County fixtures 2024

Don't panic.The first CC games will be in April - 5 months time.

Schedule is out. I'm sure there's a lot more to go over in detail but

Pros

Substantially more weekend cricket in the County Championship - 6 of our 7 home fixtures have at least one weekend day of play, and all but one have at least two days

Absolutely no reason whatsoever for our test players to not be available until early July

Cons

- Half of the rounds are in April/May where its still inevitably freezing

- No County Champship cricket at all in July.

- An IPL followed by a T20 World Cup means we are highly unlikely to be putting out our best players in the Blast at all

- I don't like Guildford at all, but just one 50 over fixture shows again we pissed a load of money up the wall

In context, actually quite happy with that fixture list. We already know that the Championship will bookend the season, and that the H*****d will take up a number of weeks.

Pleasantly surprised by the amount of weekend Championship cricket. Also the final round starting on a Thursday is a positive change. Will mean I likely take a day or two of annual leave and try to take in as much of the match at Essex as possible.

Also a good balance of Friday night and Sunday afternoon (so less of the 'stag do' types in attendance) T20, plus most 50 over games at the Oval.

Alex! wrote:I don't like Guildford at all, but just one 50 over fixture shows again we pissed a load of money up the wall

Never mind Guildford. Middlesex will be playing two Blast matches at Chelmsford to avoid setup costs at Radlett. Still, both the spectators and their dogs will probably be better behaved than the usual Friday night Blast crowd at Chelmsford. Money's too tight to mention...

Middlesex are a joke.

Ive noticed some other changes this year to the CC as well, as reported on the BBC

a draw goes back to 8 points
The Kookaburra ball will be used in 4 games, 2 in the opening block of games and the other 2 towards the end of the season
a 1 year trial of the use of hybrid pitches for CC matches

as for the 1 day cup we are in a group with Essex, Warwickshire, Glamorgan, Yorkshire, Gloucestershire and Sussex.

and finally according to the BBC the Blast Finals day is already a sell out

as for the CC games, its a tough start and a tough end

No CC games at all from the 3rd July to the 22nd August and from 27th May to 23rd June. Great for spinners I don't think. The only bit that they have at long last changed is starting the first 7 on a Friday. Otherwise, well what you'd expect from the ECB and the crap 100.Time the two Ducks or Dicks actually did something.

We play once only-
Durham-only at home
Essex(again)-only at home
Kent-only at Canterbury
Warwickshire-only at home

It's difficult for the 2 Dicks because they have inherited the mess created by Harrison & Graves and they can't get away from the paywall deal without forfeiting the income and possible legal action.

kjb

we play Essex twice, away on the last game of the season

we only play Notts once, away

Alex! wrote:
...

- I don't like Guildford at all, but just one 50 over fixture shows again we pissed a load of money up the wall

As have the residents of Guildford who understood they were going to have the opportunity to see more county cricket on their (Surrey) doorstep for the additional Council Tax they've shelled out.

Regardless of whether the Guildford ground is liked or not, what I find particularly disappointing and irksome is the lack of openness and transparency from Elworthy and his cronies at the top table as to its future or any respect for its past. It appears the ground is now being allowed to deteriorate bit by bit each year and used less and less until it is quietly and finally deemed unfit for purpose.

It would be refreshing if the club told us why they are not playing a CC game at Guildford. They cant be arsed though. Playing Kent at Canterbury again! Beckenham would be better. It seems as though some clubs arent using outgrounds for CC matches. We aint using Guildford, Kent not playing at Beckenham and Sussex arent using Arundel either.

Steve wrote:It would be refreshing if the club told us why they are not playing a CC game at Guildford. They cant be arsed though.  Playing Kent at Canterbury again!  Beckenham would be better.  It seems as though some clubs arent using outgrounds for CC matches.  We aint using Guildford, Kent not playing at Beckenham and Sussex arent using Arundel either.

