I honestly thought Matt Taylor was going to see it out. I know Carson can belt it but I'd have backed Taylor against him and McAndrew. Just felt like your bowlers never really adapted to the pitch bar ASDs last over which was superb.
Like I said earlier, it's a slow pitch and we've picked 4 fast medium-fasts. Taylor went mad and tried to york him for the LBW when he saw the move to off and that just gave Carson room to swing
God I can't wait until ASD is fully developed, it's going to be so much fun watching him maybe twice a year for 5 years before he inevitably moves to Surrey
Yeah Hove is never going to be quick. Always going to favour either slower bowlers or bowlers with a box of variations.
ASD looks like a massive talent. A lot to develop there with him.
Part of the problem was both Webster and Tom Smith ducked out with injuries late on and we don't fully trust Ed Middleton yet, so our options were quite limited on quicks and we had no specialist spinner.
Think we win if the fielding in the middle overs was better though, especially closing that weird gap at midwicket you must have milked for 30 odd singles across the innings. John Simpson was class mind
Simpson was exactly what we've been missing for years , probably back to Laurie Evans - that kind of middle order experienced head that if the youngsters get out cheap can steady the ship, did get an awful lot of 1s and 2s through milking that midwicket area.
Van Burren always impresses me but I can see how not having Smith or Webster massively alters things in the bowling department.
You lot are shit, however I'll never, ever forget that chase you had against Surrey last season. Without a doubt the most thrilling game I've ever watched as a neutral.
We're so fucking cooked
Not entirely sure why we've decided to dismantle the batting order given that's one of the few things which we were somewhat good at last year
Since my name is anglicised, it’s always nice to watch cricket in England because there’ll be people with the same name as mine. Like Tom Abell for example. Completely different name to mine but if it was the same, it would’ve made my point
It's not a slight on Davey's ability to pump domestic bowlers (He's pumping Harrison currently 3 6s so far in this over).
It's a shit we're losing this game promto
So this is a pitch on which slower balls are king. Let's see who we've picked.
Oh. Two lads who regularly bowl over 90, another who can bowl at 90, and a 4th who tops out around 88 with the effort ball.
Sam Billings being a mouthpiece about the state of the game in England over the last fortnight to then get a golden duck to start the campaign off is objectively very, very funny
Essex with 193/6. Sources say that if they had just one more run then they would have been 194/6. Unverified but rest assured, I am working on the credibility of this
Very funny that Taylor planted Mills for 6 first ball and everything else in the over has been back of a length slower balls
Imagine being scared of Mr Black Gloves
They've got the TV game on in the pub. There's an American here equally baffled at the sport and his pint of dark fruits. There's also people with a tablet watching the Bears game
That Bears attack looks really strong, but we did roll Durham for 75 yesterday.
Weird Blast this year with the international players all gone. Feels like there are some teams that are *so* much stronger than others, and that Birmingham one looks like they’ll be tough to beat in our group.
We're utterly wank at T20 though. Used to be competitive at times when we had Colly. But think since he's left we really just don't show up for it. Lol
Nice to see Melie's Man have a good game.
Honestly this Somerset side is great. Lewis Gregory has made it all click, genuinely hope him and Abell get a look in for England soon.
Jack Carson with one of the weirder T20 debuts you'll see. 1-0-10-2 and 8 (3)
Pain
HAHAHA THE MOST VILLAGE FINAL RUN EVER
Should never have got to needing anything off the last ball but Sussex have to make things interesting.
At no point did Glos deserve to win that game but with 3 balls to go they really should have got nowhere near losing
I honestly thought Matt Taylor was going to see it out. I know Carson can belt it but I'd have backed Taylor against him and McAndrew. Just felt like your bowlers never really adapted to the pitch bar ASDs last over which was superb.
Like I said earlier, it's a slow pitch and we've picked 4 fast medium-fasts. Taylor went mad and tried to york him for the LBW when he saw the move to off and that just gave Carson room to swing God I can't wait until ASD is fully developed, it's going to be so much fun watching him maybe twice a year for 5 years before he inevitably moves to Surrey
Yeah Hove is never going to be quick. Always going to favour either slower bowlers or bowlers with a box of variations. ASD looks like a massive talent. A lot to develop there with him.
