COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: What Wimbledon can teach English cricket | Vaughan off-air | Gale's parting shot | Sibley, Barnard moves | 'Bazball' in the county game | Who's out of contract

COUNTY CRICKET BLOG: What Wimbledon can teach English cricket | Vaughan off-air | Gale's parting shot | Sibley, Barnard moves | 'Bazball' in the county game | Who's out of contract

Rich Clarke
CricketPaper

Devotees of the county game must have thoroughly enjoyed drinking at a mid-summer oasis of red-ball cricket this week. There were stirring finishes at Sussex, Worcestershire and Essex as well as stoic rear-guard actions to secure draws elsewhere.

It is back to the Blast now. By next weekend, we will know the four teams who will compete on Finals Day. However, I have major doubts we’ll be anywhere near a conclusion to the Yorkshire racism scandal even by next year’s showpiece at Edgbaston. A couple of faces of that many-headed beast reared back into view again this week.

I look forward to not writing about that at some stage in the future.

Anyway, let’s get into this week’s digest of player moves, quirky stories and controversy mixed up with my usual non-sensical drivel armchair opinion.

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Players and competitions

County cricket: T20 Blast groups tighten before final run of fixtures (Guardian)

Championship team of the Week (Cricketer)

Simon Harmer bowls career-best match figures as Essex pip Hampshire (Cricketer)

Dom Sibley to leave Warwickshire after agreeing return to Surrey (Cricinfo)

Signings: Barnard (Warwickshire), Cartwright (Derbyshire), Hardie (Surrey), Pettman (Kent), Hasnain (Worcestershire),

Contracts: Rossington (Essex), White (Northamptonshire)

Dan Christian prepares for Trent Bridge farewell after confirming final season with Nottinghamshire (Cricinfo)

Harry Brook wants to spend his whole career with Yorkshire (Cricketer)

This list of contract expiry dates was compiled a week or so ago by a fan on Reddit using press releases and social media. It may not be entirely accurate but I have not seen this information presented this way so it is the best we have. Apologies for the blurriness, I had to reformat it. Click here to see the original.

Notes for table:

  1. Adam Wheater is retiring at the end of the 2022 season

  2. Tom Alsop is on loan at Sussex before joining permanently at the end of the 2022 season

  3. Laurie Evans has an option of another year by contract clause

  4. David Willey is joining Northants at the end of the 2022 season

  5. Tom Kohler-Cadmore is joining Somerset at the end of the 2022 season

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News, Views and Interviews

'I have moved on with my life': Andrew Gale refuses to defend ECB racism charge (Cricinfo)

Former Yorkshire head coach Gale blasts ECB over ‘tainted’ disciplinary action (Guardian)

Lord Patel: Yorkshire would have gone bust if Headingley Test had been removed (Cricinfo)

OK, take a deep breath.

Yet again, I am refusing to go down a rabbit hole as I do not feel qualified to comment on the entirety of this tale. I will leave that to articles such as this. But the scale of the whatabout-Azeem Rafiq feeling on social media troubles me greatly. Very often, those who speak up and blow whistles are no angels themselves. It does not make them wrong and highlighting their lesser ‘crimes’ is often used as shield to protect the much greater, systemic wrongs of those in power. Saying ‘look they’re a bit bad too’ improves nothing.

I am not anti-Yorkshire but, for all the cries of ‘kangaroo court’ and due process, it is troubling that many key voices have maintained an active silence when they could have spoken up. Former chairman Roger Hutton and Robin Smith were criticised for not cooperating with the initial inquiry by the PCA. Former ECB chairman Colin Graves was told to “put up or shut up” and finally accept an invitation to speak to the DCMS Select Committee. So Gale’s decision not to cooperate with the process now tallies with a long line of people claiming innocence for themselves or the county but deliberately stepping back into the shadows when, from what they do say, they should be demanding the light is shone upon them. I would love him to say his piece now. In fairness to Gale, his lengthy statement reveals he told the ECB he was “willing to travel anywhere in England where they wanted to meet”, chased them up and was told he was not required.

For me, the failure of the ECB to properly investigate these allegations and push all parties to cooperate lies at the heart of this horrid mess. They should face sanction. Like many others, Gale feels wronged by his dismissal and the lack of due process undertaken to reach that decision so he has left the game behind to start a joinery business. I completely understand that view, though Lord Patel’s story (above) surely contributed. His statement suggests he was, at least at the start, willing to answer the difficult questions. That is better than some in this sorry, damaging saga.

