The business end of the t20
The Southern section of the t20 is so complicated and so compact as to which of the sides will qualify for the four positions going into the final round of matches tonight that you need to be a mathematician to work out the various permutations.
Clearly the person in the Sussex marketing department was not as in the morning I received a email from them, no doubt designed to promote ticket sales, stating that Sussex Sharks are “almost certain” to qualify for the quarter finals if we beat Essex Eagles tonight. This is quite wrong and should have read “to have any chance of qualifying Sussex Sharks must beat Essex Eagles”.
Kent Spitfires and Surrey both of whom meet tonight won their respective matches last night to overtake the Sharks. If Middlesex beat Glamorgan than any Sussex victory is irrelevant unless Kent and Sussex draw. See what I mean about complicated?
Unless it’s a draw, one or possibly both of these teams will finish above the Sharks, as will Middlesex if they beat Glamorgan. It may go to run rate. Let’s hope the MC on the mike tonight is better briefed than the marketing department. Normally in such situations there is one know-all fan who quickly establishes himself as the go-to expert and updates everybody. The position is fluid. We have a better run rate but skipper Ross Taylor has returned home to New Zealand for personal reasons. I’m not a fan of t20 but it has produced an exciting final round. Let us hope its not the conclusion for the Sharks.
I followed much of the first day/night test on TMS. The West Indian commentator rued the current state of West Indian cricket. He frequently harked back to the golden era when, in their pomp, they went 15 years without defeat. It’s a poor era and you cannot blame a cricketer putting the riches of the 20 over franchises over Test cricket as Chris Gayle and Dwight Bravo have done.
Why schedule the Caribbean bash for the same time as the Test matches?
It’s such a sadness as those of an age like me remember the grace of Frank Worrell, their first black captain, the brilliance of Gary Sobers in every form of the game, the power hitting of Clive Lloyd, the batting geniuses that were Sir Viv Richards and Brian Lara and the pantheon of fast bowlers from Wes Hall to Michael Holding to Courtney Walsh.
As to the day/night cricket it’s not best adapted to the cold and wet conditions of late summer but worth a try. The commentators said it was difficult to see the ball. By 8.00 they clearly felt disorientated.
The Windies bowling attack is very weak. Yet another debutant in his late twenties Mark Stoneman failed with the bat which is going to pose a problem for the Ashes Tour selectors as we are still vulnerable in the opener, three and five positions.
I was also pleased that Jonathan Agnew spoke so warmly of Ted Dexter who now lives in the Midlands.
They referred to the range of the man who outside cricket flew a Piper Aztec to Australian in 1971, was so accomplished a golfer he played there with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, stood for parliament against Jim Callaghan in Cardiff in 1966, invented the ratings system and holds some radical views on the game. As chairman of selectors there was clearly a personality clash with Ian Botham but he did inaugurate the A tour which which avoided the rather brutal introduction to Test cricket that debutants like Stoneman and David Malan are experiencing.
