It is usually the case with ECB releases that the omissions say more than the contents. It also doesn't say that the overall number of clubs or players has increased since 2022, which presumably means they have decreased.
This would suggest that there are fewer, larger clubs.
I think the 2013 figures were from a written survey to each club, rather than Play-Cricket. This could still have the double-counting you describe, but is more likely to have under-counting as well.
It's quite generous to suggest that Middlesex are not already irrelevant, but it's not clear whether the revolting former players are presenting any answers to Middlesex's issues.
Luke Wright resigned as England men's selector in January, and no replacement is likely until May. Brendon McCullum is having a three month vacation in New Zealand.
Who is going to be watching the County Championship to decide who will replace the underperforming Test players?
The story of Bazball is, as is appropriate, consistently doubling down. First Rob Key added an extra two years to McCullum's contract, and now Richard Gould personally backing both McCullum and Key to turn things around.
It's a risky gamble. If it fails, all three have to go.
If English cricket only has half the number of Dukes balls needed for the cricket season, there are two clear solutions:
1) Seven rounds of the Championship with the Kookaburra red ball.
2) Division 2 plays with the Kookaburra all season.
Instead of seeing interviews with hard-hitting questions like "Are you looking forward to playing for Kent?" or "Are you disappointed about this winter?", lots of people are now seriously asking if they're covering up something major.
The ECB *stinks* at public relations inews.co.uk/sport/cricke...
If McCullum keeps his job now, then that is locked in until late 2027. There's no other convenient times in the schedule to make a change.
If the England team falters, it should be Rob Key who gets the sack. This would give his successor time to try and 'fix' McCullum.
Remember when The Hundred was specifically designed to attract cricket fans from the British Pakistani community because it would shake off the "pale, stale and male" image of county cricket and the England team?
Why do commentators keep getting hired then? Because their communication skills help massively in job interviews, and they have more name recognition and connections than almost anyone outside the media.
To fix English cricket, you must first fix the ECB's recruitment methods.
People opposing Strauss' possible return to the ECB are suggesting Atherton, Hussain or even Vaughan as alternatives. This misses the point.
Commentators main skill is to talk plausibly about cricket. When hired in more hands-on roles, in all sports, they almost always fail.
At the halfway point of the Men's T20 World Cup group stages, neither England nor Australia are in the top two spots needed to make the next round.
If both don't qualify, expect the next World Cup to be restructured to ensure the Big Three are guaranteed more matches.
With that short innings from captain Harry Brook, he probably has time for a quick pint before he has to face the media.
Not that he has a problem, obviously...
The thing to remember about the ECB putting Sussex into special measures due to its long term financial mismanagement is that the ECB hired the then-CEO of Sussex CCC as its Managing Director Of The Professional Game just two year ago.
You've got to laugh... www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/j...
Rob Key apparently gave Harry Brook a "final warning" three months ago regarding his drunken behaviour.
What followed showed Key's complete lack of authority or respect from the players. They clearly see him more as a golf partner than a boss. He has to go. www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2026...
We would like to apologise to the ECB, specifically Brendon McCullum and Rob Key.
We have long said that the ECB couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery, but this team has demonstrated that they can organise one anywhere. This is progress. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...
The tough pill for England and their fans to swallow is that this was a genuine opportunity to win an overseas Ashes.
Australia had a relatively weak batting lineup, and only one of their first choice bowlers through most of this series, but still dominated England.
McCullum and Stokes can think themselves lucky that they are not in football, because a performance like last night would be framed as them having "lost the dressing room" and they would be hounded until they were sacked.
Under Brendon McCullum, England's Test team haven't won a series against India or Australia (in four attempts), and finished fifth out of nine teams in the 2023-25 World Test Championship.
There's clearly room for improvement here.