With only seven CC games, I want all of them at the Oval.

Coatesy wrote:kjb

we play Essex twice, away on the last game of the season

we only play Notts once, away

Thanks, Coatesy.
I was too quick on the listing.
It will probably be a pitch similar to the one at the Age Arse Bowl where we were outspun by Dawson this year, so Harmer might have a field day.

The CC is really becoming a bit pointless I think. Now I see we only play 4 main teams once in Durham, Warwickshire, Kent and Notts. It's no longer a proper Championship and is becoming farcicle. ,
Stuff the Sky deal, Harrison and Graves are history. Basically the clowns in charge of the shit show don't want to know, all talk no action.
Guildford is no longer suitable for 1st Class cricket which is why you'll never get another CC Game there.
To be frank currently as far as I'm concerned stuff cricket- all of it. Don't have the time any way.

If there is a county match 22nd -25th August does that mean The Oval isn't hosting the Eliminator of The Hundred, as last year it was this corresponding weekend (26/27th August)? Presumably it must now be 31st/1st September but that clashes with the 2nd Test at Lords v Sri Lanka. The Hundred is 7 group matches and with the Eliminator and Final you can't fit it into less than 3 weeks surely if it starts the first Sunday in August? (Our Metro Bank match on Sunday 4th August is at Guildford whereas the previosu 3 are at the Oval

Take away the number you first thought of..............................

MatthewC wrote:

Steve wrote:It would be refreshing if the club told us why they are not playing a CC game at Guildford. They cant be arsed though.  Playing Kent at Canterbury again!  Beckenham would be better.  It seems as though some clubs arent using outgrounds for CC matches.  We aint using Guildford, Kent not playing at Beckenham and Sussex arent using Arundel either.

With only seven CC games, I want all of them at the Oval.

It suits me to have all the games at The Oval, as I can walk there and back. However I enjoy outground cricket, and if we don't play at an outground why should anyone else? We're Surrey County Cricket Club, and those in the west of the county have got a skinny deal.

Although Guildford is easier for me to get to I am also of the opinion that it is no longer fit for first class cricket. They have reduced the capacity significantly and the seating arrangements are no longer adequate. Those with long memories will remember the largish tiered stand next to the pavilion opposite the scoreboard. The beer tent and the Guildford ladies providing bacon rolls, home made sandwiches and cakes were close by. It was an annual event in July for many and there were some great performances, my favourite being Martin Bicknell’s 17 wickets in one match. Happy days and completely ruined by the current schedule imposed on us by the ECB.

Pink Panther wrote:

MatthewC wrote:

Steve wrote:It would be refreshing if the club told us why they are not playing a CC game at Guildford. They cant be arsed though.  Playing Kent at Canterbury again!  Beckenham would be better.  It seems as though some clubs arent using outgrounds for CC matches.  We aint using Guildford, Kent not playing at Beckenham and Sussex arent using Arundel either.

With only seven CC games, I want all of them at the Oval.

It suits me to have all the games at The Oval, as I can walk there and back. However I enjoy outground cricket, and if we don't play at an outground why should anyone else? We're Surrey County Cricket Club, and those in the west of the county have got a skinny deal.

Maybe that County match in August should be at Guildford. Our first game back after the Hundred at the Oval they hadn't put back the seats in the JM Finn stand (where the DJ area/stage had been set up) and rubbish from the stage was scattered throughout the back of the stand, wasn't a great look. There was for example a 3 foot long metal bar under the seating that we alerted a steward to and he said it looked like it had been left behind by the people disassembling the stage.

Wokoval wrote:Although Guildford is easier for me to get to I am also of the opinion that it is no longer fit for first class cricket. They have reduced the capacity significantly and the seating arrangements are no longer adequate. Those with long memories will remember the largish tiered stand next to the pavilion opposite the scoreboard. The beer tent and the Guildford ladies providing bacon rolls, home made sandwiches and cakes were close by. It was an annual event in July for many and there were some great performances, my favourite being Martin Bicknell’s 17 wickets in one match. Happy days and completely ruined by the current schedule imposed on us by the ECB.

