Ian Shepherd: Hello there, this is Always Look on the Bright Side of life, the Somerset Cricket Podcast. My name's Ian Sheppard. Joining me this evening to reflect on Somerset men's first loss of the season. I've got president of the club. So Peter Wonders, Peter, ⁓ how did you enjoy that game against Yorkshire? Were you hosting a delegation of ⁓ parsimonious Yorkshiremen down there, moaning at the price of everything? Or was it slightly better? Do you know what? was a fantastic game of county cricket. highly competitive. When deep into the fourth day, our visitors were incredibly nice, generous, spirited people, not just because they ended up winning the game, which was very frustrating. But there was there was lots to really enjoy about the experience and have you know, Joe Roo, especially Darren playing at Taunton was something special and the crowds were good, much better than we had for the first game. So yeah, I really enjoyed myself apart from the result in the end. Good, And Gibbo, enjoyable day off Sunday, was it? But apart from that, it was pretty, well, well, it started well, didn't it? It started all right. We just gave it away, didn't we? Yeah, it's a game we should have won. We were in a position where we shouldn't have been beaten twice. And the first time was when we were 271 for seven and then lost our last three wickets for three runs. And the other time was when Wharton was out in the Yorkshire second innings when they were, think, 226 for six and they went on and got another 150 nearly. You know, for their last four wickets, think their last three wickets, as opposed to our last three wickets adding three, their last three wickets added over 90. And that was, you know, that was the difference. And it was disappointing. And I thought in the end, in the final analysis, it was Yorkshire experience getting the better of Somerset promise. I mean, it's a pretty callow batting lineup at the moment. You know, you take out Tom Abel and and you know the top seven have got very very little first-class experience between them. All right, James Rubin has played 50 odd games of first-class cricket and Tom Lamonby but Lamonby is not in any sort of form and you look at you know, Josh Thomas and Archie Vaughan and Will Smead and Thomas Rue, you know, I mean they've only got a dozen first-class games if that between them. And I think that showed particularly in the second innings against some very experienced and very good Yorkshire bowling to be fair. You know, George Hill and Jack White, both very tight up top, forced them into making mistakes. And then on a pitch that was giving a certain amount of assistance, not much to the spinners, Don Bess and Joe Root polished them off. you know, there it was, but it was a game we should have won and a game we shouldn't have lost. We missed Jack Leach massively on that third afternoon. Not just with the control but as a wicket-taking option as well. I mean I hope to God he's back for Cardiff in a few days time but we just saw what we've been really wanting Torton Surfaces to do for the last few years which is give a bit of assistance to the spinners on the last day. I mean how many hours has seen did we see on Monday what but half a dozen if that it was pretty much rooting best all day. Well I think Gibbo's right that Hill and White bowled extremely well up top really tight I mean in that fourth inning there wasn't a single extra and people talk about bowling dry and that inability for us to get a run pretty much from from anywhere for the first 15 overs or so was a bit of a killer. And the same thing happened on the, start of the second day where they bowled really tight and we couldn't get going. And having had that brilliant first day, ⁓ just as we did at Hampshire, we just couldn't get going again on the second day. And so for me, both the beginning of the inning, the beginning of the second day when we were... wickets down but couldn't get going again and the beginning of the innings of the fourth day, yes in the end they spun us to victory but all, those two Yorkshire opening bowlers in the fourth innings I think did a really great job as well as the spinners. I suppose taking the longer view it was lovely to see a pitch that was spinning on the fourth day rather than turning into the usual road except we ended up then getting done by our own game didn't we and people are talking about the Yorkshire spin twins we're the people who supposed to have the spin twins we're the people who asked for can't we have a wicket like this which will give us a result on the fourth day that gives the bowlers a chance and and this one seemed to do just that but we hadn't got enough runs in the first innings and so we left ourselves too much to do at the end. So disappointing, but yeah, a great game of cricket. Yeah, I mean, what was the overall margin of victory? 