Recommendation 14: Sustain an exciting 'shop window' for the game Our proposed Actions · Create a clear style of cricket for England, aligned to What it Takes to Win, that everyone understands, buys into, and knows their role in · Create inclusive culture so everyone feels welcome – both new and existing players and staff – giving players the psychological safety to express themselves. Our Rationale England may not always be able to compete financially with T20 leagues, but it can coexist as an option for players by being attractive on culture and style of play, creating an environment that players want to be a part of. England have established and will look to sustain this with their white-ball teams and are on the path to establishing this in Test cricket. This will help deliver an engaging, exciting style of cricket, where the mentality is to focus on playing in the right style and letting the results look after themselves.
Recommendation 14 from the review mandated a implementing a single, 'exciting' style of cricket for the team, whilst also prioritising both this style and the players' morale over results.
"Letting the results look after themselves."
Sounds familiar...
Recommendation 2: Improve our shared understanding of what it takes to win. Update What it Takes to Win (WITTW) research on the batting and bowling skills required to win in Test and limited overs cricket. This includes broadening the analysis to include a deeper understanding of the physical and psychological factors that predict how well a player may perform in elite cricket · Embed the game’s WITTW analysis into the ECB coaching curriculum and the wider network ethos · Implement mobile ball tracking technology within the domestic game to ensure that any WITTW skills are measured objectively.
For example: The 2022 review's second recommendation is to identify key factors which can be measured by ball tracking in county cricket and used for team selection.
Rob Key has done this in relation to 'release height' and bowler speed, without success.
While Sir Andrew Strauss uses England's failures to tout his 2022 High Performance Review, he doesn't say that Rob Key was a co-author of that review.
Key has also implemented parts of that review, which we did a point-by-point critique of at the time: beingoutsidecricket.com/2022/11/02/t...
England said their four nights in the beach resort of Noosa had been scheduled for more than a year, which possibly leaves it as one of the best-planned parts of the tour. Some used it in the spirit it was intended. Root, for example, had accommodation with his family away from the main drag and was never spotted near a bar. It was curious that more family members were not present for what was billed as a break from the Ashes. For others, it was a glorified stag do. Some members of the team followed two days of drinking in Brisbane with four more in Noosa – six in total, as many days as there had been of Test cricket at this point in the tour. The England party was hardly inconspicuous, drinking by the side of the road, with plenty wearing traditional Akubra hats that became the uniform of the holiday. There was a three-line whip issued to attend a kick-about on the beach, where England were sledged by local radio DJs and mingled with other holidaymakers. Stokes was seen out running, while on another occasion strength and conditioning coach Pete Sim invited the entire group for a run along the coast at 07:45am. Smith, Bashir and Tongue were the only players to turn out.
Famously, Olympic athletes prepare for the biggest sporting event of their lives by going on a week-long bender a few days beforehand.
It really puts them in the physical and mental state required to reach the very pinnacle of their abilities.
McCullum was right. If anything, England overprepared for this series.
After all, they could have lost 3-0 without practicing at all...
Balls taken to lose an Ashes series in Australia:
2010/11: 10,010*
2006/07: 7,022
2017/18: 6,623
2013/14: 6,443
2001/02: 5,380
2021/22: 5,115
This series is now at 4,480, which is 105.5 overs less. The only way this isn't the quickest loss this century is if England win or draw.
Ben Stokes didn't bowl at all today, which is especially worrying considering that he has England's best bowling average in this series and the must-win nature of the match.
Whatever the issue, it must be serious.
As it stands overnight, while he is not out, Jofra Archer has the second-highest batting average for England in this Ashes.
Even if he was dismissed without scoring another run, he would still be ahead of Crawley, Jacks, Pope, Duckett and Smith, halfway through the series.
The only thing I've found on this suggests Gilchrist is an inch taller than Fisher. I've also not been able to find anything which suggests Fisher plays golf.
Matthew Fisher has taken two wickets for 259 runs in four innings during the Lions tour of Australia, which is an average of 129.50.
By comparison, Nathan Gilchrist has taken nine wickets at an average of 32.56 for the Lions.
Jofra Archer:
Has a higher batting average than Stokes, Duckett and Smith so far in this series.
Would have a much better bowling average if England could catch.
Has bowled more overs for England in this series than everyone bar Atkinson.
Gets clicks when he's in the headline.
