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I understand your points Kevin and Durham are a good side, but Warwickshire are now in the driving seat. You are right to say their batting has been brittle at times (particularly in the absence of Messrs Bell & Trott), but the arrival of Chanderpaul has given them some added steel and this has shown in their results. Had it not been for the deduction of points for a dodgy wicket earlier in the season then Warwickshire's position would be even stronger. With the prospect of unsettled weather for the foreseeable future, I suspect a lot of draws will arise in the next two weeks and Warwickshire should overcome Durham and the 7 point deficit with their game in hand.

Don't disagree with any of the above except the draws. I am prepared for a lot of contrived finishes this week especially. Before they even happen I must say given an opportunity any team would take that option so I hope we don't get too much grumbling at them.

Warwickshire scores in the last six county games.
318
214-3

482

250
98

280
217-8

521

481
72-2

That one poor score came in a game where three of the innings failed to produce a score of more than 250. Considering Bell and Trott aren't in there it doesn't seem that brittle to me. When you consider that the missing batsmen are in the top 5 ranked in the world and Chris Woakes who is averaging 45 has missed over a third of the games, the batting has held up remarkably well.

I'd like to see Warwickshire win the title as I feel they were hard done by when they had points docked against Lancashire. Warwickshire failed to gain a batting point in that game, ironically against Lancashire, whereas Lancashire got 20 points out of the game and Warwickshire only gained 3. The poor pitch was the result of the ground re-building, neccessitated by pressure exerted by the ECB on Clubs to improve their grounds if they wish to retain their test ground status.The stringent maximum penalty seems like a double punishment, especially when you consider the results pitch at Blackpool that Lancs have played a handful of games on that have produced some very low scores and Lancs wins without a penalty imposed.

When you further consider that Woakes and Trott missed the Yorkshire match because they were called up to play in a friendly one day game against Ireland the cospiracy theorists could have a field day.

Spare a thought for Derbyshire. Year after year they finish near the bottom end of Division 2. I don't think they have won anything since 1993.

As a Lancastrian I'd love to see us win but I have a horrible feeling the weather will beat us all so Durham may be in pole position despite only having one game left.

@5 Greenmarkfo all valid points you raised however 1 small problem Warwickshire had their points docked against Worcstershire.
As a bears fan I hope we do win it but I do fancy Durham to win it but you never know...

A good case argued for Warwickshire I did mean to reflect the whole season in my comments.

Warwickshire deserve the title,they have been depleted throughout the season and had to play home games in front of a building site for much of it. Also their deduction for the wicket v Worcester was a travesty,I saw two days of that game and Worcester were frankly awful,no Warwickshire players were injured,two made their best Championship scores of the season! Solanki just had a bee in his bonnet looking for excuses for his teams poor showing and I was amazed when Warwickshires appeal was not allowed. My hopes and my cash have been on the Bears for a few weeks now. True they are capable of collapse but Chanderapal is in good nick and I see no reason why they cannot beat both Notts and Hampshire because they are best equiped of all the sides to take 20 wickets in matches curtailed by weather. We shall see.

Apologies for the Lancs mistake and thanks for pointing that out BB.
Great to see a really close finish for the 2nd season running and I just hope this year's title isn't ultimately decided by the weather. I doubt if it will be as exciting as last year which provided tremendous drama right to the very end, but anything that generates interest in the game has to be good for cricket.
Now Warwickshire have Chanderpaul they have 3 of the top ten ranked test batsmen in the world in one club side, surely a first?

Ps Am I on my own to question a pink ball sideshow in the final week of the Championship season? There were so many other weeks and so many ways this could gave been done. At least we will discover if Day Night test matches in England in September are possible?

Kevin

When would you have the Pink Ball experiment? If it has an untoward influence over the game in some way it has to be done at this time of year so as not to have an effect on the promotion race in Division Two or the relegation / championship battle in Division One. It is a bit strange I grant you but realistically I cannot see that there was any other choice but to wait for a "dead rubber" for the experiment. It does possibly lead to more people going to the game, I shall certainly be going for one day next week just to sample the pink ball experience. Dress up warm for the 21:00 finish tho'.

Well it crossed my mind that the game might actually encourage some people to go who otherwise wouldn't. To that end it will be interesting. When would I have it played? Any other week than the last one. It's an experiment trial game so how about after the season has finished? Second eleven teams could have played such a game or an invitational side. Either way it's up to those who support their clubs to say something or not. If they are happy I'm happy.