I agree that improvements are needed if it's used again for Championship cricket. My first visit was against Northamptonshire (2001?), then again the following year against Yorkshire, and probably around half the subsequent Championship matches. I went past on the train a couple of times during winter months when all the seating had been removed and it was just an open field with the pavilion at the far end.

After the pavilion was rebuilt around a decade ago they changed the locations of the two temporary stands, switching one from the Pavilion End to the corner diagonally opposite at the Railway End, and the other from the Woodbridge Road side to the River side, but each of the new stands only seemed to be half the size of the old ones. My last visit was for the win against Somerset in 2018, so maybe I've misremembered the layout of the ground, but surely there's enough space for a substantially larger stand at the Railway End? The square boundaries are very tight but it always feels like the hospitality and media tents take up too much of the available space in the prime positions.

Didn't SCCC help fund the pavilion redevelopment on the basis that more county matches would be hosted there? I'm sure we were told that at the time, but the opposite has happened instead. Admittedly the overall number of Championship matches has been cut since then, and there are still people pushing for further cuts to 12 or even 10 matches.

There should certainly be a larger stand somewhere in the ground, I always felt this was best opposite the scoreboard but a second one could be placed if need be. I suspect the pavilion redevelopment was more for the players benefit. The toilets at the back are a big improvement for spectators though. The thing that makes me sad is that the ground was really my introduction to Surrey cricket as a boy although my father had taken me to the Oval a couple of times. I think the value of outgrounds is overlooked. Even though Surrey is a relatively small county compared to some there are people living in the Farnham area ( home of Graham Thorpe) for example who find attending matches at the Oval a bit of a trek. I also thought one of the reasons for playing at Whitgift was that there are a lot of supporters from the Croydon area. Can’t see us going back there. I am glad I grew up when County Championship cricket was the central plank of the season outside of the Test matches. Now I go for weeks on end without any cricket as I have no time for T20 let alone the abominable Hundred.

Now the PCA are complaining about the fixture list being too busy and stressing players out mentally and physically. We all know the main answer to that don't we - Kill the Hundred!!! Players should also stop playing in multiple T20 tournaments in the close season, rest a bit.

offdrive4 wrote:Now the PCA are complaining about the fixture list being too busy and stressing players out mentally and physically.  We all know the main answer to that don't we - Kill the Hundred!!!  Players should also stop playing in multiple T20 tournaments in the close season, rest a bit.

Here is an article from the PCA website.

https://www.thepca.co.uk/press-release/players-respond-to-2024-schedule/

The example of Gloucestershire playing T20 matches at Cardiff and Bristol, then the first day of a Championship match at Scarborough in the space of 4 days, isn't ideal. However, they were given a preferential fixture list for years with back to back Championship matches at Cheltenham in the prime summer weeks. This time they have one Championship match and 3 T20s at Cheltenham in the first two weeks of July, so it's not surprising some of their other fixtures are scheduled inconveniently. I've checked the fixture list and they could give themselves an extra day before their trip to Scarborough by bringing forward the Friday home game to the Tuesday, but it seems the fixture planners have tried to avoid scheduling T20 matches for Mondays-Wednesdays at the request of the counties.

A few years ago I read an article in which the former Yorkshire and England keeper Richard Blakey recalled once playing county cricket for 32 consecutive days in the various competitions of the time. That must have been around 30-35 years ago. I don't think anyone would cope with that sort of workload in any job for long, and I dread to think of how many late evening journeys between different venues were involved.

I don't know anyone who wanted a draw to go back to 8 points.

I think we should throw all our eggs in the 50 Over Trophy Basket.The CC is a no go this Season. I think we were on the decline by the End of last season. I think there are Hungrier and fresher looking Teams this season who will usurp us.