Saturday, August 31: Newton-le-Willows v Southport & Birkdale… AND IT’S LIVE!

Follow along from 1pm as S&B seek crucial points in the battle to avoid the drop

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A league of their own: Stars of the Disability Premier League talk to Merseyside Cricket Online

The fourth season of the Disability Premier League is under way, with the second round of fixtures taking place at Neston on Sunday.

Four squads are drawn together from three areas of disability – physical disability, learning disability and hearing impairment.

Several Merseyside-based players are taking part in the competition this year.

Four of them spoke to Merseyside Cricket Online about the tournament and its role in providing a platform for disability cricket.

Jimmy Dixon celebrates a wicket for Sefton Park
Picture by ROB PAISLEY

Jimmy Dixon

The Sefton Park seamer and former captain is an England deaf international who plays for the Black Cats. They started their campaign with a win over the Tridents, followed by a defeat to the Pirates.

The first couple of games went very well, we had good battles against the Tridents and the Pirates. The Black Cats are much better compared to last year because this year’s batting team have been stronger. And this year the team environment is really good, we’re enjoying each other’s company.

This competition is really important as a whole for the extra publicity it gives disability cricket. It increases awareness for everyone in the mainstream, and proves to them that we have great skills. Everyone is impressed.

It’s important for this tournament to help raise awareness for families, friends and parents who have a child with a disability who loves to play cricket – they can be the next James Dixon in the future, when I am too old.

The DPL is really helpful for pitting people with all different kinds of disability against one another, as it’s really challenging and more competitive to play against each other. I feel that the standard of DPL is getting higher and closer to elite cricket level.

It brings people together who share the experiences of living with a disability, it boosts our social lifestyle, and improves our mental well-being. Sometimes we can feel isolated or let down by mainstream people who don’t want to have our company because they are uncomfortable with a player’s disability. 

Click here for this weekend’s Love Lane Liverpool Competition fixtures

Formby’s Luke James

Luke James

The wicketkeeper/batter, who returned to Formby from Firwood Bootle this season, plays for the Tridents and has a learning disability. Tridents began with a defeat to the Black Cats and a win over the Hawks.

It’s my first couple of years in disability cricket so this tournament has been really good for me. But I’ve been really shocked with the amount of talent which you probably wouldn’t see without the DPL. The top players would get into most 1st XIs in the Comp pretty easily if they had the opportunity. Will Flynn, who got 80-odd against the Hawks, was born with one leg, but you wouldn’t know it watching him bat.

With this being a pan-disability tournament, it’s really inclusive. Everyone has their own disability and their own difficulties, but there’s no stigma like you’d get in the club game. Everyone is in the same boat and has a laugh with each other, and you just feel really included. For the first couple of hours I struggled to get involved with everybody, because I’m like that with new experiences. But we’re all going through the same things. We’ve all been through similar things and similar hardships in the past, it brings us all together.

I batted with Umesh Valjee, who is deaf, and that was a lot harder than batting with Will. The communication, knowing when to run, is quite difficult. It gives you an insight and makes you think ‘how can I communicate with them, and them with me?’ I don’t know sign language at all but one thing I took away from it is that I’d like to.

I can stay at home this weekend, which is nice, and Neston is a really good pitch. I think we need to win three out of our last four games to get to the final, which is before an England v Australia T20 at Cardiff – so that gives disability sport a good profile. 

We’re the best disability cricketers in the country, and a lot of us play at a very good standard, we just have something that stops us from taking it to the next level – it’s good to get the chance to show what we can do.

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

New Brighton’s Danny Hamm

Danny Hamm

The left-arm spinner plays for New Brighton, having retired from England’s physical disability side earlier this year after a tour of India. He represents the Pirates, who were the only side to start with two wins, over the Hawks and the Black Cats.

It was a great start. We’ve kept the nucleus from last year and strengthened with a couple of lads. And it was a fabulous start, great to get two wins on the board – it’s the first time we’ve done that in the whole tournament.

I retired from international cricket in February but I wanted to remain involved with the DPL, to give something back really and help a few of the younger lads. Some of them, especially the learning disability lads, do find it hard coming into a new environment, so it’s great to help out and contribute with the ball where I can.

It’s the only tournament of its kind anywhere, and the ECB are leading from the front in getting the three kinds of impairments playing together. It’s just great to be playing alongside my old friends, and getting to know some new players. 

Wirral and Merseyside are very well-represented in the tournament – that’s hats off to the Comp and the Cheshire league and wherever these lads play. Disability shouldn’t factor into whether you can play cricket or not – it’s cricketer first, disability second, as I always see it. I don’t get any easier in the DPL, if I bowl a bad ball, it’s going to the boundary – but mainstream cricket has always been a big part of how we improve. Our leagues and our clubs have to take a lot of credit for making sure we are involved.

It’s always nice to play at Neston and we’ll get a few family and friends down to watch. And it’s a lovely place to play. And we can go and grab an ice cream and some fish and chips afterwards.

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition statistics

Chris Edwards in action for Cheshire
Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Chris Edwards

The all-rounder, who captains England’s learning disability side, moved from Caldy to Neston ahead of the start of this season. He received a British Empire Medal for his services to the game in 2021, and plays for the Tridents in the DPL.

We pulled it back really well against the Hawks, having been 20 short against the Black Cats – they just managed the game better. But it was a really positive end for that first round of fixtures. And since I’ve moved to Neston to play my club cricket, it’ll be a good second round of fixtures.

I think we’ve got as good a chance as anyone. Hawks, on paper, are the strongest – but they’ve lost their first two games. On the day, it’s which team gets their tactics right to be able to get results. The Pirates are strong and we’ve got them first on Sunday, so it should be a good game. 

It’s always really good to see the rising stars come through in the DPL, but also to see the experienced players who’ve played international cricket as well. There’s a good variety of players and for disability cricket, it’s a good platform to push the game further.

It’s great that people from all three impairment groups are given the opportunity to compete and to get good outcomes. 

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Report and round-up: August 24-26

Sometimes, your name is on the cup – literally, in this case.