(Yet again, this is my take on the information I have read. This is a serious and emotive issue but please correct me if you feel I am wrong. But correct me with facts, not whataboutary. Oh and be polite. We all want the truth here.)

‘What Do They Know of Cricket?’ The ECB's Refusal to Deal with Racism (Byline Times)

Free ‘day in the sun’ for flood-affected families and emergency services personnel (Worcestershire CCC)

Police called to Worcestershire County Cricket Club (Worcester News)

More stories of disorder. It definitely feels like there is greater anger in the stands this year.

Cricket club hopes to bowl fans over again by bringing back county games (Times of Tunbridge Wells)

The Nevill Ground is a much-loved venue but it has not hosted a Kent game since 2019. There is a concerted push to get it back on the fixture list. There are lots of details in this piece about how much needs to be done to make that happen. It will require a concerted effort.

Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens blasts unbeaten ton in Kent Cricket League Division 1 victory for leaders St Lawrence & Highland Court against Dartford (Kent Online)

Ryan ten doeschate: 'I had unfair expectations of guys in full-time jobs' (Cricinfo)

Yorkshire's Finlay Bean sets 2nd XI record with monster 441 (Cricketer)

How county cricket gave our favourite characters a good name (Times) ($)

“Sherlock Holmes” and “Percy Jeeves” came from county cricket,

Michael Vaughan: Former England captain steps back from work at BBC (BBC)

Michael Vaughan's return triggers letter of no confidence from BBC staff (Cricketer)

I usually press mute when Michael Vaughan comes on to commentate. His sandpaper style of attention-grabbing punditry on the mic, on social media and in his column annoys me.

But what do you do here? He is one of many Yorkshire players and ex-players charged with using racist language. There are three different sources supporting the accusation but he has vehemently denied it. The case has not been heard so it's innocent till proven guilty, right? But then, while it is all in process, should he be representing the BBC? Then again, if his commentary duties are put on hold that denies him the ability to work and, given the ECB's glacial pace over the Yorkshire saga it may take some time, right?

Those are some of the questions surrounding this issue. Matthew Syed outlined something similar in his Times column. Vaughan ‘stepped back’ from his duties the day after the piece came out.

Why is Lord’s dropping the Eton-Harrow fixture? (Spectator)

…because it is a crass, anachronistic celebration of the elitism that holds this country back. The Home of Cricket should be home to everyone. When the crowd at a cricket game is singing “We’ve had more Prime Minsters than you” then you know something is going seriously wrong. And, anyway, the gutless, amoral privilege of the current incumbent should shame Eton.

Why county cricket needs to embrace 'Bazball' (Telegraph) ($)

Ben Stokes tells county cricketers: Match England's aggression to be selected (Telegraph) ($)

Bazball comes to Hove as Ali Orr, Mohammad Rizwan seal thrilling chase (Cricinfo)

You know this is not going to last, don’t you? England's stirring chases against world champions New Zealand were wonderful. But, let's be honest, circumstances have weakened the Kiwis and, more importantly, UK sport is often chronically short-termist and wise-after-the-event. Such positivity is beautiful when it works but tends to crash and burn in spectacular fashion when it does not. Let's test our collective capacity for change when that happens.

Personally, I'm bang up for ‘Bazball’. It's refreshing and entertaining. If you articulate a plan, execute it more often than not then I can take the occasional blow out. Especially when the upside is so memorable. But the reaction to persistent flops when going for it against India and Australia might well undermine the new approach.

On the county front, I saw something similar to Bazball this week. Hampshire's decision to try and hit Simon Harmer off his game when chasing 299 to win on the third day at Chelmsford this week was seen as brave and clever when it was going well, reckless by some when it went wrong. Felix Organ carted him into the river on numerous occasions and, at one point in the second innings the imperious South African spinner was going at almost six-per-over. After Hampshire’s defeat, a churlish James Vince blamed the pitch, the umpires and the change of ball. He called Hampshire's approach "village" in response to the turning surface. Clearly this is the label when "Bazball" does not work.