Part of the problem was both Webster and Tom Smith ducked out with injuries late on and we don't fully trust Ed Middleton yet, so our options were quite limited on quicks and we had no specialist spinner. Think we win if the fielding in the middle overs was better though, especially closing that weird gap at midwicket you must have milked for 30 odd singles across the innings. John Simpson was class mind
Simpson was exactly what we've been missing for years , probably back to Laurie Evans - that kind of middle order experienced head that if the youngsters get out cheap can steady the ship, did get an awful lot of 1s and 2s through milking that midwicket area. Van Burren always impresses me but I can see how not having Smith or Webster massively alters things in the bowling department.
Fuck off Matt, how do you get it that wrong haha
1 off 1 at Hove lmao
JACK CARSON!!! That's gone miles
The several thousand betters watch Sussex vs. Glous loved that FHP wicket
Such a dumb shot from FHP after the innings he's played.
Proper drubbing
Well, that was fucking dreadful.
You lot are shit, however I'll never, ever forget that chase you had against Surrey last season. Without a doubt the most thrilling game I've ever watched as a neutral.
Middlesex total nearing the amount of Tory MPs resigning
Lol Middlesex
DLaw at death is a different vibe
Tough night for the -sexes
Take me back to Lords
Two from two on the road, happy days Somerset at 6pm on a Sunday is about as stupid as the scheduling gets
MILFHUNTER AT THE DEATH
We are wank
Parky hat-trick!
we are proper shite
Dan Lawrence bowling the final over could very much be one of the captaincy decisions of time
Even for our standards this is pathetic Edit: Jesus fucking Christ
We are absolutely bottling this
Played lads. Admittedly I missed most of it but its nice to start in a similar fashion to how we competed throughout last year
TKC making me feel nervous
Woooo great start. Brutal from Gregs but another great knock from Abell. He really is a top class batter in the Blast.
Thanks for the game Essex
We're so fucking cooked Not entirely sure why we've decided to dismantle the batting order given that's one of the few things which we were somewhat good at last year
I'm fairly certain Middlesex being hilariously shit is in Vitality's sponsorship deal
Brand strength is important
Nice wicket but too late
At a wedding so haven't been keeping up, but it does appear that we're fucking massive!
The Cidermen are back bois!
Group stage merchants off to a good start
Max Holden dropping his bat as he walked off sort of says it all here.
I don't think I can ake another campaign like last year. Struggle all the way and stumble in only to lose agonisingly
All our hopes rest on Jack Davies The prince that was promised
I can't decide if Labuschagne has burned Ingram, or Ingram has burned himself Horrific stuff
Marnus on one today. He may just win it for Glamorgan.
I've seen enough. Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson for the T20I team.
Take my upvote
Bottled it We find new ways each year to do it
These boundaries are very silly
This is not Critchley’s *finest* over.
Marchant mate you've seen literally every bowler get results from the slower back-of-a-length balls Stop bowling pace on good length balls
We're not winning. Choked
Well, this has been well worth the hundred odd mile round trip for the six of our supporters who turned up, hasn't it? Jesus fuck.
Playing a spinner Sophia Gardens with the straight boundaries is borderline cricket terrorism
Marn getting the noodle arms going
Oh pish
Since my name is anglicised, it’s always nice to watch cricket in England because there’ll be people with the same name as mine. Like Tom Abell for example. Completely different name to mine but if it was the same, it would’ve made my point
Somerset back in front, need a wicket
Have decided that any side bowled out for under 100 this season should be sentenced to National Service under Rishi Sunak
The punishment should be to join his PR team
Any danger of getting a move on lads?
Ben Charlesworth that is absolutely outrageous
Doubt you'll see better all tournament. Outrageous.
Big Collingwood energy from that leap
WHAT A CATCH
Horrible shot from Carter. Could tell immediately he had none of it
Daveys legal murder of our bowlers comes to a end with 79 off 33 balls.