Northern won the northern section of the ECB National T20 Cup in thrilling and dramatic fashion, booking a slot in the national final against Oundle Town on September 22.

That comes a week after they face Brentwood in the 40-over ECB National Club Championship final, and a day after a potential Love Lane Liverpool Competition decider against Ormskirk.

Chasing 135 to beat Doncaster Town in the regional final at Derbyshire’s Copper Yard ground, James Cole’s side overcame the early loss of Liam Grey and Tyler McGladdery, and had edged ahead of the DLS par by the time the death overs rolled around.

With 18 required from the last three overs, Ben Edmundson and Dan Wilson produced 10 singles and a two, reducing the equation to six from six balls, with three wickets in hand.

Then left-arm spinner Warren Graca – not a regular 1st XI player for the South Yorkshire side – dismissed both Wilson and Josh Thompson in successive balls.

Tom Sephton is a fine cricketer, but possibly not the man you’d call on in this situation – he scrambled a leg-bye off his second ball, leaving Edmundson needing five off two.

The former Rainhill skipper only needed one, launching the sweetest six of his career straight over Graca’s head and sending his teammates into raptures.

Chris Laker had been the pick of Northern’s bowlers, taking 3/20 to still the momentum which Doncaster built up through a third-wicket stand of 72. 

Liam Grey’s three overs cost just seven runs and accounted for George Fisher with the first ball of the match.

The semi-final had been an all-Merseyside affair, but Oxton found themselves outclassed by the men from Crosby. 

Their chase of 142 never got off the ground as Grey, Sephton and Alex Vincent turned the screw; none of the top seven made it to double figures, before Wilson claimed three wickets to end the innings on 81.

By contrast, Laker, Grey and McGladdery all contributed decent scores to Northern’s total, while Jordan Collier’s three wickets kept them honest.

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

Wallasey’s Sumit Ruikar sent his favourite opponents to the brink of relegation with an all-round masterclass in the Wirral derby at New Brighton.

The Indian slow left-armer followed his run-a-ball 83 with 7/21, taking his record against the Rakers to 43 wickets at a shade under 10 runs each, from nine games.

With Martyn Evans’ side now 63 points from safety with four games left, time for a miracle recovery is running out – the 2015 title winner will hope his young side are all the stronger for a punishing season.

The other relegation spot, and the title itself, look like going to the wire. 

Ormskirk’s 59-run win at Southport & Birkdale – set up by fifties for openers Calum Turner and George Politis and sealed by Tommy Brown’s 5/47 – kept Gary Knight’s side three points ahead of Northern, and gave Birkenhead Park the chance to move one point ahead of S&B.

They did so with a seven-wicket win over Rainford, thanks to 5/48 for Malinda Pushpakumara and 50 for Mark Rowland.

Northern kept up the pressure on Ormskirk by beating Rainhill by eight wickets, with Tyler McGladdery finishing unbeaten on 79, and Chris Laker making 67.

Wigan and Newton-le-Willows had to settle for a draw, despite the hosts needing just three runs and the visitors just one wicket. Safi Abdullah made an unbeaten 59 then took 5/75 for Newton, while Jake Leyland top-scored with 62 for Wigan.

Mattie McKiernan made 125 as Leigh set Formby 277; the hosts made a bright start but lost Ian Cockbain for 80 and closed out for the draw.

Ormskirk will play holders Rainford in the Ray Digman Trophy final, after a convincing 94-run win over Formby. Calum Turner made 70 and Harvey Rankin 68 to set an imposing 233/9.

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition results

Unbeaten Firwood Bootle could be just a couple of wins away from promotion from Division One after another rapid chase, this one against Sefton Park.

Visiting skipper Paul Horton prolonged his 89 into the 60th over before declaring on 220/6, but half-centuries from Alastair Andrady and Hermann Rolfes saw Bootle over the line.

Colwyn Bay are best placed to join them in the Premier Division after their six-wicket win over Liverpool, in which Paul Jenkins took 5/35. 

Third-placed Highfield kept up the pressure with a six-wicket win of their own, over Old Xaverians. 

Fleetwood Hesketh are rooted to the bottom thanks to a 61-run defeat to Lytham, for whom Matthew Wood starred with 6/55.

St Helens Town kept themselves afloat with a 48-run win at Maghull, set up by half-centuries from Jamie Ellis and Daniel Roberts; Liam Crilly’s 92 was in vain for the hosts.Luke Prescott kept up his astonishing run of form since returning from injury as Orrell Red Triangle beat Spring View. His Comp scores since August 3 read 107, 32, 100 and now 84, with 54 and 89* for Lancashire’s U18s in the middle.

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition statistics

Hightown St Marys chose the scenic route at Sutton in the clash of the top two in Division Two. 

After half-centuries from Joe Smith and Joe Noctor allowed the hosts to post 226/1, the visitors lingered for 56 overs for their 172/1, denying their opponents victory and claiming more bonus points, to close the gap to seven. Matt Laybourne finished unbeaten on 96.

There was much more drama to be found at the bottom. Prestatyn tied with Northop Hall, both sides making 116 – Adam Tidswell’s 7/56 the standout performance.

But it wasn’t enough to stop Prestatyn sinking back to the bottom, thanks to Whitefield’s win over Southport Trinity. Ali Zubairi made 72 to rescue the hosts from 87/8, before Farhan Jahangir claimed 6/18 to wrap up a crucial win.

Caldy are the closest challengers to the top two after their six-wicket win at Wavertree, with an unbeaten 58 for Umega Chaturanga; Alder fell narrowly short against Norley Hall; and Ainsdale chased 172 with just two wickets to spare against Parkfield Liscard.

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Less than the sum of their parts: Six Test batting partnerships that invariably disappointed

7 minute read

The most successful Test partnerships of all time are easy enough to identify. For one thing, they’ll regularly crop up in conversation-fuelling TV graphics whenever a wicket is hard to come by. For another thing, if they happened during your lifetime, you’ll no doubt have lots of memories of the two players batting together. As for the least successful Test partnerships – well they’re pretty easy to guess. (Clue: they’re going to involve a lot of number 11s.) What we’re looking at today are the most surprisingly unproductive batting partnerships. Who do they involve?

