Hampshire 2017 thread

[budgetmeansbudget]

38/7, might as well declare.

[budgetmeansbudget]

2 wickets to go.

What a shameful turnaround.

[budgetmeansbudget]

56/9, I know the momentum swung this morning, but this is absolute rubbish.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Thankfully Surrey have started well.

[mark the hawk]

We deserve to get relegated for this

[haggishants]

Yes, worse than 1992 in the end.

[budgetmeansbudget]

We deserve to get relegated for this

You have a point.

Vince and White have some soul searching to do.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Can't believe all my attention is on Surrey painstakingly make their way towards their winning target, and putting Somerset 13 points behind us going into the final game. Fair play to Surrey they are going at a decent lick.

It should mean a draw is sufficient for us against Warwickshire, so plenty of rain will help.

[st_brendy]

Of course the irony is that we've been so much better this season than the past two years.

I'm not blaming the batters too much for yesterday. Bailey always got it wrong by enforcing the FO, given the huge amount of time left in the game. It was the only realistically way of Essex wining the game. We went from having the chance to bat with a circa 180 lead under our belts (pressure largely off of us), to instead having to bat with a circa 180 deficit (and pressure hugely on us).

Why would you willingly risk a run chase against the best bowling attack in the division? Mind boggles. Essex went into the fourth innings with their tails up and wanting blood. They got it, and I'm not even sure if Sangakkara could have helped us.

I think this makes it six games in a row now that we've waited for the "one final win". We got so many points in the bag early on (and Somerset and Warks got so few) that we put ourselves close to safety at the half way mark. We've just been treading water ever since, with something like five draws in a row and now this defeat. Not all our fault of course - the D/N home to Somerset naturally springs to mind in particular, given the state of the table, where the rain did it's best to ruin that match (and yet we still found a way to get them 8 down in the fourth innings, before we ran out of balls). We've always had what appears to be a get out of jail free card hidden in our back pocket, in the shape of a match vs Warks, should it be required. And as it turns out, it is indeed required. We just need to use it now.

Other than age and injury, there's not much wrong with the bowling attack for once. When they're on it, we have almost every base covered. But alas, age and - in particular - injury cannot be ignored. So there are problems. But the biggest problems have to be in the batting. Weatherley clearly isn't good enough. Ervine is past it, and Bailey and Adams aren't too far behind. Dawson I think is good enough, I just think that he isn't fulfilling his talent. The same with Rilee. The jury is massively out on Alsop and McManus - I can't yet lump them with Weatherley, but both need to do better. Carberry is gone, and Smith is going. Vince (coupled with Rilee and a bit of Alsop in limited overs, and the lower order and a bit of Bailey in the Championship) obviously can't do this by himself.

[budgetmeansbudget]

We desperately need to sign a couple of batsmen for next season, as apart from Vince there is no one who isn't young and not good enough or too old and past it in the top six. Rossouw has potential but seemingly only in the shorter format.

Dawson is capable at times but prone to big dips in form with his batting, and his England call up and rejection will not have helped his confidence.

I don't think our bowling attack is as strong as we think it is. It totally centres around Abbott, and when he isn't firing, we struggle. Edwards is injury prone and inconsistent and may not return next year. Wheal, Berg and Holland are not division one standard although the latter two can be considered all rounders. Topley is a complete disaster, and Crane rarely plays and is therefore unlikely to progress in the four day game.

If we do survive relegation it's clearly going to be another struggle next season.

[westoelad]

Craig White getting his retaliation in first before he gets the sack. Getting some tap from the Hants faithful apparently.
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/155534 ... oo_harsh_/

[budgetmeansbudget]

The odds are we will stay up so he's a bit premature with his comments. Mind you from on the brink of runners up spot to relegation in no time at all might be difficult to take by some.

Not sure he's got a point anyway, not a lot of difference between 8 and 9 teams, everyone knows its two down always has been, thank goodness it is otherwise there would have been zilch to concern ourselves with next week!

[st_brendy]

I'm aware of many fellow Hants fans who wanted Benks out, but I'm not aware of many voices against Craig White. I'd imagine his job is safe, and I'm fine with that. We are much better than in the past two years, although many problems so still exist.

(The comments on the Echo website are always by the same three or four, rather sad and angry, people.)

[budgetmeansbudget]

Delayed start at Edgbaston due to rain.

[st_brendy]

I checked the forecast yesterday, and the only sign of rain was through Wednesday night.

My original preference for our XI was Crane for Wheatherly. Too many bowlers? Yes. Too light on batters? Yes. But if the lad isn't good enough, then little point playing him just because 'batter' is his job title. Would rather play Crane. However, if this poor weather is here to stay a little longer, it could be another game for just the seamers. In which case Joe gets a reprieve for me.