Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

All kicks off again two weeks today. New sponsors, new format. Most matches on Friday nights, with fewer games subsequently live on Sky during the week. No single block period of games. Each team plays 14 matches, across two groups, meaning that for each team there will be one particular opponent who they do not play at home and another who they do not play away. Stupid, but hey they agreed on 14 matches rather than 16.

Top four from each group will progress to the QFs, to be played over the first three days of August - the week after the final round of group matches.

Do not hold me to this, but I did read in Guardian just recently that all England contracted players will be made available by the ECB for at least the first round of matches.

Odds as per Skybet (correct as at 2 May 2014)

Hampshire 11/2
Notts 11/2
Somerset 7/1
Surrey 9/1
Lancs 10/1
Yorkshire 10/1
Essex 12/1
Northants 14/1
Sussex 14/1
Durham 20/1
Middlesex 20/1
Warks 20/1
Glamorgan 25/1
Gloucs 25/1
Kent 25/1
Derby 33/1
Leics 33/1
Worcs 40/1

Overseas players

Hampshire - Kyle Abbott, Glen Maxwell
Notts - Peter Siddle, N/A
Somerset - Alviro Petersen, Dirk Nannes
Surrey - Graeme Smith, N/A
Lancs - Junaid Khan, N/A
Yorkshire - Kane Williamson, Aaron Finch
Essex - Jesse Ryder, N/A
Northants - N/A, N/A
Sussex - Steve Magoffin, Yasir Arafat
Durham - John Hastings, N/A
Middlesex - Chris Rodgers, Dan Christian
Warks - Jeetan Patel, Shoaib Malik
Glamorgan - Jacques Rudolph, N/A
Gloucs - Michael Klinger, N/A
Kent - Doug Bollinger, N/A
Derby - Shiv Chanderpaul, Marcus North
Leics - Ramnaresh Sarwan, Scott Styris
Worcs - Saeed Ajmal, Colin Munro, (I believe that Mitchell McClenaghan will replace Ajmal at the back end of the group stage, when Ajmal is playing in the Carribean Premier League)

Let me know if I have missed any overseas players out.

I've got to say, if England don't take too much of their side away, Yorkshire look an excellent shout for the title this year. Decent young English talent, a couple of top quality overseas players, and recent experience of Finals Day. I'd argue that there's only one other side on that list who can tick those three boxes too. Wonder who they might be...

Gloucs will start the South Group with -2 points, due to a poor pitch last season. With a weak looking team on paper, and playing in the stronger of the two groups, they may never get off the bottom of the table as a result.

Notts will presumably be able to again benefit from the strange rule that allows them to play loaned out players in this competition, as there's surely no way that they would have loaned Hales out for a month otherwise. (I say "again" because didn't they do something similar with Graeme White last year - played him in one format, loaned him to Northants for another?)

We've got Richard Levi again for the T20's.

st_brendy wrote:I've got to say, if England don't take too much of their side away, Yorkshire look an excellent shout for the title this year. Decent young English talent, a couple of top quality overseas players, and recent experience of Finals Day. I'd argue that there's only one other side on that list who can tick those three boxes too. Wonder who they might be...

Batting looks rather bare for the Warwickshire (23rd May) and Derbyshire games (30th May), with Ballance and Williamson on international duty as well as Bresnan and Root, whilst Finch is still in the IPL.

Gale, Lees, Lyth, Bairstow, Hodgson, Rashid, Pyrah, Plunkett, Rafiq, Brooks, Sidebottom/Ashraf.

Only top order hitters in that team are Gale and Bairstow, but aren't consistent enough to do it on a regular basis.

Will this competition follow others by having flashing bails?

Looks like there wont be any Freddie. Not that I thought there would be.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... vY.twitter

Aidan11 wrote:Looks like there wont be any Freddie. Not that I thought there would be.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... vY.twitter

It was only ever a publicity stunt

It'll be interesting if the experiment (if it is one) of Middlesex playing two group games on the same day this Saturday will ultimately lead to more double headers coming in next season.

Not sure I'm too keen on the idea.

st_brendy wrote:It'll be interesting if the experiment (if it is one) of Middlesex playing two group games on the same day this Saturday will ultimately lead to more double headers coming in next season.

Not sure I'm too keen on the idea.

Not much difference between that and finals day.

Fans get to see more action, everyone wins.

I heard Notts' first game has sold out.

SaintPowelly wrote:

st_brendy wrote:It'll be interesting if the experiment (if it is one) of Middlesex playing two group games on the same day this Saturday will ultimately lead to more double headers coming in next season.

Not sure I'm too keen on the idea.

Not much difference between that and finals day.

Fans get to see more action, everyone wins.

If they use the same wicket won't that be an advantage to Middlesex having experienced the conditions earlier. It would hardly be possible to have two wickets as the second one would have fielders running all over it during the first game.

can't see this working, but fair play to them for trying something different out.

Why have then gone and called it the blast this year?

It seems a bit of a silly thing to call it. Presumably it was tested on the public. Which name will make you go and see a game? Maybe 'a few beers in the sunshine' might have been a better pick.

I was wondering if there any sort of affiliation with the Australian version or are they just plain copying?