I may be in a minority here but I fail to see how this thing is anything but negative and damaging to the English county game and by consequence, to the national team.

We have sacrificed the showpiece month of the summer for this made-up game that no other country plays, and with the new owners all coming in this year the ECB barely even runs the competition.

It is no coincidence that we have plummeted as an ODI side and continue to struggle as a Test side since the introduction of it, while we backheeled the Blast and 50 Over Cup, the two competitions in which the majority of the 2019 team were born in.

It genuinely breaks my heart that in a few years time we will probably have no Blast and the only regular chance i get to watch a local game at my county club (one of the number of counties the ECB don’t give a shit about), will be to watch some no-mark franchise club owned by an Indian oligarch, with players from all over the world that I have no attachment to.

Please tell me, am I alone in hating this thing? Is it because cricket is a half-arsed past time for the majority of match-goers and diehard cricket fans are few and far between?

Now obviously this isn't a hot take in this sub, but...

Sam Cook's ball to Jamie Smith suggests he is probably right for Test match cricket despite his one and only Test against Zimbabwe. It was perfect line and length, top of off, nipping back. All you want in a Test match bowler really. Now the one caveat is high height and speed, but as Nasser Hussain has said plenty of times, we need to stop picking people solely on characteristics, and more so based on wicket taking and run scoring ability. Obviously characteristics play into your ability as a batter or bowler, but not necessarily all the time. Would Cook struggle on flat decks? Probably. I get it, he struggled at Trent Bridge, but I wouldn't confidently say many bowlers dominate that ground. But at home, we have control over these factors, so why not curate our pitches to the characteristics of our bowlers? Maybe this is an overreaction to one ball and it's in a completely different format etc, but it was genuinely the most perfect ball anyone could bowl.

Now, Thomas Rew. People here credit him with being the better Rew, and I haven't watched much of either of them, but when I've watched them, I've found Thomas much more impressive of the two. His cover drive was exquisite, yes maybe pitched too full by Cook, but all the other shots too looked genuinely quality. That would've been the most difficult and experienced bowling attack he's faced, on a pitch that looked more bowler friendly than not, and yes in a completely different format, but the point stands I think. I am not calling for him to be placed in the team immediately, we shouldn't be ruining our young players' confidence because they have the swag, but I honestly hope they don't waste him as he's got at least 15 years assuming nothing goes wrong in his career.

Again, these are probably the mildest takes you'll find on this sub, but I feel like we're missing a trick with leaving out at least Sam Cook.

I found the discussion on the latest Stick to Cricket podcast genuinely interesting because I don't think there was an obvious right or wrong answer.

Alastair Cook argued that if England have a home Test beginning just days after the IPL final, then England should always come first. In his view, Jacob Bethell should have joined the Test squad earlier, even if it meant leaving the IPL before the end. The same conversation naturally extended to Jofra Archer honouring his IPL contract and missing the first Test.

So he was quite right because he genuinely cares about the Test cricket in England.

Dk and Mo responded that the heat shouldn't be targeted at the players instead it should be pointed to the administrators who makes schedules where it becomes inevitable for the players to make compromises.

Their argument was that the IPL is no longer just another franchise tournament. For young players, being in that environment means learning from some of the best players and coaches in the world. They also stressed that professional contracts matter. If players start leaving tournaments whenever international cricket overlaps, it becomes difficult for franchises to plan and trust those commitments.

Michael Vaughan Made a point that they are at 12 months ECB contract and a 3 month RCB contract where ECB looks after them for a year and the Franchise does that for 3 months. So the bigger contract is the ECB one.

Dk responded that the BCCI and Franchise pays a significant amount of Incentive money to the respective boards who are giving NOCs to players.

So for example if 10 English players make 20 million from the IPL the BCCI pays England board a amount of about 10% which is close to 2 million to the ECB

It was an interesting and fascinating debate what are your views on this?