Essex won the match but I cannot remember being so sad, angry and disappointed by the lack of spirit in a county game. There was constant chirp, batters offering clear dissent to umpires after being given out, standing their ground, excessive appealing and other nonsense. Much of the noise and commentary surrounding the game was annoyingly one-eyed, following the captain's line with little analysis. Partisanship is part of sport and I am as guilty as any fervent fan but this was at the far end of the scale. Though, as the ever excellent David Hopps tweeted after his match report was wrongly accused of bias, if we are getting agitated about such issues then maybe there is life left in the County Championship. The biggest enemy is always apathy.

Still, for me, the atmosphere spoilt an excellent match, with Paul Walter catching Keith Barker on the boundary just in front of me with the visitors 12 runs short of a huge target. And, yes, I would have still described it as excellent if Essex had lost because cricket should try its best to retain the unique value that makes it so very, very special.

Namely, that the game is always more important than the result.

Breaking Down Wimbledon's $350 Million Business (Huddle Up - Joe Pompilano blog)

And here’s how you retain that ‘specialness’ yet modernise and monetise.

This US sportsbiz expert (quite famous in those circles) estimates that Wimbledon leaves $50-100m in revenue ‘on the table’ each year. You don't see sponsors plastered everywhere and, he argues, their ticket prices are lower than comparable events.

Wimbledon know their ‘brand’ and maintaining its integrity is fundamental to them. They eschew the fast buck, safe in the knowledge that this approach makes them money in the long term.

Why have I put this in a cricket blog? Because compare Wimbledon's resonance and visibility in comparison to that of Test and county cricket. Yes, the two-week focus makes it intense and it suffers from all the class, diversity and grassroots issues of cricket plus many more besides.

But those in charge have cherished and nurtured its specialness, kept it on the BBC when Sky made overtures and made sure that excellence is standard. I went last year. Concessions were pricey but not more than any other major event. The feel of the event was quality, historic, conservative yet, at the same time, far from old-fashioned. Content and digital has been at the heart of this transformation, that’s why the person who has led that process over the past decade has just been lured to a plum role in the Premier League.

Wimbledon has always understood that a short-term cash-grab can seriously weaken long-term brand value and overall resilience.

Over the past generation, English cricket has not.

The secret behind Keith Barker's terrific 2022? It all starts at home (Cricketer) ($)

After his debut stint in county cricket, pacer Naseem Shah said that Pakistan doesn't even have 30 per cent of the facilities that are available to club cricketers in England. (NDTV)

Father's Day: How Chris Adams has inspired his daughters to take up cricket (BBC)

Eoin Morgan: England’s white-ball leader retires from international cricket with Jos Buttler set for captaincy (Standard)

Andrew Strauss must tread carefully as English cricket braces for reform (Cricketer) ($)

Farewell to Eoin Morgan, World Cup-winning captain. He led an England side to success in cricket’s key competition, at home and under extreme pressure. That is one hell of an achievement. However, his ability to herd the available resources his way came at a cost to the Test team. Also, he vocally advocated the tournament-that-shall-not-be-named when he is intelligent enough to realise the damage it will wreak on the system that brought him through. Like Andrew Strauss, he was a Corporate Captain, whose strategic game was as significant off the pitch as much as on it. I expect Morgan to take a similar sort of role to Strauss when he fully retires. Paul Edwards’ piece imploring the latter to look after the county game is right but he will be ignored. Corporate Captains always know where their bread is buttered.

Despite everything put in its way, the Championship is bubbling up nicely and the Blast has been wonderful. I can foresee an excellent conclusion to both (with Surrey lifting the red-ball trophy) and hopefully the 50-over will have all the youthful vitality of last season.

But, at the end of the season, I feel certain that Strauss’ High-Performance Review will drop a big bomb on the lot of it.

In praise of slow sport - Enthralling contests do not have to be quickfire entertainment (Economist)

"What unites all these events is the steady build-up of tension. Supporters can find their hopes raised, dashed and then raised again over the course of the contest. Unlike viewers of a TV drama who rightly suspect that the good guys will be protected by ‘plot armour’, sports fans cannot be certain of the result. The players write the script before their eyes. Joy and despair are all the more intense for being slow to arrive.”

And finally…

Cricket team formed in 1993 finally win game after 29 years of trying (Metro)

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