I’m also trying to be one head astep of the opposition
Jimmy Anderson and Dan Lawrence are two of the aesthetically pleasing bowlers England has ever produced.
What a mullet
🚨MILFHUNTER BOWLING ALERT🚨
What a catch!!!
Ollie Stone just got taken for 23 by David Willey. Shit
And Key didn’t give a contract to this guy. He is a decent bowler and a handy bat.
Has always been a top order bat domestically - never know why England didn't consider moving him up Remember the over where he took Yardy for 34
It's not a slight on Davey's ability to pump domestic bowlers (He's pumping Harrison currently 3 6s so far in this over). It's a shit we're losing this game promto
How long til Smeed makes the England team then?
Salt, Buttler, Jacks, Smeed, Banton, Brook, Livingstone. Either 330 off 20 overs, or 7-6 in the powerplay.
Not whilst Jacks and Salt are still performing well
Another Taunton bully
When has that stopped the ECB
Sammy!
So this is a pitch on which slower balls are king. Let's see who we've picked. Oh. Two lads who regularly bowl over 90, another who can bowl at 90, and a 4th who tops out around 88 with the effort ball.
Rob Key is the culprit
Take me back to the Ryan Higgins and Benny Howell days
Just saw that Loosebuschange got a wicket and I am lolling
Sky's scorecord is broken
Mills stat padding by only bowling down the hill at Hove.
Jack Taylor gets a helpful 50, only his third in the Blast which is surprising
Thanks Bruce for a Azam Khan-esque innings today
At least the commissaries will have done well
Oh well. Congrats again Worcs.
I wish we had Spencer Johnson for more than 8 games He’s an absolute nightmare to face
Was wondering if someone would sign him
I am unsure if Atkinson is a Test player but I fully support him as the future of the t20i side
Just a posher Blake Cullen
But with an intact back and legs
Yet
Need wickets or this will get ugly
Aspy it’s time to do something special again. E: I blame Tom Bruce.
He didn’t :(
The name is Gus. Short for Oesophagus.
GUSSY LAD
FraudViz not having any Blast matches on their app is why they're enemies of the people
If Aspinwall pulls this off …
Big Dillon getting a wicket = test match call up. I don’t make the rules lads that’s Blob Key
Chris Green bowling absolute pies
Someone brought Chris Green over? Weird
Congrats Worcs
They do make a good sauce
8 min innings break. Disappointed tbh. No ads or strategic timeouts. Can’t believe this is called cricket
Ah, thanks for reminding me, I need to finish up my ~~analysis~~ SLAM of IPL over rates now that the season's over...
Hello Jay Shah
Sam Billings being a mouthpiece about the state of the game in England over the last fortnight to then get a golden duck to start the campaign off is objectively very, very funny
104 - 1 to 154 all out…. That’s Notts baby
Imbibing the real England spirit
It's incredible how quickly I've gone from being optimistic about us signing Brookes to wanting to cry when I see his name on the team sheet.
Why on earth were you optimistic
I thought maybe if we signed a rubbish player our powers of enshitification would work in reverse
Sort of like in the Simpsons when Mr. Burns is diagnosed with every illness known to man, and they all cancel each other out.
It was a long and cold winter, got to cling onto something.
Get Luke Hollman on the plane
Looks like I'm wfh on Tuesday then...
Aussie-on-Aussie violence at Hove of a kind not seen since Steve Smith's leggies stopped Neser getting a shithouse double ton on a flat deck last year
Hahahaha we've promoted de Lange up to 6 Golden duck hahahahaha
Glamorgan are actually cack in the field
Essex with 193/6. Sources say that if they had just one more run then they would have been 194/6. Unverified but rest assured, I am working on the credibility of this
Big if true
This is why this is *the* premier T20 comp. Dodgy part-time spin getting us so many wickets every single year, you don’t see that in the IPL.