75 runs. Yeah, you felt we were good enough for at least another 40 runs in our first innings and we let Yorkshire get at least 42 many on your point about the extras is a great one as well. We just couldn't get going in that run chase. And I think that the way that Yorkshire were going to win that game was to drag it out as long as possible. remember Michael Vaughan talking about Edge Piston 05. He said it wasn't about taking wickets. We just drag the game out as long as possible. We stay in the game. We give ourselves a chance. And I think that's what they did. I you mentioned, Gibbo, about the lack of experience in the batting line-up. I you know, I've had my doubts about TKC being a long-term opener, but I thought that's what we needed at the top of the order in that run chase to to just to get going, somebody just to put a bit of fear in the Yorkshire bowlers knowing that if they miss, they're going to get punished. I know Josh Thomas is a player, Archie Bourne is good player, but that you felt they were just going to think they were very much over the well, well, if we bat all day, we'll win the game. And it didn't quite work out like that. What was the score when Rue was adjudged, caught behind? It was 21 for three, and that was in the 16th over. The two openers didn't really get going. Lammers looks in no sort of nick. He felt he'd, you know, he'd been out nicking off the balls that perhaps he could have thought he could have left and this time he was out leaving a ball that he should have played. Jason mentioned post-match he was carrying a bit of a niggle gibber. I don't know what it was. He didn't specify what it was. Yeah, I asked around, I couldn't get anything, but I assume It's to do with all the strapping and the sleeve that he's had on that right elbow of his. Perhaps that's contributing to Lambs's lack of form. At the moment, looking ahead to Cardiff, he'll probably keep his place, you would thought. There's nobody else to come in, is there? Nobody else to come in, yeah. It's been hill. a different manner, but you maybe thought this... In other times you may have thought it just go into the seconds and maybe just get your timing back, get it all moving around again. ⁓ We were sat here six weeks ago thinking that our bowling. Resources were going to be under understaffed and here we are looking now with Banton, Tom Coler Cadmore and Lewis Goldsworthy all ⁓ all sat on the proverbial physios couch. What was I talking about when I started rambling? Yes, the start to the innings. When Tom Abel came in, he was obviously in supreme form and started rotating the scoreboard, just finding the gaps, looking to score off every ball. thought that was... He's been asked to do too much, though. There's too much on his shoulders. I was thinking back to all the run chases where he's got runs. Obviously, Warwickshire last year, Hampshire a couple of weeks ago. I think you got a few where we chased up at Durham a couple of years ago as well and I was dying just to kind of I didn't want to do it because I didn't want to tempt fate but just have a quick look on my laptop at Tom Abel's record in run chases in championship cricket over the last few years because I suspect he's pretty good with a pretty good average. Yeah once he went to his best man for Don Bessie's yeah Don Bessie's getting married in a I think it's not not to the autumn, Tom Abel is going to be his best man. I would have potentially said for every you get me out, there's going to be about five or six more embarrassing stories going into that speech. But maybe, maybe not. Yeah, it was I mean, Josh, I mean, we look at the positives. mean, Lewis Gregory has been an absolute revelation with the ball since he's come back in since that injury. He he's He looks about 10 years younger. He just the way that he's running in, there doesn't seem to be any concerns about sort of workload or anything that I can see. You know, then the last season he seemed to be very much managing his workload. Now he's just opening the bowling, coming in with decent pace and showing what a quality player he is. you know, I almost feel he kind of feels like a new sign in the way that he's he's. he's come back. Yeah, I agree. think he's bowling as well. Well as he has done since 2019. He was brilliant when we nearly won the county championship and he took a stack of wickets then and he's, you know, he's not quite as quick as he was, but he's probably more skillful and you know, he can move it both ways. I thought on the first day he bowled absolutely brilliantly, you know, to get Joe Root out when Root looked in absolutely no trouble at all. It was a very, very good ball that he brought back in and took the inside edge and onto the stumps. And no, I thought, I just wish he'd come and ⁓ consent to be interviewed at the close of playoff after he's bowled so well. He wouldn't do it at Southampton and he wouldn't do it on Friday, that's a minor football. It's good to see him in such great form with the ball, not such great form, I think it'd be fair to say, with the bat. not very keen on this new stance that he's developed. I don't think it's a terribly good idea for Craig Everton to come in ahead of Lewis Gregory either. I think somebody on Twitter asked that. think fundamentally Lewis is the better bat. I think it's a good case actually for Lewis to open the batting as he did at the same stage in last season when We played Sussex at home and he and Josh Davio opened the batting and all right, it was a bit of a shock at the time, but it worked and we won the game. And I think a bit of experience up at the top would do no harm at all. Yeah, I mean, and I would probably echo that. I think, Peter, with Jack Leach being injured, you're asking a lot of... 20 year old Archie Vaughan to be the number