At last the Cricket

[Satchmo Distel]

The final is still two group winners from three so could be affected by weather.

Was the seeding based only on this season or longer?

It might get harder to compare batting and bowling averages when spread across three tiers of strength. Does England's Test team only get picked from six counties from 2022 onwards?

[Southport Zeb]

The final is still two group winners from three so could be affected by weather.

The County Championship is being run over two phases next year - the initial three groups, which will then be split into three divisions. The top side in Division One after 14 games (10 first phase, 4 second phase) will be declared County Champions for 2021.

The Bob Willis Trophy will be a one off match at Lord's between the two sides finishing top of Division One. This raises the possibility of a side being County Champions but ending the season by losing the big showcase final.

Was the seeding based only on this season or longer?

It was based on results in 2019 and 2020, with some adjustment so that derbies could be played in phase one.

It might get harder to compare batting and bowling averages when spread across three tiers of strength. Does England's Test team only get picked from six counties from 2022 onwards?

The structure for 2022 has yet to be determined. Only 4 of the 14 games that most counties will play will be in merit based tiers, so it could be argued that the averages may be more representative than they would be in the normal two division set up.

[Satchmo Distel]

Thanks. So it's a similar format to the Super Six in the old World Cup structure, whereby you carry forward the result against the side that travels with you from your first phase group?

[Southport Zeb]

I've not seen that specified but I presume that will be the case - not sure how they'll deal with teams having played the other side from their first group twice and the others in the division once.

[diggedy derek]

the entire CSA board has resigned. G-Man,would be interested in your take.

[Levin]

https://twitter.com/TheRealPCB/status/1325017690822631424

442? Really not sure that you can just ignore the tactical changes over the past few years.

I've found it really difficult to get the right amount of cricket in my social media feeds. Not helped by not really being that interested in T20.

Maybe it's that you need to know who the players are to really follow a competition. And there really isn't much writing about first class cricket. I feel like a lot of match reports are just summaries of the scorecard and not actually writing.

But I'd like to know more about the Quaid e Azam or Ranji Trophy.

It's just easier to follow international cricket isn't it?

[diggedy derek]

i find it really hard to get into the IPL, primarily, I think, because of the time difference. Early in the afternoon I'm not ready for an explosive short form drama-fest.

[Ray de Galles]

Just a reminder that India's tour of Australia starts tomorrow with an ODI which is being covered on BT Sport with R5LSX carrying ABC radio's coverage from 3:30am.

England's T20/ODI series in South Africa starts at 4pm on Sky and, sadly, Talksport.

I presume there will be crowds for the matches in Australia, it's behind closed doors in South Africa

[longeared]

I presume there will be crowds for the matches in Australia

There will be, but not full grounds. Sydney 23000 (50% capacity), Adelaide 27000 (50%), Brisbane 30000 (75%), Boxing Day Test at Melbourne is still to be finalised but they're currently working on a plan for 25000 fans (about a third capacity I think). Canberra is 6000. They're not playing in Perth or Hobart.

[Ray de Galles]

I find I'm pathetically grateful for even for crowds of 1000 or so, like those let in to football & rugby matches in Northern Ireland for instance, in terms of providing an atmosphere to make a match more watchable on TV.

Given that cricket has been the least dissatisfying televised sport behind closed doors then crowds of 20-30,000 should make for excellent viewing, the time zones a little less so.

[Satchmo Distel]

I fear that Australia at home are going to be far too strong for India. Hope I'm wrong and it's a cliffhanger.

[Uncle Ethan]

India getting smashed all over the shop. Some less than average fielding from India. Steve Smith miked up as per Big Bash games.

[longeared]

Ed Cowan (I think) criticises the fact that this game is behind a paywall rather than on free to air. "The national team should be for everyone" he states. He'd get a shock if he found what we've had to endure in England this last decade and a half.

Excitement's gone out of this game a bit since Hazlewood took two in an over including Kohli, it's nice to hear a real crowd though.

[Kevin S]

England win the toss in Cape Town and will chase.

[ad hoc]

This is going to piss off the Bairstow haters

[Ray de Galles]

South Africa throw the game away with that wild 17th over from Hendricks. 28 runs off it including 8 from wides.

[Satchmo Distel]

Watching a T20 hoping England will lose seems like unnecessary self-torture.

[Ray de Galles]

Er, is that meant to be aimed at me?

[Tony C]

A bang inform Malan sees England home by nine wickets in the third T20. Pity they made the chase before Malan could hit his century as he ended cruelly on 99 not out. England have been very impressive in this series.

[Satchmo Distel]

Er, is that meant to be aimed at me?

I thought your AEB membership extended to cricket. If not I apologize for the misunderstanding.

[Ray de Galles]

Oh, I am absolutely ABE in cricket but your comment is quite a weird (not to say slightly smug) one.

It shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what watching sport is about if you think your desired result being unlikely renders it "unnecessary". You watch to enjoy the contest, which is true in cricket even more than most sports

Also, while England are currently a great side who certainly win more T20 matches than they lose, the margin between number of victories and number of defeats is not maybe as large as you think, either recently (say since the last World Cup) or over their entire history in the format.

[Satchmo Distel]

Those are good points and I can see how my comment was crass.

[Ray de Galles]

Fair enough, no big thing.

[Sporting]

Oh, I am absolutely ABE in cricket

Serious question, Ray; you support an English football team and (afaik) gave up on a Welsh one. And there have been various Welshmen in "MCC"/England cricket teams. So how does this work?

[Ray de Galles]

We must have done this before but as you asked:

I'm absolutely consistent in wanting all England teams in all team sports to lose. This is only exacerbated in cricket by the fact that the way their team is constituted denies my country its own side so I am effectively stateless in the sport. It's a sport I now love but came to late in life and that's at least partly because I didn't have a national side to pique my interest.

Insult is added to that injury by the fact that the English team purports to represent Wales (though in reality treating it as little more than a vestigial district of England) despite the fact you do not hear or see Wales name, see it's flag or hear it's anthem in relation to the team. There have also been less Welshmen historically picked for the team than there have South Africans.

Your analogy with club football and wider international sporting loyalties isn't a very good one in general. It's specifically inaccurate for me in this case because while I am a follower of Wimbledon and have huge affection for them I don't "support" them in the same way I used to support Cardiff City or still do support the Welsh national football & rugby sides or Welsh representative teams and athletes in other sports.

At the risk of sounding pompous (a risk I'm always prepared take on this and many other subjects) I find the term "gave up" in relation to Cardiff a loaded one. I walked away from that club on a point of principle.