Eddie Byrom and Nick Welch

There’s 4 blokes who could make a difference to the side

I watched Byrom’s second innings. I see they have him down the order, there’s a lot less pressure there and it showed because he played quite freely. He’s a very good player, I don’t think there’s anyone that keeps his head more still than him when he contacts the ball. They probably should have batted him at 6 last season, he’d be in a better place now. The reality is that sides always need solid openers so I’d guess this is just temporary if he does well and he’ll go back up. These Uni bowling attacks are not in the same dept as a FC line up so I await eagerly his first game against a county. Ed punishes an ordinary attack but is very introspective against better bowlers. It’s not a talent thing, he’s got plenty of that, it’s in his head. He just has to believe and he’s going to be some player.

So do England 😂

Yeah Kent showed the wicket on Twitter. Did the hard yards and then got a driveable back foot shot off some guy bowling bizarre fast leggies it looked like, and inside edged it. That’s his issue, just inconsistent, dynamic but a bit inconsistent. He just needs to rein it in a bit and the big innings will come. Opening in April is like Russian roulette. The problem is he needs to establish himself as an opener because that’s what the teams always look for, but his style of play in red ball is best suited to 4/5. In white ball he should probably be at 3/4 and in T20 he’s fantastic up front. Problem is that’s where the established guys bat. He’s a bit f***ed unless he reels off a string of hundreds basically. His big complaint is being unable to practice at the level he needs to play at. He’s basically done amazingly well considering he’s faced club bowlers once a week. It should be better at Loughborough and the consistency should come. A wasted talent unless he pulls a rabbit out the hat this season.

Limited opportunities for both Welch & Byrom this season, they're still young but it would be interesting to see what they'd do if they were offered central contracts from ZC?? Guys like Brad Evans are also on the fringes of County cricket and maybe tempted to a return if they're offered Central Contracts.

Is it time Zimbabwe said goodbye to the likes of Hamilton, Ervine, Mpofu etc and gave these guys the chance?? Obviously there's a good chance they say no, but a Central Contract might tempt them.

An admin with any sort of savvy would devise a plan that could be a win win for both Zimbabwe and the kids in question. I have a feeling Streak was thinking along the lines I am below.

Zimbabwe aren’t playing much cricket, so surely there can be an agreement in place where these kids roam to play where they see fit but commit internationally and at least to a handful of Logan cup games.

If they could pursue county dreams but play their internationals for Zim as opposed to English ambitions, I think the players would go for this. But there’s too much red tape to that there seems. Ideally they would make their names on the global t20 circuit with all the second rate (and hopefully the premium) comps and you could have a handy career.

On that note, I really hate how Pakistani players I n particular absolutely flood the developing nations setup. You look at any minor European nation, the USA, Canada, and it’s all Pakistani restaurant workers and IT professionals and such.

I know it sounds racist on one hand, but the problem is they have a noxious weed affect on these countries that restricts born and bred euros/North Americans from getting involved in the game, which is what is needed to genuinely grow it. Comps in these countries are almost exclusively Pakis with team names like ‘Islamic Tigers 11’ and they all speak Urdu to each other and it has an exclusion effect and it is no fun at all. I know Americans who have wanted to try playing but have replied with ‘I don’t speak Urdu’ so they never pick up the bat and ball. Would be the same everywhere.

I recently filled in with a German league game and was the only white guy there speaking a non subcontinental language and I can tell you first hand, it was no fun at all.

I don’t know the answer to the problem though, they have every right to want to play and while they kill growth, they do keep cricket bubbling below the surface through participation.

There’s 4 blokes who could make a difference to the side

I watched Byrom’s second innings. I see they have him down the order, there’s a lot less pressure there and it showed because he played quite freely. He’s a very good player, I don’t think there’s anyone that keeps his head more still than him when he contacts the ball. They probably should have batted him at 6 last season, he’d be in a better place now. The reality is that sides always need solid openers so I’d guess this is just temporary if he does well and he’ll go back up. These Uni bowling attacks are not in the same dept as a FC line up so I await eagerly his first game against a county. Ed punishes an ordinary attack but is very introspective against better bowlers. It’s not a talent thing, he’s got plenty of that, it’s in his head. He just has to believe and he’s going to be some player.

So do England 😂