one spinner and open the batting How many overs did he roll in that match? We didn't bowl first innings, think he got quite a few second innings 18 It is a lot for a young guy who's still learning his trade and Where I'm getting not worried, I don't think but I'm not quite seeing a path for him yet because You kind of think, well, you could go back down to six at any time. You don't feel like it's set in stone that he's going to open the batting long term. feel like you could move down to six and be a bowling all rounder. Again, I don't see it being sustainable him opening the batting and bowling this many overs if the pitches are turning or if Jack Leach isn't available. Except that he looked really solid in both innings at Southampton. and then just hook one down long legs, throat, know, both innings. So, you know, that does show a deficiency weakness that's got to be addressed. you know, it's the collective number of people that we've got with a lack of experience, I suppose, as any I mean, I look at that batting order, and I think it's incredibly exciting and talented. ⁓ batting line up right the way, you one to 11, they can all bat when they put their mind to it. ⁓ so, ⁓ and then, you know, we might this time last week, this time, this time last week, we'd have had this conversation about, know, Josh Thomas, is he quite there yet? He's had his few runs in the first game, and now he hasn't quite come good. And then he's had this extraordinary match and his in it know Roy Kerslake said that was one of the best innings he'd seen by ⁓ someone you know scoring a century at ⁓ Taunton and there some fabulous shots you know it was difficult for him to get going but once he did you know what what authority to score the best part of 200 runs and end up on the losing side you've got to feel for him a bit so you know I mean, 136 out of 274 is pretty good going, but his strike rate as well was nearly double everybody else's. was, to coin that phrase, looking like he was batting on a different pitch. It was quite remarkable to watch for a lad on his, in his nascent career, opening the Battening County Championship cricket. I like that he plays the ball late. He's a bit like James Rue and he's got that, he's got the trascotic dab as well, isn't it? We had the the shooting chop of Pete Denning through the cover, you know, through square and he's got the, know, the sort of the just angles the bat and he just lets it go through third man playing it really late and under his eyes and when he's batting with James Rue, it can be a little bit difficult to tell the two apart because they do bat very similar. So, I don't know if this came up on the commentary, but... Sorry, I was going to say, I don't know if this came up on the commentary, but I asked the question on Friday morning to our Yorkshire visitors as to whether Joe Root had ever played at Taunton before. And it turned out that he played once in 2011 when he opened the batting. And so we dug out the wisdom and looked at the scorecard. in that game, Somerset had a left-hander with a great... strike rate who hit the ball very hard opening batting won Marcus Triskothic and he scored 100 in both innings and ⁓ I'd kind of been hoping that Josh Thomas was going to replicate Marcus Triskothic's performance and give us another 10 wicket win which was what happened last time Joe Root was down here in 2011 and it wasn't to be but you know he top scored in he top scored in both innings so you know Fair play to him. It's just he didn't get a great deal of support from anyone else. He's a very gutsy batsman and I liked his approach as well. I asked him when I interviewed him and closed the play on Friday, how did you feel when Somerset were 35 for three and in all sorts of trouble? said, well, I didn't really feel anything very much. I was just concentrating on the next ball. And that was the way he approached it. You know, if it was a good ball, he defended it. If there was a chance to score, he took it and took it very handsomely. And ⁓ I think comparisons with Triskothic were probably getting a little bit head-fuzz. But he's got a good technique and he's got a good temperament. And he's earned himself, you know, a long ⁓ shot, a long spell opening the innings. preferably opening the innings with someone a bit more experienced than Archie Vaughan. Although Archie Vaughan, I keep saying this, when I interviewed him at Old Trafford, end of the season before last, and asked him about opening innings and he said, I want to open the innings, that's my job, that's what I want to do in cricket. And as far as I know, that's still very much the case, but I think there's a good case now. for him to drop down the order and get a bit of ⁓ confidence back because he looked a little bit all at sea, particularly in the second innings. You know, I think it's great that he does want to open the innings, when it comes to a situation like we've got where Jack Leach is unavailable, he then becomes the number one spinner. He's got to all this overs and he's a young guy. It's asking a lot of him and I think maybe it would be easy of him to do that from sort of six or seven and as we said before, have Gregory open the batting. Probably easy for Gregory to bowl his overs. what was it? Oh no, I'm still here. So, yeah, what else I else we need did you think