I always thought Bairstow should be in the team . England need gutsy combative cricketers . But I fear calling Bairstow up now will shine the light even more on the lack of preparation.

Save the county game take. 2. Bring national counties into the 1 day cup and t 20 blast enabling national counties to have a shot at reaching 1st class divisions even if it means a play off day for promotion & relegation. The only barrier I see is self preservation !

Increasing competition at all levels & creating a bridge between 1st class & national
county game would give the game a boost.

Save the county game. A 3 way split with 2 top divisions looks the way to go. With 3rd division add 2 extra teams either Irish provinces, / Emerald Xi , Scotland or 2 national / minor counties with promotion & relegation .

The destruction of English cricket clear to see in a wet September ! The stupidity of the ECB in creating & scheduling a competition the 100 at the expense of international & county cricket beggars belief.

People keep saying IF India had held more catches, IF Bumrah had not bowled no balls, IF IF IF...

But they didn't and he did.

IF Harry Brook hadn't played a daft shot on 99, if Woakes wasn't undercooked, IF IF IF...

A cricket scoreboard does not include IFs

#ENGvsIND

A wake up call for test cricket. While the West Indian predates franchise cricket, the proliferation of tournaments is damaging West Indian cricket.

A plan for Test Cricket :

A plan for test cricket :

Time for proper test championship with promotion & relegation and an opportunity for higher ranked teams to play lower ranked teams.

Was this the best West Indies Xi ? Probably not ! No Pooran, No Holder . World Cricket needs to promote and protect Test Cricket.

This should be a wake up call for world cricket at a time when we see the drama of test cricket at Lords. While the West Indies decline predates franchise cricket the growth of latter is not helping.

27 all out should be a wake up call not just for the West Indies but World Cricket. International teams should be able to turn out their best XI. .

Cricket in state schools: New trophy named after Ben Stokes and Heather Knight to be launched in 2026 A new nationwide cricket tournament for state schools will launch in 2026 with the trophy named after England cricketers Ben Stokes and Heather Knight.

This is a brilliant development . For far too long English cricket has been dominated by private schools … so much talent ignored.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...

A great win for South Africa and a great win for Test Cricket #Cricket #WTC

This is a wonderful ground in a wonderful part of the country I was called called . A ground I have even played on .

I remember it well broadcast on TV , whenever I drive through or near Darley Dale it’s the first thing that comes to mind . How cricket benefited from out grounds & the 40 over game .

Cricket pitch at Darley Dale in foreground, crowd on boundary edge alongside red bus with white roof. Peak District hills in background

Poster advertising the fixture, with bold red lettering

Darley Dale on the edge of the Peak District hosted its’ one and only county fixture on the last weekend of the 1975 John Player League season. A packed crowd of 6,000 witnessed Hampshire capturing the league title with a comfortable win over hosts Derbyshire.
#johnplayerleague #jpl #sundayleague ❤️🏏

How about 2 levels of World Test Cricket championship ? How about a premier ODI tournament for developing & lower ranked ODI nations!

Excellent points James. We should encourage global expansion but not just at a T 20 level . How do develop 1st class domestic cricket ? How do we develop the international game ?

I do wonder where are the best grounds with a bar ? Or the where the best cricket teas are served ?

Why not 5 match series against New Zealand ?

If the Champions Trophy were hosted in major cricketing nations play games at new or different venues like Darwin, Cairns, Alice Springs, Hobart in Australia or Taunton, York, Canterbury etc in England .

Why not hold the future Champions trophy in Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, Nepal, Singapore, Bermuda, USA promote the game globally.

There was a clear point when it was held an ICC associate country like Kenya.

Stomach churning to read Trumps comments. US loosing any sense of holding morality ! Shameful days !

It certainly looks as if the control has been lost . But what happens when or if the 1st class game & season is restructured ? Who has supremacy central contracts or 100 player contracts ? Who decides who plays Team England or Franchise owner?

Increasingly looking as if the 100 has won the battle for the future cricket.