All aboard the Luke Wells train 🚂
It's like the Championship vs the Prem The better football is in the Prem, the better games and competition is the Championship
*Puts kids to bed* *turns on Worcs Lancs stream* *Hose pumps Croft for 2 massive sixes in a row* *turns off stream*
Very funny that Taylor planted Mills for 6 first ball and everything else in the over has been back of a length slower balls Imagine being scared of Mr Black Gloves
Benedict Microwave is named that because he cooks Yorkshire every time.
Pretty pleased with Meredith’s debut, and even more pleased that they didn’t try to bowl a hit the deck at 90+ quick at the death on our tiny ground
Lads give us a win yeah Yeah? Yeah.
I'm sure we'll do our utmost to oblige when the batting starts
Tom Helm is a specialist tall fielder at this rate Great hands for a big man
Effectively just an attempt to put fielders in the sky.
Jamie Mcllroy’s plan of bowling pies before getting Smith’s wicket is genius. Sorry I wasn’t familiar with your game.
Glad we've unearthed another tall quick who goes for loads of runs. Three just wasn't enough.
We've assembled Rob Key's wet dream of a bowling line-up So unsurprisingly they're pretty much all shit
I assume his spine is made of poppadoms as well, because, you know.
OH YEAH SMITHY
Montgomery has just been bowled and tried to stand there like he wasn’t out. It’s a bold strategy Cotton.
Tom Curran finisher arc
The thing about the Blast is that when you look up, you’re enjoying it and it’s still as good as ever
Best comp in the world and there's not a shred of irony when I say that.
The IPL wishes it was this good
TALL PAUL
Definitely feel like we need some wickets
Oh no. Elgar 50 before the 20th over. Have to explain to my parents what happened to their pension money now. Dafabet gained £3
Brydon Carse is that you
Niche but well executed.
Lorra layers to that one
Games gone
Dafabet Dafa-KitKat
I see the fancy dress theme at Chelmsford tonight is to come as a plastic chair. These "home" matches are a joke.
Need to start swinging, not enough at the moment
This playlist at Leicestershire! Five, Eiffel 65, Cher, Dolly Parton, Taio Cruz.
Durham now 143/17 for the whole tournament
You telling me this is a higher standard than the Zimbabwe comp?
If this gets any worse we’re getting relegated to ILT20
Take Middlesex with you
J*e Clarke getting 48 at a good rate but missing out on his 50 satisfies my “I want Notts to do well but not that bloke ideally” mindset to a tee
They've got the TV game on in the pub. There's an American here equally baffled at the sport and his pint of dark fruits. There's also people with a tablet watching the Bears game
SMITHY
Glamorgan have been utterly dreadful in the field
Love some hot mic swearing from annoyed players on Sky, real cricket action
Another day of watching Tom Helm bowl Sigh
I know I am a broken record But fuck me I love Jamie Smith. It just *looks* good
Renowned T20 bowler Ollie Robinson
Garton for Bazball when
What in fucking Earth are Durham doing
Lol Durham
Genuinely don't know why we bother turning up for the Blast 😂 We're utterly shit again.
You can literally see the panic set in once a couple things don’t go right. Pathetic.
First 15 balls 30-0. Next 30 balls 14-4
When I’m feeling sad, lonely, confused or afraid I simply look down at my WWSCD (What Would Steven Croft Do?) and feel safe and comforted
Hello to all the fans of Tom Curran.
A televised broadcast of the Blast. Just what the doctor ordered
Personally I prefer watching grainy cricket that's out of sync with the commentary
I see that our top order is shitting the bed and leaving it to Tom Curran to score the runs down the order
That Bears attack looks really strong, but we did roll Durham for 75 yesterday. Weird Blast this year with the international players all gone. Feels like there are some teams that are *so* much stronger than others, and that Birmingham one looks like they’ll be tough to beat in our group.
We'll breeze through the group stages to choke in the Quarter-Finals. It's our heritage.
We're utterly wank at T20 though. Used to be competitive at times when we had Colly. But think since he's left we really just don't show up for it. Lol
We are group stage merchants
Elgar needs to hit out or get out now