The focus here is this: combinations of otherwise decent batters who, for some reason or other, didn’t actually score that many runs together.

Partners

It is slightly mad but also entirely true that “buddy cop” is a widely recognised film genre. It seems such a specific thing – having two police officers and their relationship serving as the central pillar on which a whole film is built – but it’s a sufficiently reliable setup that it’s been repeated again and again and again.

The premise was really cemented in the 1980s, when we got all of the following…

• 48 Hours: Black convict Eddie Murphy works with racist cop Nick Nolte to catch a couple of criminals within a day or two. (Some of the stuff Nolte’s character says is absolutely incredible to modern ears. Then near the end he says he didn’t really mean it and it’s apparently all fine.)
• Beverly Hills Cop: Streetwise, fast-talking, rule-bending Detroit cop Eddie Murphy works with fearful, by-the-book, Beverly Hills cops Judge Reinhold and John Ashton to solve a murder. (Ashton, who plays Detective Sergeant John Taggart was actually only about 35 when the original Beverly Hills Cop was filmed, but looked older. In our head, he had grey hair, but looking back this was not in fact the case – it was just that particular shade of pale that looks like grey if you’re slapping back. A new Beverly Hills Cop came out this year. Ashton, who is now 76, hasn’t really slapped-back any further, but rather strikingly now has JET BLACK HAIR.)
• Lethal Weapon: Two LA detectives – suicidal widower Mel Gibson and contented family man Danny Glover – work to solve a murder. (Lethal Weapon also features Gary Busey, who went on to star alongside Keanu Reeves in the buddy-cop-adjacent Point Break. Point Break is silly and great – probably Patrick Swayze’s second-finest film after Roadhouse.)
• Red Heat: Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Soviet policeman (“Ivan Danko”). Jim Belushi is a Chicago police detective (“Art Ridzik”). They work together on a drug case for reasons.
• Tango and Cash: The flat facts of Wikipedia sum this one up perfectly. “In Los Angeles, Lieutenants Raymond Tango (Sylvester Stallone) of the Westside and Gabriel Cash (Kurt Russell) of the Eastside are considered the best detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department, where they are both assigned to the Narcotics Division and lauded for numerous successful and daring drug busts across Greater Los Angeles. However, they are opposites in almost every way and are intense rivals, each considering himself to be better, despite having never met.” (We haven’t watched Tango and Cash in a few years, but we remember it as being an especially good example of how these films used to make jarringly seismic tonal shifts. Quite often they’d come across as essentially lightweight comedies and then in the next scene someone would be brutally murdered in a prison.)
• Turner and Hooch: California cop Tom Hanks investigates a murder alongside the only witness to it, who is, by the way, a dog.

The key element in all of the above relationships is contrast, the differences providing a lively dynamic you wouldn’t get if both parties were cut from the same cloth.

Similarly, batting partnerships are not simply a matter of addition. It’s not as straightforward as combining the career records of Player A and Player B to accurately predict how well they’ll bat together. All sorts of things go into it.

A case in point, the average partnership between Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook was 64.69; the average partnership between Pietersen and Andrew Strauss was 28.02. We suppose there’s a personal element to batting with someone.

Another example: Cheteshwar Pujara averaged 62.51 batting with Murali Vijay and 21.17 batting with KL Rahul. Perhaps someone with better knowledge of the inner workings of the India team can float an explanation for that one.

Another: If you were an exceptionally good West Indian batter, who would you most want at the other end?

We’ll tell you: Dwayne Bravo.

Bravo and Shivnarine Chanderpaul averaged 54.82 together and put on seven century partnerships. The seven occasions when Bravo joined up with Brian Lara, meanwhile, brought three century partnerships and an average of 87.71.

Lara and Chanderpaul were of course both left-hand batters, while Bravo batted right-handed. People often say that helps.

In fact anything that persuades the bowlers to bowl differently to each batter is supposedly beneficial. If one batter’s tall and one’s short, say, or one’s an aggressor and one’s a limpet.

Of course none of things matter much if the two batters don’t take singles, so their appetite for bread and butter nudges into space is a factor too. Back in his early days, when he had a functioning spine, Mike Atherton averaged 53.47 with Graham Gooch in 57 partnerships at the top of the order, their joint productivity largely built on repeatedly getting to the other end.

That leads us nicely onto our first consistently rubbish partnership.

1. Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting

Gooch and Gatting were two stalwarts of England’s Test batting line-up in the 1980s. It’s therefore somewhat surprising to learn that they made fewer runs together than Brad Haddin and Peter Siddle.

This is partly because they only actually batted together 20 times. It is also because their best partnership was only 58. In all, they made 347 runs and averaged 17.35.

In this instance, perhaps the contrast (between Superfit Gooch and Superfat Gatt) somehow aided the fielding side.

Gooch was at the other end when Gatting faced, and was bowled by, Shane Warne’s first delivery in Ashes cricket, by the way (hence the image at the top of the article).

• When Mike Atherton was run-out (by Mike Gatting) for 99 – was this the worst ‘no’ in the history of cricket?

2. Mark Taylor and Matthew Hayden

Mark Taylor and Michael Slater averaged 51.14 together with 10 century partnerships.

Matthew Hayden and Michael Slater averaged 43.54 together with three century partnerships.

Matthew Hayden and Mark Taylor averaged 13.20 together with a best effort of 35.

A lot of that can be explained with the words ‘Curtly Ambrose’. Half of Taylor and Hayden’s 10 opening partnerships were against the West Indies. In those matches, Ambrose dismissed Taylor for 7 and 1, and Hayden for 5, 0 and 0.

Hayden did actually make a hundred in one of these Tests, but it was the one Ambrose didn’t play. (In 12 innings in the 1990s, this was the only time Hayden passed 50.)

