Readers of The Cricketer and thecricketer.com flood our inboxes with correspondence each week. Here are some of the opinions that have been shared with us in recent days...
It's time to open The Postbag
Readers of The Cricketer and thecricketer.com flood our inboxes with correspondence each week. Here are some of the opinions that have been shared with us in recent days...
Enough is enough. Test cricket is the best but it is not what the people want. I love it and having grew up in England, lived 10 years in Australia and New Zealand and still follow the game while living in America, I have seen some great Tests, but T20 seems to be the only way. Just look at the crowds for many of the Test nations other than England – even India and Australia are getting fewer people in for many matches.
Steven Derrick via email
Just back at hotel after watching cracking RL50 game at Derby versus Yorkshire – the first game of four matches at four grounds in five days on a cricket trip holiday. After three hours of torrential rain this morning, when it looked unlikely there would be any play at all, the groundscrew did a great job enabling a 24-over game which Yorkshire just squeaked home with one ball to spare in murky conditions.
Off to Oakham School tomorrow (not a new ground to add to my 66 visited as I’ve been there twice before several years ago), then Trent Bridge on Friday and Edgbaston on Sunday, before heading south to home on Monday. Groundsmen are unsung heroes, and the PA announcers at the grounds rarely give them a mention. I went to a T20 game at Taunton in 2016, and after a near monsoon in the morning the crew cleared up to enable a 14-over game.
Two nights before the first game of a double-header at Taunton was wiped out by rain too, and it looked like my weekend trip for the two games would be a total waste of time and cost in travel/accommodation, so I was very grateful to them.
Chris Goodwin
Peacehaven, East Sussex
There is praise for groundstaff from one reader
It was a delight to read the piece (‘The Window’, May edition of The Cricketer) on the late Alan Ross by Gideon Haigh. Ross has always been a heroic figure to me not least for his writing skills – he was a fair cricketer too and was good enough to play for the Haileybury first team in 1939 and 1940.
In the second of those two years, he took 41 wickets at an average of 20.29. Another member of that 1940 team Alan Fairbairn went on briefly to play for Middlesex. Ross has been a forgotten figure at Haileybury for many years but I am glad that Haigh paid due tribute to him. Although different in style, he was not far short of Neville Cardus and John Arlott.
David Rimmer, Hertford Heath
Author of Haileybury Cricket 1863-1992
If anyone was in doubt about the attraction of T20 to Minor County supporters they should have been at Jesmond, Newcastle on May 6 to witness an incredible innings by a 21-year-old Lincolnshire batsman.
In the first of two matches between Northumberland and Lincolnshire, Louis Kimber scored 162 not out from 55 balls.
His innings contained 138 runs in boundaries (15 sixes and 12 fours) and propelled Lincolnshire to 290 for 3 in 20 overs. Northumberland made great efforts to pass this total finally totalling 205 for 4.
This was not however the end of the mayhem as in the second match Kimber again dominated the Lincolnshire innings making his second century of the day with 112 off 45 balls , including 7 sixes and 13 fours as Lincolnshire totalled 237 for 7. Northumberland successfully chased down this total with Phil Mustard totalling 105 off 48 balls as they won with 13 balls to spare.
I believe (and stand to be corrected) that his score of 162 not out, Lincolnshire's total of 290 for 3 and Kimber's 15 sixes in his firsr innings are all better than the respective records of T20 competiton by Test playing nations.
The overall scoring rate for the two matches was 190 runs per hour, a number of balls were lost and a total of 10 balls used
Chris Keywood, chairman Lincolnshire CCC
I write at the end of another appalling day in the Test arena by the England. If the ECB are intent on bringing in ‘The 100’, our batsmen (with one or two exceptions) should be happy because they appear to have the attention span of a gnat, which is what this ridiculous new concept would require!
Robert Cox, Hampton
One reader was not impressed by England's batting at Lord's
The news of the proposed 100-ball innings fired a lively discussion at our local pub, with no little interest with regard to the concluding 10 -ball super over which will inevitably throw down the gauntlet for the first batsman to smash 10 sixes from it.
As our discussion progressed, we began to realise that perhaps the cricket authorities might have missed a trick with the 100-ball innings, and how much better it might be if there were 100 one-ball overs.
Think of the new records which would be created, so much loved by cricket statisticians, e.g. an opening batsman scoring at a run a ball would end up 100 not out with the No.2 batsman on 0 – the permutations are mind blowing.
Robin Ditchburn, via email
If T20 is too long for some people, why don’t they go the whole hog and have a Super-Over World Cup, and then everyone can go home after about an hour.
Nigel Kalb, New Southgate
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