Essex Cricket

[Bluecap]

Never seen a side give a game up like Northants did this morning.
Well done Essex another trophy.

[i8ubutler]

18.2 overs.

[Real Al]

I've lost track of county cricket. How did we just win Division 2? I thought we won the top flight last year

[banqo]

The ECB in their infinite wisdom decided to start the season with three conferences. The top two in each conference made up Division One, 3rd/4th Division Two, 5th/6th Division Three. Essex finished third so ended up in Division Two which we have won! What happens next season though is anybodies guess!!

[cymruO]

Well, we've landed up with some silverware - well done Essex. Such a pity they couldn't show this kind of form last April May. Lots of factors eg pitches, cold weather etc and a surprisingly good showing from Notts, Worcs and Warks.
Season now over and work to do. We were all out for 170 against Northants and won by an innings and 44 runs. Essex have got to start consistently getting 1st innings runs from their top 4/5 batters. You cannot rely consistently on the middle / tail order to get runs. They have done so well but any chance of getting a big score and the most important batting bonus points just fade away.
We rely too much on the bowlers. If it wasn't for them we would not be winning so many matches. the 3 bowling bonus points are being picked up by just about anybody. Over a season of 12 matches or whatever dropping over 30 batting points can be the difference between being champions or not.
In Rymell and Pepper we have some real promise. Tendo has gone and Westley is only keeping his place because he's captain. Browne is inconsistent but with the possibility of Lawrence warming a bench on Test duty Essex need an experienced run maker.

[banqo]

Well, we've landed up with some silverware - well done Essex. Such a pity they couldn't show this kind of form last April May. Lots of factors eg pitches, cold weather etc and a surprisingly good showing from Notts, Worcs and Warks.
Season now over and work to do. We were all out for 170 against Northants and won by an innings and 44 runs. Essex have got to start consistently getting 1st innings runs from their top 4/5 batters. You cannot rely consistently on the middle / tail order to get runs. They have done so well but any chance of getting a big score and the most important batting bonus points just fade away.
We rely too much on the bowlers. If it wasn't for them we would not be winning so many matches. the 3 bowling bonus points are being picked up by just about anybody. Over a season of 12 matches or whatever dropping over 30 batting points can be the difference between being champions or not.
In Rymell and Pepper we have some real promise. Tendo has gone and Westley is only keeping his place because he's captain. Browne is inconsistent but with the possibility of Lawrence warming a bench on Test duty Essex need an experienced run maker.

I think you've summed it all up pretty well there.

[EliotNes]

And Alastair Cook has to be persuaded to stay for another 1-3 years.

[tuffers#1]

Not Essex related but cricket related so hope you lot dont mind

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000zkyf

Michael Holding on Desert Island discs .

a decent listen in my opinion

[EliotNes]

Not Essex related but cricket related so hope you lot dont mind

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000zkyf

Michael Holding on Desert Island discs .

a decent listen in my opinion

More than decent IMO. He has sound views, not all of which I agree with and expresses himself articulately. Poetry in motion when he bowled and for that he'll always be "Whispering Death" to me.

[Flying Hippo]

Apparently it's been an extremely fractious season "behind the scenes" focussed around Ronnie Irani's criticism of a prevalent drinking culture. This resulted in a showdown between RI and senior players (A Cook, Harmer, Westley and Lawrence were mentioned, supported by McGrath).

The situation may not have been resolved by RI stepping down as chair of the Cricket Committee recently (and, to be fair, his period in office coincided with a period of enormous success for the county) as he remains on the committee and might now stand as club chairman. John Stephenson was recently appointed chief executive and his role in all this is currently unclear.

As mentioned elsewhere, Cook has not yet signed a contract for 2022 although Dan Lawrence and Porter have signed up for the next two seasons.

[theballmagnet]

RI was part of a drinking culture in the 2000's so would know all about it

[tuffers#1]

Not Essex related but cricket related so hope you lot dont mind

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000zkyf

Michael Holding on Desert Island discs .

a decent listen in my opinion

More than decent IMO. He has sound views, not all of which I agree with and expresses himself articulately. Poetry in motion when he bowled and for that he'll always be "Whispering Death" to me.

if you liked that
im sure you will appreciate this near hour long
interview with Michael Holding .

also a bit with David Gower .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09xttjx

[EliotNes]

Thanks Tuffers.

I see "Whispering Death" is retiring from commentary this year. I'll miss his match commentary and summaries.

[tuffers#1]

Any Knowledge of why he called Gower Lubo ?

[EliotNes]

Any Knowledge of why he called Gower Lubo ?

No.

[soloman]

Any Knowledge of why he called Gower Lubo ?

Apparently named Lubo after his favourite steak bar in Adelaide.

[tuffers#1]

Any Knowledge of why he called Gower Lubo ?

Apparently named Lubo after his favourite steak bar in Adelaide.

Cheers

[theballmagnet]

Nick Browne new two year deal

[cymruO]

Get some consistency out of this guy and you've got an excellent opening batter. Consistency has not been his strong point over the years he's played for Essex. Sam Cook and Porter have signed new deals. Waiting to see what Sir Alistair is going to do. I think Westley needs to do some thinking. I can't think of a reason to have had him in the Championship side this season, apart from being captain.

[banqo]

County Championship back to two divisions next year. Essex in Division One.

[Top of the JES]

County Championship back to two divisions next year. Essex in Division One.

Good.

[Top of the JES]

Get some consistency out of this guy and you've got an excellent opening batter. Consistency has not been his strong point over the years he's played for Essex. Sam Cook and Porter have signed new deals. Waiting to see what Sir Alistair is going to do. I think Westley needs to do some thinking. I can't think of a reason to have had him in the Championship side this season, apart from being captain.

He's very very limited.

Essex are making the same mistake as the O's a few seasons back giving a mediocre performer in Browne a new 2 year deal. Far better out there on the circuit but Essex seem determined not to upgrade their batting line up year after year, we struggled for runs all through last year and I dont think the batting unit is good enough to mount a challenge next year. Same with Westley to an extent, talented but not a lot of Championship runs, It feels like with RTD leaving it's time to be a little more ruthless with the old guard (Cook excepted) get them through the out door and look to bring in some new younger players from other counties and rebuild the top/middle order.

[cymruO]

I've often said that our top batting has been weak for some time. Too many 1st innings have been disastrous, maybe only 1 batting point and that achieved through middle and tail order. If we weren't bowling sides out so cheaply we would never have been near the championship titles. The last match against Northants showed this so well. 1st innings of 170 - no batting points but only needed to bat once. The title was already ours but that last match at Somerset in 2019 could have been disastrous if it hadn't have rained for most of the 4 days. Rymell and Pepper are very promising, but do they need another season to mature? If so, Essex have to get a couple of new faces into their top five.

[Ornchurch]

Where do Essex get new batsmen from? They don’t have the budget of the test match counties so it is a lot easier said than done.

[cymruO]

But Essex are a test match county and besides, getting test players often means they're not available on their central contracts. I would have thought the 3 conference 2021 season displayed enough top 5 batters who could do a job for us. Plus, Essex are a very desirable county to play for and very few ever seem eager to leave, apart from the push and retirement.