• Matthew Hayden’s extra words

3. Ian Bell and Andrew Flintoff

When Kevin Pietersen first came into England’s Test team, there was much excitement about the prospect of him batting with Andrew Flintoff. After a little while, this made way for an assumption that they were bad influences on each other; that their partnerships were vulnerable to descending into Billy Biggest Bollocks competitions with each seeking to outhit the other.

The common refrain from then on was that Pietersen batted best with a low profile partner, like Paul Collingwood, with whom he averaged 60. The sheer unworkability of a Pietersen-Flintoff combo remains such a cast iron fact in our mind, it’s something of a surprise to learn that their average partnership was a more than decent 45.88.

Flintoff and Ian Bell though? Terrible! If they were a buddy cop film, they’d be something like Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot. They averaged 11.77 together.

This one’s a bit of an oddity though as it owes a lot to the fact they were at the crease together astonishingly rarely – their 27 Tests together resulted in only nine partnerships.

• The Realm’s England XI – 6. Andy Flintoff

4. Jonathan Trott and Paul Collingwood

This one’s not dissimilar, but this time perhaps owing itself to a quirk of perception.

Paul Collingwood and Jonathan Trott averaged just 10.11 together – but again from only nine innings.

As well as being two of our favourite slow-burn appeal England cricketers, Collingwood and Trott were of course both famously part of the England team that won the Ashes in Australia in 2010-11. As such, they feel closely linked. However, the truth is that Trott was not much more than a year into his Test career at that point, while Collingwood was too old for this shit and retired at the end of the series.

• The Realm’s England XI – 5. Paul Collingwood

5. Desmond Haynes and Alvin Kallicharran

And here’s another one.

What do you get when you combine Desmond Haynes (7,487 Test runs at 42.29) with Alvin Kallicharran (4,399 runs at 44.43)?

You get 87 runs at an average of 10.87.

Just eight innings.

6. Ashwell Prince and Graeme Smith

Ashwell Prince and Graeme Smith scored no fewer than 38 Test hundreds between them. The former averaged 41.64; the latter 48.25. Both made their debuts in 2002.

Look at those facts and you’d think they might have made a few runs together.

And they did. Technically. Across 11 partnerships, they made 138 runs with a best joint effort of 36. (Weirdly, on three of those occasions, Smith had either already made or went on to make a hundred.)

Smith and Prince both captained South Africa; both were left-handed; and both appeared to have greeted the concept of stylish batting with the conclusion ‘why risk it?’

There was an admirable mongrel quality to both men’s approach – but perhaps this was a case of too many Hooches and not enough Turners.

[Fade to black as Axel F by Harold Faltermeyer plays]

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The post Less than the sum of their parts: Six Test batting partnerships that invariably disappointed first appeared on King Cricket.

Related posts:

1. Australian Test batting averages
2. Paul Collingwood papers over fragile England batting line-up
3. Which England player would complete the most unexceptional Test batting line-up in history?

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Saturday, August 24… AND IT’S LIVE!

Follow along for regular updates from the Love Lane Liverpool Competition

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MCO at the Test: Mathews and Mendis keep Sri Lanka in the hunt as England struggle for inspiration

Angelo Mathews’ defiant 65 from 145 balls hauled Sri Lanka back into the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford, as the tourists entered day four 82 ahead with four second innings wickets standing.

And with Kamindu Mendis resuming on 56, alongside the wounded but unbeaten Dinesh Chandimal, England know they have a fight on their hands.

When the former skipper came to the crease, a fourth day looked unlikely to happen at all.

Jamie Smith had capitalised on some weak, defensive captaincy by Dhananjaya de Silva to move to a chanceless maiden Test century, and Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson each struck early.

The first innings deficit of 122 looked mountainous; when Mark Wood joined the fun by dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne then injuring Chandimal, hotels in the Manchester area may have reported a surge of early check-outs.

But Mathews had other ideas. He built a patient stand of 78 with Mendis and weathered a storm of short-pitched bowling which implied stand-in skipper Ollie Pope had used up plans A through C at least.

The batters were even starting to ride their luck – Joe Root and Atkinson reprieved each of them off the luckless Matthew Potts.

Then came a ball change, and then came Woakes. Mathews fenced and missed at a few then finally edged one, sending a looping edge to Potts at point, who showed the others how it’s done.

The damage would have been greater but for DRS, with both Milan Rathnayake and Mendis given out having edged inswingers into their pads.

Rathnayake did not cash in, swiping Root’s loosener up in the air after Wood hobbled off, but Mendis – whose early career average topped 100 before this Test – moved serenely to his 50, and played out the last few overs comfortably.

Root was the fourth England bowler to strike in his first over, certainly a quirk if not a record.

The hosts had resumed in the morning on 259/6, ahead by 23 and on top but not out of sight.

Sri Lanka laboured for almost two hours to get rid of them, Smith and Atkinson extending their stand to 66 before Atkinson gave Rathnayake his first Test scalp, tickling one down leg side two balls after Smith reached his century.

The wicketkeeper fell to a loose cut at Prabath Jayasuriya soon after, but some biffing from Wood and Potts lifted the lead to three figures.

It was almost 1pm but, with the session extended, the visitors had three overs to face.

It was three too many – Nishan Madushka left Wokes’ third ball and had his bails trimmed; Kusal Perera poked at Atkinson’s fourth and edged to a diving Smith.

Not long after the break, Wood’s first delivery looped to slip via some combination of Karunaratne’s bat and his hip; when the Durham man forced Chandimal to retire by slamming one into his thumb, the tourists were effectively four down and still 48 behind.

But Mathews – who had gone down wondering in the first innings, pinned by Woakes without offering a stroke – chose a different path this time round.

Some early aggression against anything pitched up persuaded Pope and his seamers to serve up some short stuff; it kept Mathews quieter, and Potts accounted for da Silva with one that didn’t get up much, but Mendis thrived.

Neither Atkinson nor Potts had the menace or accuracy to make the short ball a threat, and Shohaib Bashir’s off-breaks were ineffective.