when Thomas Rue was put into the team that James Rue was going to open Well, it was a possibility, don't think I would It was only ever going to be for one game maybe while he's very much in the middle of his exams. think with it being a bank holiday weekend, they took the opportunity with the batting line-up being little bit depleted. Obviously, being irreplaceable with a light for light, so they could have brought in Jake Ball or Josh Shaw for Jack Leach, and that would have left the side not as balanced as it should have been. So they just sort of bring in Thomas through Archie Bourne can can body over this thing. Yeah, second ball duck in the in the second in the first and he's what I thought he looked. Very composed once he got himself settled second time around played a couple of lovely shots. You lovely reverse sweeps off Joe Root. was a. Beautiful cover drive that hit off off route as well. Yeah, I thought there was a lot to be. excited about. We know how good he is, how good his brother is, how nothing seems to phase these guys. can chuck them in whatever situation you like and they seem to perform. Just a shame for him that he could go on and get a 50 and 100 and see the team home. It would have been a very, very special debut if he had. Yeah, he'd be battered very nicely. And again, you know, he's a like his older brother, he's got an old head on young shoulders. He looked very much, he looked nervous in the first, first things, well he only there for two balls, he ⁓ looked pretty composed and comfortable second time around and that's well I thought. Yeah, I thought Will Smead's tempo was a lot better. Yeah, absolutely couldn't agree more. ⁓ I mean, I had a bit of a look at the previous few games and sort of watched him yesterday. I thought he looked like he was. He'd set himself up to try and score off every ball, and if he couldn't, he would then defend it. Whereas I think in the couple of previous games, he was maybe looking to defend it and then trying to wait for a bad ball and then score. And then if you kind of do that, you're sometimes not quite there for the shot. But he looked a lot more fluent. think he's another one has earned himself a long, you know. long spell in the county championship cricket. He's coming to terms with the demands. And again, I talked to him on Saturday after the rain and he said he was really enjoying playing red ball cricket. And he also said, a bit like Tom Banton, that it's improving, the experience is improving his all round game. Absolutely. He's a better cricketer. for having gone back into red ball cricket and relearning how to defend and all the rest of it. And I said on commentary, if he can just find the right tempo, then he's got all the ability that's needed. And I think in that second innings in particular, although he batted well in the first innings too, but in the second innings, I thought he had exactly the right tempo for ⁓ the situation to the extent that Yorkshire were giving him the single to get him off the strike. That point you made up top, Gibber, about us only scoring three runs for the last three wickets in the first innings, it was doubly frustrating that Smead was there 36 not out and they didn't even need to score runs quickly because he looked settled and it must have been disappointing for him to have been left stranded with as few as 36 because Yeah, as a specialist number seven, which you don't always get in team lineups, he had a lot more to offer, I think. Yes, and he can certainly be a few overs of Will Smead and you'll certainly add in more than three for your last couple of wickets. ⁓ I mean, overall then, this was just a game, I think. The run chases against Hampshire and this one the other day, I think probably if you get home in one of those, you're probably happy and that's probably fair enough. But I think the run chase was too much because of what went on earlier in the game. And I think it is probably as well as Yorkshire play, were somewhat architects of our own downfall. ⁓ over the bank order weekend. One thing, I don't know what Peter thinks about this, several respected members came up to me at the end on Monday and said how upset they'd been by this sort rhythmic clapping that Yorkshire were indulging in in the field, which ⁓ I wasn't particularly conscious of it, but from what I can gather from the people who because we were sort of cut off in our commentary box, you know, that there was an element of trying to put the batsman off about it, a bit of gamesmanship. yeah. So it was it was very it was very loud and it was very effective, I would say. In fact, I was thinking about coming onto the podcast and clapping rhythmically, because that's definitely my last in memory of that. afternoon. It was a tactic. Now, whether it was to put our batters off or to gee them up in the field, they were very animated and they were together and they were there for one another. I mean, and it wasn't just the rhythmic clapping. There was when they got Craig Overton out, you hear on, you hear this on the highlights, there's this whooping and cheering and almost like that. mean, not entirely appropriate. I would say, now whether that is exuberance, because at that point they feel, you know, they're through and they're going to beat us. I think you could argue either way. If it was