Hampshire v Surrey - Championship cricket returns

Can't say this has been Clarke's day, even moreso with that no-ball wicket

I fitness (or Unfitness) regimen strikes again, we must have a serious look at our training regime which produces some devastating results every year for the past 3. It is clearly not fit for purpose and needs reforming. I can understand that some year’s you are just unlucky, but it should not happen every year unless it not working properly. It is a crippling burden to cope with ,especially coupled with our losses with ECB call ups!!

Off for bad light now? Doesn't look that bad to stop play for sure.

Assuming time gets called, I feel like that's a decent day considering we're a bowler light

Hard work in the first hour this morning. It's bright and warm, and a much better day for batting than yesterday. De Grandhomme is enjoying himself and Felix Organ must be the best number 9 in county cricket.

It's the first time I've thought that Rikki Clarke is showing his age. He was a little unlucky yesterday - Overton dropped a dolly off him at slip, then when a slip catch was taken he overstepped. But he bowled some loose stuff, and more with the new ball today. The Rikki of 2018 or 2019 would have been miserly on this wicket.

We are already looking down the barrel of 350 plus in the first innings. We need the win more than Hampshire. Our batsmen will need to score, and score at a decent pace.

On the subject of injuries, in the space of less than two seasons we have managed to sign 3 overseas seam bowlers, who have lasted 1 match,2 matches and less than 30 overs before being out for the season. Bad luck or perhaps a poor fitness regime?

Eurgh

Will Jacks is now on the field and bowling. He has got rid of Organ.

I thought you weren't allowed substitutes other than fielders when a player was injured during the game, except for concussions? Can he bat? Handy if so!

Can’t understand why Jacks didn’t get an over until nearly 100 overs had been bowled.

dougieginn wrote:Can’t understand why Jacks didn’t get an over until nearly 100 overs had been bowled.

Mr Hindsight strikes again.

Hindsight or not, still a strange decision

Jackers wrote:Will Jacks is now on the field and bowling. He has got rid of Organ.

I thought you weren't allowed substitutes other than fielders when a player was injured during the game, except for concussions? Can he bat? Handy if so!

I assume as he was picked in the original XI he will be able to bat as well

Things looked good at close yesterday but somehow Hampshire have built a pretty effective looking score.

Hopefully we can maintain a healthy innings and at least match the bonus points.

Is a draw still possibly enough to take it to the final game?

In the last round of fixtures we have Somerset and Gloucs play Hants.

With Somerset and Hants currently racking up a load of batting bonus points in the current games, the chances are that we are going to have also get alot of batting points and draw the game and hope that Gloucs beat Middx to have a hope of getting in the top 2.

The weather forecast might help us draw this game, but it also might not give us the chance to get enough batting points

Weather forecast saving us or not doesn't hide the fact we're a very, very poor bowling unit

not saying it does, and I agree

However, when you go into a game with 1 out and out opening bowler, who breaks down after 6 overs, its never going to end well

quote from Jordan Clark last night
It will be great if we can kick on in the morning and take three early wickets and keep them under 250.

Thats come back to haunt him. I realise that would have been the intention, but as you say, we dont have the bowling attack for that

At least I'm not a Kent supporter! Anderson running through them with ease!

what a player he is

current figures are 9-5-10-7

also taken his 1000 1st class wicket in that spell

and just to think Kent won the toss and decided to bat

Danny Lamb ruining all prospects of a perfect 10 for Anderson.

Coatesy wrote:In the last round of fixtures we have Somerset and Gloucs play Hants.

With Somerset and Hants currently racking up a load of batting bonus points in the current games, the chances are that we are going to have also get alot of batting points and draw the game and hope that Gloucs beat Middx to have a hope of getting in the top 2.

The weather forecast might help us draw this game, but it also might not give us the chance to get enough batting points

Forget that, we aint getting in the top 2 of the league

I had a lot of sympathy with the team yesterday: after the body-blow of losing Jamieson so early I felt the team fought hard, even if the other bowlers were only sporadically dangerous.

Today was a different story. I was here early to watch the contrast between the two teams' preparation. Hampshire's players were concentrating on practising the core skills: batting, bowling, catching. For Surrey, Alec Stewart gave a few throw downs to Jamie Smith and two or three of them spent no more than five minutes on slip-catching. Otherwise, the rest were kicking a bloody football around. Just unprofessional. The rather fearsome looking "fitness and conditioning coach" was sauntering around watching this.

The bowling was very poor today. None of them bowled remotely well. Jordan Clark was probably the pick of the bunch yesterday, but was under- bowled today. Heads were down, shoulders were sloping. The number 11 batsman was rarely troubled as he added over 100 for the last wicket with Colin De Grandhomme (talk about a tale of two kiwis).

Stoneman and Burns are back in the hutch already. In all likelihood a lot of play will be lost tomorrow, but if enough play is possible on Wednesday we could still be looking at an innings defeat. We don't deserve to be saved on the strength what I've witnessed today.

I beginning to be glad I didn't come to this now. This is a crap season for many reasons, not the least a side with no bowlers of any note. Maybe we should play Moriaty and Virdi.

Well perhaps Jacks can provide some comfort here.

We’ll need a lot of bad weather to save us from defeat here, pretty appalling lack of fight shown here!

dougieginn wrote:We’ll need a lot of bad weather to save us from defeat here, pretty appalling lack of fight shown here!

Well they have to dig in for sure and survive this session. Tomorrow might play a little different

This team is in a mess