Wood seems to be being managed, the idea presumably being to find the optimum number of overs which means they get to use him without needing to rest him – his early exit from the fray will cause some concern, with the Tests coming thick and fast this summer.

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England look to the futuristic year of 2013 and the flashing blade of Chris Woakes

3 minute read

If your sporting memory stretches this far back, you may remember that James Anderson opted to retire from Test cricket shortly after he was invited to retire from Test cricket by Brendon McCullum, Ben Stokes and Rob Key. Their reasoning was that it was time to look towards “the future”. Apparently looking towards the future now entails picking Chris Woakes to bat in the top seven, just like he did at the start of his Test career, back when we all thought maybe he was a proper ‘all-round all-rounder’, rather than an ‘opening-bowler-who-can-bat-a-bit all-rounder’.

We were wrong about this then. Turns out Chris Woakes is England’s all-rounder. We’re surprised. If we actually had any of the stuff, we’d have put good money on Shoaib Bashir getting dropped and England muddling through with Joe Root and Dan Lawrence as pseudo-all-rounders so that they could retain both six batters and four seamers.

But no. They’ve gone the other way. Matt Potts will replace Ben Stokes. Jamie Smith will get shunted up to number six and Woakes will consequently also get dragged up a slot in his wake.

Is there merit to this?

Woakes in the top seven

The first thing to note is that Woakes’ record in the top seven is more than decent. He averages 55.14 from the 10 Test innings when he’s batted in one those positions. The usual Chris Woakes home-and-away proviso applies though. He averages 5 when batting in the top seven away from home – largely because he’s only done it once.

The long and short of it is really that he hasn’t batted in the top seven very often because his overall Test average is a handy-but-not-top-seven-worthy 27.76. The last time he did so was in 2020.

The series ahead

Some will say England’s shallower batting doesn’t much matter for these next Tests, because “it’s only Sri Lanka”. History suggests this is exactly the sort of thing that gets said before England lose a Test series to Sri Lanka.

But setting that aside, part of Key’s explanation for the decision to respectfully bin Anderson was to give other people opportunities to learn. Does this help achieve that?

“People now need the opportunity to learn how to bowl with that new ball, to go through a day’s worth of Test cricket and then realise they’ve got to back it up the next day. Now’s the time that people have to start learning that,” said Key.

As we observed earlier this summer, Woakes’ home bowling average is now 30 whole runs lower than his away bowling average – 21.83 versus 51.88.

That’s quite a lot and Test coach Brendon McCullum is aware of it. Speaking after the West Indies series, he said Woakes had bowled really well…. “Whether that means he plays overseas, let’s wait and see. But it’s hard to rub him out right now.”

It’s not what you’d call a ringing endorsement.

It sounds to us like that valuable new ball experience is currently going to a bowler who England honestly seem quite ambivalent about and who most likely won’t play overseas. Now he’s the main all-rounder as well? And is this kind of batting line-up – Matt Potts at eight, Gus Atkinson at nine – the kind of thing they’ll be using in overseas Tests?

Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe we’re guilty of looking too much to the future ourself. Maybe we should just sit back and enjoy the next Test and Chris Woakes’ batting and bowling performances in it.

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The post England look to the futuristic year of 2013 and the flashing blade of Chris Woakes first appeared on King Cricket.

Related posts:

1. How well will Chris Woakes have to play before he’s in England’s overseas first XI?
2. Where next for Chris Woakes?
3. Let us tell you about Chris Woakes from England’s World Cup squad

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Reports, reaction, round-up… August 17-18

Northern celebrate beating Kimberley Institute in the semi-final of the ECB National Knockout

Northern demolished Kimberley Institute on their own patch to reach the ECB National Club Championship final for the first time since 2015.

There were individual stand-outs – captain James Cole made a punchy 50, supported by Alex Vincent, to lift the total to 241/8, and Tom Sephton and Josh Thompson claimed three wickets each.

But this was a triumph of the collective, an example of teamwork making the dream work.

Now the side Cole has built have the chance to write their names into history by becoming the first Love Lane Liverpool Competition side to lift the trophy, when they face Brentwood in Worcester on September 15.

Going by the evidence of this performance, you wouldn’t bet against them.

In particular, the power play bowling of Sephton and Liam Grey was exceptional. 

After eight dot balls to start, Grey’s ninth was wafted through to Cole by George Bacon; Sephton struck twice in the next over to remove Akhil Patel and captain Dom Brown.

The veteran left-arm spinner plunged to his right to hold a return catch off Jack Nightingale off the last ball of the eighth over; seconds later, Tyler McGladdery repeated his one-stump run-out trick from the quarter-final against Ormskirk to remove Martin Weightman for a diamond duck.

At 17/5, the game was as good as done. Greg Du Plooy and Harry Ratcliffe rebuilt with a stand of 86 but they were always well behind the rate and Thompson mopped up, having David Lucas held by Jac Kennedy to spark wild celebrations from the players and travelling supporters.

Director of cricket Chris Laker’s contribution was typical – 26 off 18 balls at the top of the order, followed by 2/29.

He said: “Everyone chipped in. 

“They’re a good side, on their own ground – it’s a small ground compared to Northern, so we had to adapt our game quite a lot. 

“The lads did really well to set them a run a ball, and then Tom and Liam really hit their straps in the power play. 

“Things went our way from then on, really.”

Northern have plenty of individual match-winners in their ranks, including Laker, whose century against Ormskirk got them to this stage.

But winning without an individual leading the way puts them in a position of greater strength – they won’t head to New Road hoping for that one player to come off.

Laker added: “To win a competition like this, you’re not going to do it relying on three, four or five players.

“You need a whole squad ready to stand up at different points of the season – whether it’s your number nine getting an important 20, or your fifth or sixth bowler getting a three-for, or a piece of fielding. 

“It’s those moments that everyone works for, it’s why we train hard and play the games we do.”

With a closer than usual title race entering its final lap, and a spot in the regional final of the National T20 Cup as well, Northern are competing on three fronts.