our team, we would say, what a great illustration of togetherness and determination. And as opposed to how the game drifted in that really long session on the third day where we just couldn't take the wickets and we had all the fielders around the boundary and we were giving Richardson a... a single in order. was, it, it, was a purposeness to what they were doing, but it was, it was noticeable for sure. And I'd never seen it quite as loud and animated and with, with the rhythmic clapping quite like that ever before. So definitely a tactic. You know, what was the motivation? Who knows. We did something similar against Warwickshire at home about three or four years ago. Jack Brooks was getting the crowd to do the old do do do do do that sort of increased intensity of clapping with the bowlers running in. That got us about three or four Warwickshire wickets. So I didn't have a mind so much to clap in, but I thought their excessive appealing was over the line. I think they let themselves down a bit with that. There was some very, very aggressive, appealing and over performative disappointment when certain decisions didn't go their way. yeah, you're right. That piercing sort of sound, I think any team that's got a player that does that is probably one that you are going to have a hard time enjoying being in the dressing room with. That's my take on that. yeah, and just to your point, Peter, I don't... Do you like to be fair on these sorts of things? I don't think I've ever seen Somerset carry on, even in the drama of that game against Surrey a couple of years ago, it all of a sudden went from 0 to 100 in terms of intensity and our possibility of winning that game. I don't think once we ever went into that bracket of ⁓ the real kind of... sort of appealing that you'd sort of see from some sort of Pakistani side in the 90s, that sort of thing. You know, it's a part-wheel type appeal. Yeah, it's a good point about the appealing, actually. I think I feel it's a more legitimate point to make about the excessive appealing for ridiculous situations than probably the rhythmic clapping, which was odd, but was a kind of expression of... collective determination that I think worked well for them. I mean my take on that is do what you can do whatever you like until the bowler starts running up. Within reason obviously, you you can't go up to the back the batter and start hurling of know four letter words and abuse in his face But if you you know, you want to have a little couple of you know If you're stood at mid-wicket and you want to tell cover that you've seen a little flaw in his technique You go you go ahead, you know all these sorts of things. That's sangha car one That video where he's telling Sean Pollock, you know all the pressure of the whole country's on you here Here skipper lots of pressure 60 million fans all counting on you That sort of thing is great, yeah, just as long as you keep it. As long as you keep your mouth shut when the ball is coming in, absolutely fine. yeah, appealing for me is what yeah, a little bit there. ⁓ do we have a few little any little questions about ⁓ the sorry game before? we just do what about two minutes on Floodlight Gate? ⁓ yeah. That was quite entertaining, wasn't it? So at the end of the day on the third day when we'd gone deep, deep, deep, I mean, the previous day had gone on extremely late anyway, but then with two balls to go. 1859 the floodlights went off and everyone looked completely confused about the entire situation and then we were all told, it's completely clear why this is, it's that ⁓ we've only got a certain number of days when we can have the floodlights on beyond 1859 and that's the moment that they have to stop and we certainly had plenty of opportunities to get through our overs before it got to 1859. 59 and we wouldn't want to sacrifice a t20 game in order to keep the floodlights on for an extra couple of balls nevertheless, it was one of these kind of classic moments when It would have been nice to let I mean, I don't know who who did and didn't know but certainly the supporters didn't know it looked a bit of a surprise to the players and the whole thing was a bit Chaotic really so not not our not our finest hour Yeah, was I was I was watching on the stream. I was coming out from Swordsby races on Sunday night and I was sort of like, well, what's going on here? Yeah, I mean you would think can they just put a little in brackets 9 o'clock or if it's a championship game the end of the over in question Well, we should have bowled our overs faster we should have all the ball changes that slowed things down but I've noticed Somerset's over rate has slowed this season In previous recent seasons, they've been up around the 16 overs an hour mark, even without Jack Leach bowling over after over after over, but it's been noticeable in both, well, in all the first four games that the over-rate has dropped. I don't know whether that's a matter of deliberate policy or not, but it's a shame. It's nice to see cricketers getting through their overs in good time. Yeah, definitely. Right, so do a couple of listeners questions there before we put our selectorial hats on for Sapphire Gardens on Friday. Let's find. Well Dan Parsons has already asked about our thoughts on Craig batting above Lewis. ⁓ Rob Reid, question for Peter, do