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England in 2025 has one of the best squads on paper yet lost to afg and aus

Just saying

The Metro Bank one day cup was throwing up some lovely outgrounds today. Great to see grounds looking full too, looks better than using an almost empty international ground.

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Eng have tried so many opening pairs yet cannot even match this duo why ?

Just now on the BBC’s coverage of the Hundred he said Charlie Dean could be the captain going forward from now. Does he know something we don’t.

Can someone tell me what the big whoop is about MCC membership? Seems like a load of dusty old farts wearing silly stripey ties and blazers.

What the big deal?

For all hot takes, thoughts, chat and banter

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“That was a tough little period, they were obviously getting ahead of the game and playing really well. I decided to go off for an over and have a quick chat with Baz to gather his thoughts,” Brook said.

“Again, it comes back to the communication which has been outstanding throughout the T20s, throughout the ODIs.

“They have a slightly different view from up there, with the TVs and analytic work and going up there to have a quick chat to see what we could do. He said, ‘have a go with Beth, a slightly different spinner to what we’ve got with him driving it into the pitch,’ and thankfully it came off.

The above are the quotes from the article. I personally found it very interesting watching the game live to bring bethell on as he hadn't bowled in a while. But it seems like good things are ahead in White Ball for England. Eyes on the Sri Lanka White-Ball series next as England try to climb up the ODI rankings.

Against the prevailing narrative.
Does this indicate:

a) A poorly thought out, reactive decision was made based on media scapegoating and misplaced public pressure which the Test team will now live to lament?
b) It was the right decision as an overstretched coach has now been freed up to focus his energies where they they are best suited in short form cricket?
c) India were just rubbish?

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Ben Duckett
Ben Duckett averages 40 in Test match cricket. He can change the shape of matches with his explosive batting, and he just scored 141 off 135 against India. He is a no-brainer.

Emilio Gay
I think he has to be in this team because he looked good against New Zealand, scoring two fifties. He doesn’t feel like a Zak Crawley who is just trying to smash it. He takes his time and builds an innings, and I also think it’s too early to drop him after just three Test matches.

Jacob Bethell
He didn’t have a good series against New Zealand, averaging just 17, and for a player like him, that’s not good enough. But we know how good he can be.

Joe Root
Not much to say about this because, well, it’s Joe Root. However, he actually didn’t have a good series in New Zealand, averaging 27. I think he needs to get better at batting when the keeper is up to the stumps against a fast bowler, but apart from that, he’s amazing.

Harry Brook
I think he should be captain of the Test side. He is phenomenal with the bat when he’s in form, and he has been an amazing white-ball captain, defeating India 4–0 in the T20Is and 2–1 in the ODIs.

Sam Curran
This is the first one where I had to think for a bit, but I think he is the perfect player to take Ben Stokes’ place. I don’t think he will be as good as Ben Stokes, but I think he will be a solid player with both bat and ball.

Ben Foakes
Now, I know this will probably never happen, but I think Jamie Smith needs a break for a year. Jamie Smith is an amazing player, but recently he has not been good. The amount of dropped catches in the Ashes and New Zealand series has been too much, and I think Ben Foakes is the best wicketkeeper in the world.

Rehan Ahmed
He is a good spinner, and because Ben Foakes isn’t amazing with the bat, you need players like Rehan Ahmed at number eight.

Gus Atkinson
Atkinson is a weird one because he had such a good start to his Test career, taking seven wickets against the West Indies and scoring a hundred against Sri Lanka. I think he has slightly fallen off, but I still think he is capable of doing that again.

Ollie Robinson
This is only if he’s fit because, if he is, you have to have Ollie Robinson. He is such a good bowler, taking a comeback five-for against New Zealand.

Jofra Archer
He is essential for this England team with his raw pace and bounce, and he can bat a bit.

This one was a true collective performance, starting strong with Duckett and Bethell and carried through by Root, Buttler, and Curran. Kudos to Rohit and Kohli for their brilliant efforts—it was likely their final dance on English soil, and they didn’t disappoint. Proper legends of the game.