Laker hopes they can use it to their advantage as the season comes to an thrilling conclusion.

“This is why players come to play here,” he said. “We’ve got three winnable competitions and it’s a really exciting time.

“This win has given us a real confidence boost.”

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

An unbeaten 90 from just 58 balls by Jason Login sent holders Rainford cantering into their second consecutive Ray Digman Trophy final on Sunday with a comprehensive win over Wigan.

Login hit 13 fours and three sixes in his onslaught; the next highest score among his teammates was 27 and the hosts’ target of 138 was reached in just 20.3 overs.

Earlier, Charlie Taylor made 52 for the visitors but found no support as home skipper John Dotters took 5/18 to leave their innings in tatters. 

Rainford will defend their trophy against the winners of Ormskirk and Formby, who meet on Bank Holiday Monday.

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition results

Ormskirk kept hold of top spot in the ECB Premier Division with a thumping win at Wallasey.

Only two home batters made double figures as Jamie Barnes took 4/13; George Politis’s 50 took the visitors to their target of 80 inside 19 overs.

Northern chased 160 to beat a spirited Rainford side by three wickets and keep up the pressure in what is shaping up to be an excellent title race. Tyler McGladdery top-scored with 67.

Karl Brown’s unbeaten 116 led Leigh to an eight-wicket win over troubled Birkenhead Park. His opening stand of 160 with Tom Grundy did the bulk of the work chasing down 193.

New Brighton are all but doomed after their seven-wicket defeat at Rainhill. Billy Godleman finished on 57 after captain Jamie Harrison took 5/44 to dismiss the Rakers for 131.

The second relegation spot looks like being between Birkenhead Park and Southport & Birkdale, after the latter slipped to a four-wicket defeat at Wigan. Matt Critchley took 6/41 in his first outing of the season to restrict the visitors to 139.

Newton-le-Willows were reduced to 27/7 by Formby openers George Burrows and Junaid Farooq; they recovered slightly in pursuit of 145, but not nearly enough.

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Firwood Bootle chased a massive 308 to beat Maghull by three wickets and enter the home straight of the season with promotion within their grasp in Division One.

Hermann Rolfes was once again the match-winner, making an unbeaten 123 off 72 balls, after Lachlan Fryer’s 102* and Greg Gillespie’s 94 had set an imposing target.

Colwyn Bay held on to second place with a comfortable win at Old Xaverians, with Dulanjana Mendis taking 7/18 after Zack Gidlow top-scored with 65.

Sam Rotherham’s 5/31 helped Highfield record a comfortable win at Sefton Park.

Luke Prescott made his second century in just three games since coming back from a serious injury, as Orrell Red Triangle beat St Helens Town; Mark Waddington made 84 and Duvindu Tillakaratne took 6/40.

Bottom side Fleetwood Hesketh came agonisingly close at Liverpool, but fell just 14 runs short of their hosts’ 117. Ross Allen’s 6/41 was decisive, after Daniel O’Keefe claimed 5/43.

Lytham’s Edward Fiddler top-scored in their win over Spring View.

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Sutton are the new leaders of Division Two after a four-run win over Northop Hall. Cronje Van Greunen claimed the last wicket with the Welsh side just a shot away – James Hurlin took 7/46 to dismiss the St Helens side for 171.

Former leaders Hightown St Marys slipped to a 22-run defeat against Alder.

Prestatyn moved off the bottom, leapfrogging Whitefield thanks to a 35-run win. Adam Tidswell took 5/51 after Ben Hughes’ half-century.

Norley Hall’s Daniel Fisher made 137 to set up their win over Ainsdale; Caldy’s Amruth Devaraj was the star with the bat as they beat Southport Trinity; and Parkfield Liscard beat Wavertree thanks to 6/26 from Jehan Yahathugoda.

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Leigh still aiming high after twin ties pull them away from relegation danger

It’s been a strange year for Leigh. A season which began with seemingly legitimate hopes of competing at the top has threatened at times to lurch into a relegation battle instead.

With six games to go, Finn Hulbert’s side are not out of the woods yet. 

But they have dug themselves out of immediate danger in the hardest way possible – by tying with both of the title-chasers in the space of three weeks.

The last time a top-flight side tied two games in a season is lost in the mists of pre-Play Cricket time; let alone against opponents as strong as Ormskirk and Northern, and so soon after one another.

Playing better against the better sides is pleasing, but it’s not always the way to get results.

Hulbert said: “People have been all in form together and we’ve won big, or we’ve all been out of form and we’ve got smoked.

“It’s always frustrating when you get close. 

“The ties were both games we should have won, given where we were an over or two before the end of each of them; you kind of have to learn from it.”

The season has been transitional in a number of ways, after last year’s third place finish.

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Mattie McKiernan has been available most weeks after retiring from county cricket; at the same time though, Hulbert has lost the services of big-hitting opener Sam Dorsey and canny slow left-armer Alex Mason.

McKiernan has been excellent, with 508 runs and 24 wickets; but often, the men who haven’t been there have made more of a difference. 

Hulbert said: “I said to everyone at the beginning of the year that they will be hard to replace, on the pitch and in the dressing room. 

“I think their runs and wickets speak for themselves, but you’re also replacing big characters and I think it’s taken until the second half of this season for the lads to start realising that and getting stuck in. 

“It’s been a learning curve which has been enjoyable to be part of, because we are getting there.”

On their day, Leigh’s seam attack is as strong as any in the league, with Hulbert joined by Paddy Allan and Adam Shallcross.

And the skipper believes the gaps in the side are beginning to fill themselves.

“Tom Grundy has stepped up massively opening the batting,” he added. 

“He’s put in some brilliant performances, and more consistently than he has done in previous years. 

“And Adam has been back in form, which has been nice. Paddy has had another good season with the ball.

“But importantly for us, everyone has got stuck in recently. It’s been one of those seasons where the more exposure you can give the team at this level, the more they’ll get used to it and hopefully become more consistent.”

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With Leigh on 170 points, 46 clear of the drop zone, Hulbert hasn’t quite finished looking over his shoulder yet.