we think we'll ever see a state school homegrown batter make their Somerset debut? Well as a state school educated person myself I very much hope so. mean Rob's done some really interesting research in this space about the ⁓ the quality and the ceilings of players who come into the game from state schools relative to those who don't. And I think his argument, which I appreciate, is that if we could create the conditions in which more people from state schools were able to join the pathways, ⁓ not just at very early ages, but... later through the age groups as well, then we would be fishing in an even stronger pool than we're fishing in as a club at the moment. And I think that's a really fair point to make. And the club is working on county and academy pathways and the routes into those. It's... ⁓ It's a slow process. It would be nice to think it's going faster because as I say, temperamentally, I am with him. There's a lot of talent out there. We're not helped by the invisibility of cricket and the lack of facilities for so many state school pupils compared with how things were when we were growing up and cricket was ⁓ more of an option, which more kids were naturally wanting to play and had more opportunities to play. that doesn't detract from, I think, his fundamental argument that if we could ⁓ connect more players, more people for longer from a wider pool of talent, then we may find that there are people in our region that have got a ceiling even beyond those that we're bringing through at the moment. So that's how I'd answer that one. So yes, I hope so. Isn't it true though that the public schools snap up from the state system any really promising cricketers? They're given bursaries at Millfield or Kings or Toulton or Queens. mean, someone like Casey Aldridge, for example, it doesn't come from a highly privileged background. He wouldn't have gone from Millfield to Millfield if he hadn't been an outstandingly good cricketer. So I think it's, think, you know, clearly cricket in the state system is almost non-existent, which means that the clubs have got to step up. But the clubs are going to get a whole heap of money out of the sale of the hundred. 30, 40 million, don't know how much it is now. With precisely that in mind. And but I think, you know, the clubs will develop young cricketers, but then if they're really good, they'll probably end up back at Kings and Millfield and Queens and Taunton because Kings and Millfield and Co, you know, they want the best cricketers in their ranks. so I'm, you know, I'm not sure that there'll be too many who come straight from a state school into the first team. They're much more likely to come from state school. public school first team via the pathway. I think as well that if you look at the training that young batters have to can go through in terms of hours and hours with a coach on a sidearm or a bowling machine, if you're a boarder at a public school, you you could just nip down with, you know, with the head of cricket for an hour every evening and you can practice in top class facilities with top class coaching. It is such a massive advantage that you could never really do that at a state school or, you know, indeed at a club, it's going to be difficult, you know, to find a coach to do it unless you happen to have a parent who's a qualified and dedicated coach to, to help you along that journey. And as you say, Gibbo, you've got to, if you're offered a scholarship to one of the top public schools in the region, if it's feasible, you are going to take it. it's, yeah, really Rob is really passionate about this kind of thing, but it almost seems like the question is kind of not cutting off your nose to spite your face, but I'm kind of looking for a phrase. It's almost... I think Rob is right to challenge us on this because we are supremely fortunate and well served by especially Millfield and Kings but also the other independent schools and that is a brilliant asset and it's increasingly porous to state school pupils when you think about scholarships and when you look at the work that's being done on the pathways. But if we can find a way, and it's way beyond our own control, because there are, these huge other factors about accessibility to facilities, the cost of kit, the visibility of the game of cricket on terrestrial TV, et cetera, et cetera. But if we can, and we should, as a game, nationally, not just in Somerset, harness that, then there is the potential to enrich even further the... the potential talent pool which we could draw on in the West Country. And it's a harder point to make in our bit of the country because we have got such a strong pathway coming through. So his kind of constant posing of the question, I think, is a good and reasonable challenge. It's not a new thing, though. My primary school, we didn't play cricket. Up to the age of 11 at Maledham Vale Primary School in Plymouth. And if I'd gone on to... Um comprehensive or a grammar school, doubt very much if I'd have played cricket there either I mean, yeah Yeah, we didn't play in in my primary school either in in sort of the 80s and 90s when I went to school at Torquay we had an artificial pitch um, and that was about it. I think we did have any sort of artificial net so um, that's talking to grandma, you know, which has produced some pretty