Talking of memories of county cricket, only last week, the T20 finals day was one of the most remarkable sporting events I have been to. Both semi-finals were ties, but not only that, in the first semi, Lancashire needed 7 off 1 and hit a six, and Somerset needed 5 off 6 and then 1 off 1 and got run out. The atmosphere was truly incredible, and to cap it all off, Paul Nixon's Leicestershire won in the final, in his last domestic game for them. Brilliant stuff.

As a Lancashire fan i just can't see it as our batting has well and truly plummeted in the last 10 innings. Can't think of a score over 300 since mid season??

Though when i see the team sheet including Chapple, Mahmood, Hogg and Keedy i do believe most teams will struggle to make 300 against us.

Chanderpaul is the best end of season acquisition i have seen in a long time!! Weather is going to be huge and with it pouring down in Manchester i can only hope it's ok in Liverpool!!

Hi Kevin.
Have to admit the few games I've watched on TV where the Pink ball has been used I've found it harder to see.
I agree with you that there was no reason why the new ball couldn't have been used for 2nd 11 games or even for one round of games by all teams during the summer.

Lancashire have got some very promising youngsters coming through and Lancs fans must be feeling a sense of Deja Vu after last season.

Along with Chanderpaul Wright has been outstanding in the last couple of games and the Bears do appear to have a knack of getting the best out of players who have struggled at other counties since the new regime took over. Ricky Clarke is resurgant, Chopra started the season with two double tons and Will porterfield has had a very good season, plus Wright's amazing transformation. Neil Carter won the PCA's most valuable cricketer award last season and the resurgance of the above mentioned players means that another valuable player who missed part of the season injured has not been missed. Warwickshire probably have more depth in their squad now than any other county.

Whatever happens, it will go the last round which is great after 2010's classic last day decider.

I have a feeling it will be Warwickshire who look to have come good at the right time. I feel sorry for my side Durham who have had their last 3 homes games, 2 draws & a defeat badly affected by the weather when they were well placed to win

I am an Indian cricket fan and I would like to congragulate England for their comprehensive victory and becoming world number 1 Test team.

England's recent dominance in Test Cricket has been masterminded by Flower-Strauss combination much like Kirsten-Dhoni did for India's elevation. But I feel that England's First-class cricket had a crucial role in their recent resurgence considering the number of back-up players they had at their disposal when needed (Tremlett, Onions, Finn and so on). My only observation from what I have read in this blog and other english newsite is that County cricket is competitive and well supported by its loyal fans (and excellent coverage by ´óÏó´«Ã½ too) which is definetly not the case here in India where few knows who will be next Sachin, Dravid , Laxman or Kumble. I wish in India we had a similar first class system as in County Championship where it entices teams to win more than draw subject to favourable pitches .(Last season first class Ranji Champion Rajasthan , a minnow, drew 8 matches including the crucial Q.F, S.F, and the Final ; they won courtsey first-innings lead!)

The pink ball experiment has to happen sometime (I suppose) but I cant see it putting bums on seats for county championship cricket. To do that we'd have to go really radical and allow test players to play for their counties between test matches! The 'price' of England success it seems is ever poorer county cricket. Am I alone in thinking it is a price not worth paying if our only 'answer' is pink balls and 9pm finishes?

Kevin, on the subject of the 'pink ball' the match between Kent and Glamorgan will be the first major game it has been trialled, forgetting the MCC game in Abu Dhabi at the start of the season. However we are the only country that does not need day/ night tests, we are the only country that consistently fills our stadiums for tests. Why are we constantly looking for ways to change our game? I very much doubt that in the long run playing county championship games day/ night will increase their attendance.

Thanks again for your posts. Good to hear from Arun. I think we can easily forget what we have going for us here. Frustration arises when I think how underated the competition is and sometimes it's badly treated.
Slightly disagree with thebeaker. There is a duty on the game here to help maintain Test Cricket and there are many reasons to be worried about it. Day/Night might work? But it's for others to decide how big an issue any of these things are.

