) all season. Today could be career defining for him.
Max - showed he might still have a future in the game. Real guts and no little skill with the bat, electric in the field and (God know's how!) ends up with reasonable bowling figures.
I don't think we should forget how well Max marshalled things out there with CM. I still believe given an opportunity he could provide very useful runs around 6,7 or 8. And with more bowling he might be able eliminate that one four ball which he sometimes puts in after 4 or 5 good ones. And of course he probably starts any innings with 30+ credit from his fielding.
The exuberance and skill of the two younsters who saw us home in the last 20 minutes at Taunton this evening reminded me hugely of Wes Durston`s match-turning run-out of Andrew Symonds in Somerset`s only T20 trophy success to date at The Oval in 2005.
On the edge of the square and with only one stump to aim at, Wes let fly without fear (four overthrows at a vital stage of the match would have been certain if he had missed) - and the rest is history.
I thought Meschede and Waller showed the same intrepid quality tonight, knowing they needed at least three large hits an over - and going for them, also without fear.
Today was one of the best day's entertainment at The County ground for a long time.
I would imagine it was a hard decision for Man of the Match.
Meschy got it in the end for his powerful batting display, especially that one over off Simon Jones.
Max too had a very good all round game.I too was amazed that he wasn't bowled out.He batted superbly with Craig M and also executed a fine run out.
A mention must also go to Alex Barrow who kept well and made one marvellous diving catch.
3 easy wins and 1 fairly comprehensive defeat prior to today and last year I think we started with four comprehensive defeats and finished with six convincing wins.
A great day at the County Ground with sun and good company.
Ohh! And also the best one day match this season!!
Agree with Rob's assessment above. Mesh and Max were superb. Max's fielding was electric and saved many runs. Batsmen were afraid of taking a second run if the ball was anywhere near him.
And the over off Simon Jones was wonderful and it upset Jonesey who proceeded to bowla no-ball in it. The six into the churchyard was sweetly struck. I thought there were shades of an early Craig Kieswetter in him during that over.
Good innings too from Trego and Elgar.
I do think we should consider bowling three spinners in our home games. They often go for less runs than the seamers.
I have just looked at the Skytext headline which says "Somerset end winless streak" It's the first time I've heard one match (last Sunday) called a streak.
I lost internet access about 5 yesterday and followed the first part of this game on Tuneup, which then kicked me off as we lost 3 wickets in about 5 minutes - Pete, Dean and James then it cut out - I thought we'd thrown this one away!!
Seems it got worse then a whole lot better. Very well done to Craig M and Max for bringing it home. Promising from Dean and well done to Pete. I'd just watched Jade Dernbach leaking like a sieve and wondered what people like Pete have to do to get past a player of that standard. Then I watched him coming in at number 11 and wondered what players like Pete have to do to get past a player of his standard.... Good job the English selectors have no judgement is all I can say.
Grockle !!
I'd just watched Jade Dernbach leaking like a sieve and wondered what people like Pete have to do to get past a player of that standard. Then I watched him coming in at number 11 and wondered what players like Pete have to do to get past a player of his standard.... Good job the English selectors have no judgement is all I can say.
I had a quick chat with Arul. He is fit to bowl, so why didn't he get the chance? Yes, we had a great win and thrilling entertainment, but we can do better. We need to be more clinical - mind you if we had been, we might have had much less time to enjoy the glorious weather.
One final point about the selfish people who make it look like seats are taken, so that they can have more space - think about your fellow spectators.
Even so, if the people that have bags on seats are in relatively desirable seats, be those ones with a particularly good view or ones in the sunshine or near the bar (or whatever the case may be) then it's still not on for people to just spread out, really?
Yep, one can certainly ask, but should people be put in the position of having to do so? People could just be polite enough to confine themselves and their paraphernalia to their own seats.
geordie moonraker I have just looked at the Skytext headline which says "Somerset end winless streak" It's the first time I've heard one match (last Sunday) called a streak.
GM: you will have noted Naxxar's posting about our losing only one 40:40 match in the last fourteen. In that context, our single loss, against Leicestershire, has to be regarded as a losing streak, which happily we have now rectified.
It's a pity that you and Lady GM weren't able to postpone your Taunton visit by a couple of weeks.
We've had one or two really good days this season and rather more not so good ones, but most of us still seem to be alive, as indeed I was myself when I last checked.
There seem, however, to be some among our regular contributors who view our county game as a life or death issue, plunging themselves into deepest despair when Somerset do not prosper. For me the pendulum swings without much symmetry. If the default position is the hand of a clock at six, a win like yesterday’s drives the hand forward with the greatest and most joyous vigour, even as far as twelve o’clock. A catastrophic loss and it might slip tentatively back to five o’clock, but it doesn’t stay there long. I prefer to enjoy the good moments hugely, but not to let the bad ones get me down in any serious way, for good times will come again and there is a lot more to life even than Somerset cricket.
Botham
One final point about the selfish people who make it look like seats are taken, so that they can have more space - think about your fellow spectators.
I was really riled by a couple in the Scoreboard stand yesterday. When we arrived at 12.30 we were suprised to find 8 or so seats covered over on the front row. This alone annoys me but that's for another day and I sort of accept it in the CA Pavilion but not really anywhere else.
When this couple finally turned up again some 5 minutes before the start they decided to then take away all the items covering the 8 seats and just sit in the 2 they needed.
Had to bite my lip hard not to tell them what I thought.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:06:03:16:27:28 by Tumbles.
I guess if the couple in question were expecting half a dozen friends to join them and only found out at the last minute they couldn't make it, it's understandable. Especially if they removed bags etc before play had started.
I do, however, totally disapprove of people putting bags (computers, etc) on seats they have no intention of occupying just to grab themselves extra elbow room.
I can remember a rule that used to apply when I watched as a boy - and I think it was even written down. Seats could be reserved with coats and bags etc before the start of play, but said clothes etc had to be removed and replaced by real people for the first hour of play. In other words, once play had started the seats could no longer be reserved until they had been occupied for some time.
I was at Wentworth for the Saturday of the PGA golf a couple weeks ago. I was surprised (having never been to such a place before) that in the grandstand around the 18th it was common practice to have reserved signs on maybe 30% of the seats which were NEVER occupied during the 90 mins or so I managed to find a seat.
Next to me was a row of 8 seats with reserved signs on them - 3 men came and sat in them, watched Els and Westwood finish, then left - with the reserved signs still there and the seats unavailable to the queue of 50+ people waiting for seats in the grandstand. Thoughtless and selfish.
On Sunday, a lady near us had her feet on the seat in front, for almost all the game, even when a lady came and sat on the next one, when her young daughter clearly wanted to sit there. I very nearly said, "that seat's not taken, it's just a footrest", but didn't have the 'bottle'.
They might have been Both, though I doubt it as they were not in one block but dotted randomly around the stand in row of 4 /6 /8 etc.. I took it they were just for people who had reserved them specifically in advance, but weren't using them for the whole day but just for short periods - though as they were largely empty when the later groups (generally the leaders / bigger-name players) were finishing, it seemed odd not to occupy them then.
Just wait until the T20 and tourist game!
The club are yet again inviting this issue in their reserve a seat attempt.
Last year was a shambles, blocks of seats reserved for these prepaid customers, numerous issues with people trying to sit in them and being moved on, and then for every game there were scores of prepaid reserved seats left unoccupied as they just didn't turn up (more money than dedication to attend clearly) with people standing in many areas of the ground instead
Boys bach, don't just moan about it, do something about it.
If it happens again then either bring it to the attention of a steward or take matters into your own hands.
If seats aren't booked, take them.
It really is as simple as that.
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