good cricketers over the years. But even our facilities were kind of nothing compared to some of the public schools. it's, yes, it is something that the of the club, the clubs need to pick up for our picking up. But I say it's a very difficult problem to solve. I've often said that when we talk about reducing counties, you know, we should be aiming for more professional cricket clubs. you know, even if they are, we've got as many professional as we can, you know, it might be a pipe dream, but if you haven't got that goal of creating more professional cricketers in the country, then you're never going to achieve it anyway. no, there's some very good role models, though, in terms of clubs. mean, Pete Triglo's club, Burbage and Eastern Royal, you know, they're doing fantastic things there. They've got three really, really top class club size that they can produce. They've got two pitches, you know, and this is just a couple of villages in Wiltshire. know, if to Will is there, the way can be found. And the club's declared strategy is to inspire the South West through cricket. So it's bigger. mean, it is also to win the county championship, but that's not the top line of the club strategy. Is is beyond that and it is about engaging involving more people winning the county championship. There we go. Well, that would help wouldn't it? would that that'd be good Yeah, I mean I I know from my experience as well the about clubs in devon that have got third and fourth 11s now compared to when I was sort of in my Late teens and early 20s is exponential now. There have been a few clubs that have folded which is sort of mitigated that as well um, overall, I think Participation numbers are really strong in recreational cricket in the South Pass at the moment. So long may that continue. Andy Cleve asks, we discussed this last week, the rationale when you cannot for the life you want to bowl at a number nine and you're desperate to bowl at a number 10. Joy Richardson and Jack White is the example. I absolutely agree with Andy Cleve about it. makes no sense. You're just surrendering the initiative. giving them easy runs and it's, know, I just, don't understand it. Yeah. Harry Hayden talks about the assertive way we approach chase at Hampshire, the timid and nervous way we did so yesterday. I think we were bowled well up for the first of hours so we could maybe, I'll mind you having said that. If we lost too early we're just playing silly shots. I It was a bit timid. The last thing I want people to think is that we are being over critical of Josh Thomas and Archie Bourne because they're two marvellously talented young lads learning their trade. And I think to kind of sort of throw darts at them for the way they started, think that, you know, not doing that at any stretch of imagination at all. Alex Simpson asks, once everyone's back fit, is Vaughan's long term future as a middle order spinner rather than an opener? No. As much as we like homegrown players, do we need to break the bank for an opener? No, Matt Renshaw back Well, there is a vacant overseas spot at the moment and we are a little bit light on batting. So if we were able to get Wrenshaw in for, you know, a short term deal for maybe these next, well, would be a bit late for the next games, wouldn't it? Yeah, and then you've got the two games and the blast of the season is quite disjointed. And then you think by the time of late August and September comes around, we're probably going to have everybody fit again. So the timing's not quite there for that unfortunately. ⁓ ⁓ Bob Depledge asks, constant chat about the pitch flattening out as the game went on. Surely I wasn't the only one concerned about the chase when early on day three Archie got a couple to rag. Thought best would play a role but hadn't considered route. Yeah it almost seemed like a foregone conclusion didn't it among everybody that the pitch was going to be an absolute road to battle on day four and we were going to stroll to victory on a beautiful ⁓ road of a surface and it never quite came to pass. I've heard Joe Root being interviewed and he said the pitch wasn't doing that much. It just the odd ball turning. It wasn't ragging. was just the odd ball was turning. It was doing a darn sight more than the one against Worcester. it's the most intriguing aspect of the game that if their spinners could take whatever it was, eight wickets on the the final day then we would hope and expect that Jack Leach plus AN other ought to be able to to do that in in future games so if the grounds folk know what it is they did this time that they didn't do last time then good news potentially if we batted first we'd probably been bowled out for 150 maybe so ⁓ One thing we haven't talked about is, ⁓ what's going on with Craig O'Byrton catching? He's gone from being one of the safest pair of hands in the slips in the history of the club to, well, not. You'll get it back again. I know he will. just sort of look at it. mean, was kind of around the You know you've played enough cricket, Shepst, to know that if you drop one, it increases significantly the chances you're going to drop the next one. That's true. Not that I ever dropped any, Gabao, in one of your talks. ⁓ That was another factor though, wasn't it? I mean, so I made the point about the extras. Somerset, ⁓ gave