He knows there are still some tough games ahead – starting tomorrow with the visit of Birkenhead Park, in the bottom two but on a high after lifting the ECHO Cup on Sunday.

Hulbert said: “It’s Prem cricket and everyone is there on merit, so you’ve always got to put a shift in. 

“If we get a couple more results, we have an outside chance at a Lancs knockout spot, which is always important to us. 

“We’re definitely looking up rather than over our shoulder.

“Birkenhead are always fired up, for any game. 

“It’s about trying to execute our skills and not giving them a sniff, because they’re very dangerous when they get a sniff.”

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‘Cup final’ in the Comp’s basement as Whitefield and Prestatyn battle to avoid wooden spoon

The battle at the bottom of the Love Lane Liverpool Competition is hotting up, with table-proppers Prestatyn hosting their nearest rivals, Whitefield, tomorrow.

Neither side have tasted victory since May; the Welsh side won their second and third matches by a combined total of nine runs, while the Roby outfit recorded two victories over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Both are suffering from notable absences – Prestatyn’s Indian slow left-armer Aarya Jadhav has had to return home for personal reasons, while the best batter in Whitefield’s promotion season last year, the classy Harsh Shonak, signed for Rainford within three weeks of the season starting.

Their head-to-head encounter in June was rained off – so for Prestatyn skipper Andy Taylor, tomorrow is something of a leap into the unknown.

But he’s determined that his side will lift themselves off the bottom.

He said: “We hope to still be in this division next year, and we’re going to fight for the next six weeks or so to make sure of it.

“We really back ourselves to get out of this situation. 

“We’ve still got four home games to go, having done a lot of travelling in the first half of the season, and we’ve had a couple more games called off than most teams. 

“We’ve been a little bit unlucky in that respect, but we’re hoping to turn it around.”

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For his opposite number, Whitefield skipper Shahbaz Ahmed, it’s time to dig deep and produce one of the oldest cliches in the book.

“It’s like a cup final,” he said. 

The transition to the Comp from the Southport league – all amateur, at least on paper, and limited overs – is always a challenging one.

Whitefield have at times struggled to find the right balance for their side, but Ahmed believes he’s cracked it now.

He added: “We started the season with seven, eight or nine bowlers because that was our strength in the Southport league. 

“But our strength became a weakness. Some teams have two or three bowlers and the rest are all batters.

“In the last two or three weeks, we’ve got the balance right. There are availability problems which there always are, but I think we’ve got it right.

“We’ve got the quality. We’ve realised how different batting is in this league compared to Southport. 

“We haven’t been getting over the line, but I think this is our time now.”

Ahmed admits the loss of Shonak, without time to replace him, was a blow.

He said: “Any young player would want to play in the Premier Division – I would do it if I were that player. 

“But he would have won us three or four games, and that’s the difference between us and the teams in the middle.”

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For Prestatyn, Jadhav has taken 40 wickets, including 9/54 in defeat against Sutton, having approached the near-impossible task of replacing Sampath Perera with gusto. 

But without him, Taylor accepts his side has a hole in it.

“It’s one of those things,” he added.

“He’s only a young lad and he had to make that decision, and we supported him. 

“He left on good terms, but we could have done with him. 

“We’ve struggled with the bat this year and had to rely on our bowlers. 

“Adam Tidswell has really stepped up – for a seamer, he bowls a hell of a lot of overs. 

“Some days he doesn’t get his reward but he’s been really tidy all year – I’d say he’s been the standout for me.”

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How are Tristan Stubbs and South Africa’s other ‘strapping boys’ getting on against the West Indies then?

3 minute read

This may have passed you by, but South Africa Test coach Shukri Conrad gave a slightly odd explanation for why Tristan Stubbs has become their new number three. It was one of those moments where you wonder whether you’re getting a weird insight into another culture’s values.

Speaking to Cricinfo, Conrad began by saying: “Technique is obviously a big factor because you’re going to be facing the new ball the bulk of the time.”

That seemed like only a preface for what followed though.

Conrad continued: “And he’s quite an imposing character, a big, strong, strapping boy – and I quite like that. I like the fact that at the top of the order, there are quite imposing guys; guys that have got a good aura about them and strong body language.”

We can’t know how all these different qualities are being weighed – and a lot of what Conrad said is quite abstract – but one thing’s clear: being “a big, strong, strapping boy” is definitely being presented as an attribute here.

Which is a bit weird, isn’t it? Simply being big doesn’t do a lot for you, otherwise all the fast bowlers would be opening the batting. Cricket has rarely been short of high quality batters who were not great hulking orcs. Starting at the very top of the list, Don Bradman was 1.73m.

Even in terms of perception, what looks more intimidating to a bowler anyway? A massive, great, lolloping ganglatron awkwardly waving what looks like a tiny toothpick at the ball, or Sachin Tendulkar wielding a slab of willow that looks half a mile wide relative to his 1.65m height? The latter looks far more difficult to get past. (There’s a story that Sachin used to remove all the red marks from the edges of his bat to create the illusion absolutely everything was middled – which surely made it look even wider still.)

Firdose Moonda hypothesises that Conrad’s view may have something to do with South Africa’s 1.62m captain, Temba Bavuma. She points out that Aiden Markram at the top of the order is 1.84m and while she only highlights Tony de Zorzi’s “bubbly character” (on his profile page he’s described as having “an eccentric personality,” which conjures images of tissue box slippers), it’s worth mentioning that he also played provincial rugby until he was picked for the Under-19 cricket team.

Speaking of size, we don’t know whether this plays a part in shaping his views, but Conrad himself is a fine figure of several men.

You get the sense he’s all too aware that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so let’s see how all this henchness has influenced the productivity of South Africa’s top three during the ongoing series against the West Indies.

Markram has so far mustered 9, 38 and 14.

De Zorzi has scored 78, 45 and 1.

Stubbs has managed 20, 68 and 26.

We may as well throw Bavuma in there too as a non-strapping reference point. He’s made 86, 15* and 0.