Interesting debate.I have never really subscribed to the view that the counties should primarily exist to supply the national team. Would I swap this summers England success for a trophy for my county? I rather think I might but I see no reason why England success and successful county cricket have to be mutually exclusive.I think the number of forgien stars counties are allowed should frankly be a matter for them,surely then young English stars would have to be something a bit special to make an impact? Currently what is sold as 'first class' cricket is often nothing of the kind. Imagine the Premier League with no England internationals playing in it,would that be acceptable? Of course not,season tickets would go un-renewed all over the country but county members are expected to swallow it in the name of international success. I believe there is an alternative to central contracts but if not then counties must be allowed to provide their members with the best XI players they can afford,they should not be expected to operate with one hand tied behind their backs.

I'm absolutely amazed that Lancashire (for reasons I'm not too sure about) have actually moved the last Championship game of the season from Old Trafford to Aigburth. If word gets around that we are likely to win our first championship outright in living memory, fans will descent from all over the place onto what is a very small ground with no infrastructure to cope.

What are you on about Lady_stormrider? Lancashire's last game of the season is at Taunton against Somerset next week....

Also unless Somerset have some hope of winning don't expect a contrived result there next week. I very much doubt the players have forgotten on the final day of last season how the Lancs batting order collapsed and have Notts the the 2 points they needed to win the Championship (not to mention a generous chase earlier in the season). The faithful will certainly be livid if we did.

Nothing to take away Notts achievement of last year they were certainly deserving winner but we owe Lancs nothing.

Regarding Pink Balls & Day Nighters...

A day nighter at a suburban or city ground rather than a provincial ground would provide more of a realistic trial. Transport to and from Canterbury at peak hours is bad enough. Doubt many Glamorgan fans will hang around for a late finish.

So where are we on game currently now for next week

Warwickshire are well and truly in the driving seat and with what seams their inevitable full points victory and 6 point lead on Durham you'd have to favour them barring any weather or Notts resolve.

Equally Notts appear to be out of this now as they need a win the best they can hope for is a draw.

Somerset have a lead of 80 and there almost certainly will be a run chase tomorrow at some point provided Notts haven't been put to bed by the time the cidermen declare. So they are in with a chance and Yorks will have some semblance of hope they can avoid relegation or at least force Hants to put some points on the boards next week.

Hants and Lancs is too close to call Lancs need a draw as well as Somerset for Warwickshire so it's out of their hands. Hants could sew up the relegation battle so it'll probably be the most interesting game to follow tomorrow.


So yeah pretty interesting results still decide if the relegation battle continues into next week and a how many horse race we have the Championship.

Personal opinion is Warwickshire will win making it a two horse race for title next week and Yorkshire will be relegated tomorrow. Warwickshire I predict and hope out of the two will win the title next week.

Somerset have been rather frustrating this season, though haven't been helped by early season injuries and unavailability, and then the odd player being called up to the Lions squad or for England Limited Overs games, though to be fair most of the Division One teams have too.

On paper, the squad looked to be one of the strongest, yet whenever they find themselves in a good position the batting fails. The difference between winning the championship, and falling short which looks very likely now has been the abject batting in the first two Championship games which we lost by an innings, and then a similarly poor display in the last game against Hampshire.

My main concern is that their are a number of key ageing players in side, not that i'm advocating getting rid of them, but if their going to fulfil their undoubted potential and help Somerset win the elusive County Championship Trophy, it has to be soon, hence why I'm disappointed about this season which looked to be a prime opportunity. The likes of Trescothick, Willoughby and Thomas won't be around for too much longer unfortunately, and I can't help but feel that it's with Tres especially that our best chance of a championship rides as I doubt Buttler and Kieswetter will be available all-season for a long time, whilst Hildreth has tailed off this season.

Hopefully next season will be the year for the cidermen!

I wouldn't worry about Somerset just yet plenty of talent at all ages, we've ridden on Bangers coat-tails a little bit this season (avg 79.66) but you still have to take 20 wickets. My worry is the batting is capable but don't seam to fire if he's out early, however the players are capable. Hildreth has had a poor season but I think that's the mentality of having the season he did last and the Lions tour followed by not being selected by England that's going weight heavily and he would of been lucky to have the season he did in the last.

But yeah I think the future's bright plenty of youngsters Somerset will likely need a third keeper soon but in reality despite not having Thomas and Kartik early door two innings defeats as the start of the season killed Somerset chances. That can squarely be blamed on the majority of the team not one individual they fought back bravely but it was always going to be a struggle. Next season theres always a chance again just got to stop screwing up in the first couple of games.