Yorkshire 57 extras, they gave us 14 and we dropped catches and and Lewis Gregory bowled someone off a no ball and they didn't drop anything I can recall. Besto dropped Josh Thomas. ⁓ did he? Yeah I hadn't I didn't realize it at time but it was... ⁓ the one that went through slips? Yeah no no not that one it was it was one I think it was an inside edge. and it went through very low and he couldn't quite hold on. I was sort looking around the ground yesterday, trying to think, is something changed with the of the sighting or anything like that? Because it's not just Craig that's sort of put a couple down the slips, but I don't know, it just seems to It's on Abel Trump one as well. Yeah, it's pretty straightforward. He's pretty catching. But anyway, I'm sure Tweds 11. looking at what they've done. I couldn't see them doing anything wrong. They're like they normally do. They don't seem to be staggered any different. They're not standing with their hands on their knees like B4U students. Everything seems the same. It's just, I don't know, maybe it's a new batch of balls or something. knows? Right, Glamorgan then, who turned over Leicestershire in the battle of the promoted sides over the weekend. Eddie Byram, Ned Leonard, Sean Dixon, Et al away along with Kieran Carlson who blasted a double hundred as well. Not much we can do with the batting. We're losing Thomas Rue and nobody else is really available apart from, I mean you could bring Finn Hill in if you wanted to but there doesn't really seem to be a space for him in that middle order so you're looking at the same side with Jack Leach coming in for Thomas Rue I guess. You could, I mean, you could bring Finhill in for Tom Lamenby and make, you know, and push James Roo up to three. I'd still like to see Lewis Gregory opening with Josh Thomas. But I think, go on, I was going say, Jason Kerr told you that Jake Ball was going to play, I think, didn't he? He did, yeah, he did tell me that. I just hope to God it's not Craig Overton who's going to be rotated out. We know what our record is like without Craig. Miggie Pretorius missed Southampton a couple of weeks ago, didn't he? So, well, you would have thought after one game, would you rotate after one game? wouldn't, would you? Well, I would, but not sure. I wouldn't rotate Craig after one game. He said himself he doesn't want to be rotated. He once said, you know, if I'm fit, I want to play. And considering they just had 10 days off, ⁓ you would have thought that they could be good to go for. I presume that Jake Ball is going to come in for Alfie. ⁓ who didn't bulb particularly well. think it's fair to say. Yeah, we'll potentially go for that. Although it wouldn't break my heart if he came in for Miguel Pretorius who I was singularly unimpressed with. Yes, he does have a, especially with the fat but also with balls. He sorry-esque rush of blood to the head for those of you who just saw the white is atrocious shot that he played to get off-cabin deal when he was... trying to block it out for the draw at the oval a couple of years I've never seen Richard Latham so furious as he was. Yes, was a bit at the end on Andy after the wave. I'm sure they would have had a look at him. It was frustrating. Any who's? Yeah. Living bonkers. I'm still gonna talk because I know this is gonna upload. I do not know what can possibly have been going through his head. Silly buggers again, what's going on here? We've lost him completely. mean that is a very strong contender for brain fade of the... My internet's working! It was a terrible shot. Oh, that was going on. Because he's not a bad player, he averages about 27 in first class cricket. Yeah. Oh, this is going to be fun to edit all this out. The injuries are a big factor. I mean, to lose Kola Kavmore and Goldsworthy. And Banton being, you know, well, ideal and then B injured. It's taking a big chunk out of the batting. Yeah. And it does mean we really, we kind of have to play Lamb and B, don't we really? Yeah, I think so. Which we might not have done otherwise. Yeah. But I don't know, he must have picked up the injury during the season because I spoke to him on the media day and I've chat with him and he was absolutely fit and raring to go. So, he'd had a lovely time in Australia, was really looking forward to. hello, hello. He fit enough to bowl. I said, oh, yeah, I'm looking forward to bowling. And of course, he did bowl a bit as well, didn't he, down at the Utility Bowl. and bowled quite nicely. Got a couple of wickets. Yeah. No, was a chance for him, when he got two wickets in the over. There was a catch, wasn't there, that he didn't quite take and he went off. Was that in the first game? that in the knots game? Yeah, it have been, yeah. And so maybe there's something in one of his hands that... Sheps has just sent me a message saying he's back on he's gonna be back on shortly Good I'm back. Hello everyone Hello, I don't know everything else is working but the the software that we used to record the Podcasted see want to kick me out for about five minutes Right, the bells are tolling, that is us done for the week. Best of luck to Lewis, Gregory and the boys ⁓ over the Sevenbridge at Spy Gardens this week as they take on Glamorgan in the county championship. Thanks for listening, we'll catch up with you next time. Bye then. Bye. Cheers.