We’d say the benefits of being physically imposing haven’t yet been obvious.

Of course it may just be that the West Indies’ 2.01m opening bowler, Jason Holder, hasn’t noticed how supposedly massive they all are.

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The post How are Tristan Stubbs and South Africa’s other ‘strapping boys’ getting on against the West Indies then? first appeared on King Cricket.

Related posts:

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2. The West Indies’ 2015 World Cup strategy
3. Spraying, inactivity, bouncebackability + more – 5 things to watch out for when England play the West Indies this week

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Conspicuous indifference to Dan Lawrence’s gyrations from a human being

2 minute read

If you’ve got a picture of an animal being conspicuously indifferent to cricket, please send it to king@kingcricket.co.uk.

Ged Ladd writes…

Daisy and I celebrated her release without charge from The Old Bailey (at the end of two weeks’ jury service, I hasten to add) by attending the Nell Mescal concert at Lord’s. The event included, perhaps as an afterthought, a London Spirit v Manchester Originals cricket match. 

We decided to treat ourselves to Lord’s pavilion fare that afternoon/evening. The glazed ham baps with salad were excellent. I was too polite to photograph Daisy tucking in; Daisy had no such qualms photographing me.

Daisy also decided that King Cricket readers should see what a warm afternoon Ged Ladd post-bap power-nap looks like.

Quite unnecessary.

The Manchester Originals appeared to be doing synchronised warm ups to the rhythms of Nell Mescal’s performance. Not sure whether that really shows in Daisy’s image.

When we reported from last season’s The Hundred Final, we included a zoopraxiscope show reel of Daisy’s dance moves. At this match, at the sight of Dan Lawrence’s gyrations, I thought King Cricket readers might enjoy similar show reels…one over the wicket… the other round the wicket.  

Just loop each of those reels at least three or four times per second and you will see Dan dancing. Or do I mean bowling? Anyway, it’ll be an unforgettable experience for you.

While I was making those animations, Daisy was being conspicuously indifferent to the cricket and to my activities.

Typical.

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The post Conspicuous indifference to Dan Lawrence’s gyrations from a human being first appeared on King Cricket.

Related posts:

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2. A cricket being conspicuously indifferent to the Home of Cricket
3. A fox being conspicuously indifferent to Being Geoffrey Boycott

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Get ready for some indoor fireworks with Academy North’s winter cricket leagues

Action from an indoor game at Liverpool College last year

There have been times this season when moving the game indoors has seemed like an attractive option.

But what a lot of people might not realise is that when winter rolls around, that’s exactly what happens.

And Dan Loader, who runs the indoor leagues for Academy North, is keen to stress indoor cricket is more than just a gimmick.

A self-declared “indoor cricket fanatic”, Loader came to Liverpool from Kent, where the winter leagues are a huge part of clubs’ regular programme. 

He says: “We used to have a week’s turnaround from outdoor cricket to indoor, so for me it was always a part of the season.

“Then when I came to Liverpool, there was nothing there, no bridge between the end of the season and January or February, whenever your club starts nets. It’s probably because football is so popular up here. 

“It’s something I personally am very passionate about and I convinced Matty and Phill at Academy North that we could make an indoor league work. 

“They backed me with the business and now we’re in our third year.”

For more information about Academy North coaching, click here

Academy North now runs U11 and U13 leagues based in Wigan, an 18-team adults’ league based out of Liverpool College and a women’s league in Crosby.

This year, it will run junior leagues in Liverpool for the first time – but it’s the adults section which Loader is particularly keen to grow.

“The juniors will just naturally grow, but the adults are where my passion really lies in terms of a fast expansion,” he adds.

“We’ve had Comp teams, Southport League teams, university teams, Last Man Stands teams and nomadic teams – all sorts of players from all sorts of backgrounds.”

The indoor game has a social side, obviously, but Loader especially wants to attract players from a higher level of cricket who want to keep their eye in over the winter.

And it ticks some boxes which traditional nets don’t.

Loader says: “Nets are an uncompetitive environment. People want a competitive option in the winter and this perfectly fills that gap.

“It’s good for fitness, and the fielding element is the most important thing in the game.

“In the whole of the league last year, I umpired nearly every game, and I think I gave two LBWs all season. 

“The majority of people are getting run out – fielding is so important.”

Click here for the latest Love Lane Liverpool Competition tables

The format will take a bit of getting used to, but makes intuitive sense. 

Instead of boundaries, there are walls – hitting the wall behind the bowler gets you four or six, and hitting any of the others is worth one.

Actually running a single counts as two runs, and can be done in combination with hitting any of the three non-boundary walls.

So hitting the ball off a side wall and running a single counts as three runs to the total.

There are six players per side, and innings are 10 overs each, with a maximum of three per bowler. 

Batters retire at 25, but can come back in when all the wickets have fallen. All modes of dismissal are in play, and the innings does not end until all six batters are out.

“The biggest issue I have is that people see it as a little bit gimmicky,” says Loader.

“They look at it and think it doesn’t look serious, it doesn’t look like a proper game of cricket. 

“People struggle to comprehend that it’s a serious, competitive environment. 

“If you watch a high-level game of indoor cricket, you’ll see it is.”

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Compared to Loader’s home county, Lancashire has yet to catch on.

He adds: “Kent’s league is run by the ECB but Lancashire don’t have that. 

“Normally the county will send an overall winner to the national competition, but when we approached Lancs last year they had no real interest in formalising the pathway for indoor cricket, and that’s something I’m keen on. 

“I want a way to offer clubs a competitive and formal cricket offering in the winter, as well as providing the social side.”

Games in the Liverpool league are played on Sundays, between 10am and 5pm at Liverpool College. Each game is about an hour long.

The league’s start date is October 6 and it runs for 10 weeks, until December 8 – then the post-Christmas league runs from early January until March. 

If you are interested in signing up – either as a full team, a small group or an individual – drop Loader a line on 07429 075051 or email dan@academynorth.co.uk – or info@academynorth.co.uk for more details.

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