CLUBS NEED TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUNGSTERS WHEN SEASON BEGINS
THE waiting is over and on Saturday cricketers in the North Staffs and South Cheshire League will begin their competitive seasons. The NSSCL have opted to go down a different route to their Birmingham League counterparts, but I don’t think that makes a jot of difference.
The Birmingham League have split their divisions to make four groups of six, while the NSSCL have kept their divisions and teams will play each other once.
There’s no right or wrong way to go about the return of recreational cricket and we’re surely all just thankful that we’re seeing some action.
I’ve read the temporary rules which have been introduced in the NSSCL - and I have to say I am a fan.
They are 40 over-per-side games and each bowler can only bowl a maximum of eight overs.
If you throw in the fact that there’s no overseas players, then there’s some great opportunities for younger players.
You don’t want a game where two or three bowlers do most of the work and then the overseas comes in and knocks them off on his own.
The way the NSSCL is going about things is far more inclusive.
There will be some clubs who can now give an extended run in the side to a 15-year-old bowler or a 16-year-old batsman without worrying about relegation.
Yes, teams will want to win, but the chance to provide a pathway for the youngsters at a club is one which can’t be ignored.
I’m sure that lots of clubs will put faith in the next generation of cricketers emerging through their system - and I wish them all the best.
The fact that the season is only 11 weeks - plus the other changes I’ve mentioned - makes it an intriguing summer.
If you take the Premier Division as an example, a team you wouldn’t expect to last the course of 22 games could get on a run and cause a surprise or two.
I still think Porthill Park and Meakins will be up there because they’ve dominated local cricket in recent seasons.
They have won a huge amount of games in that time and that trait will stand them in good stead.
Ok, so it can be a bit of a lottery if you face a certain team at home or away, but over the course of the 11 weeks, the strongest side should prevail.
Not only will the winners be the strongest, but they will also need to be balanced.
Needing five bowlers at least may change the thinking of some clubs in regards to their selection policy. But that is good for the game.
Roll on Saturday, and best of luck to everyone!
· SOME people might have been surprised that England lost the first Test to the West Indies in Southampton.
I wasn’t overly. We knew the threat that the tourists posed and they executed a plan to put themselves 1-0 up in the series.
Their four quicks bowled really well and their batsmen arguably over-performed to see them to victory.
Did England make a mistake by batting first? I don’t think so. They would have looked and thought whether they wanted to bat first or last on that deck.
They obviously felt batting last would potentially be more hazardous. The issue was that they then needed it to be a one-innings match.
By that, I mean making sure West Indies didn’t have a sizeable lead.
Sadly, they did. A lead of more than 100 left England with too much work to do, whereas one of 20 or 30 would have seen England win.
There has also been talk of England’s selection. Leaving Stuart Broad out was a big - and brave - call, but whoever missed out was going to be someone who has contributed well in the past 12 months.
Ok, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood didn’t bowl as well as they can, but we have to remember that the players would have been rusty after not playing.
Broad will come back in for the second Test, which starts today. Not necessarily because England think they got their line-up wrong in Southampton, but more the fact they will want to share the work load among the seamers.
We already know that Joe Root is returning in place of Joe Denly, which isn’t a huge surprise. Personally, I still feel as though England have a better balance than the West Indies. England playing a spinner is a big factor in that.
At Old Trafford it tends to spin a bit, so the West Indies will have a decision to make about their side.
Will Roston Chase bowl more overs or will Rakeem Cornwall come in as a specialist spinner? And how could that affect the balance of their team?
I don’t think England will lose the series because they have the ability to create enough pressure to beat the West Indies.
But at the moment it’s advantage to the tourists - and it’s great to see the West Indies’ red-ball team getting back on track.