Stop what you’re doing and pay attention: County cricket is about to slightly start

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Edgbaston (CC licensed by Steven N via Flickr)

The County Championship starts tomorrow (Friday). It begins in classic county cricket style with most, but not all, of the counties in action. Excited to see how Surrey start their defence? Well, you’ll just have to wait until next week.

The Tour de France makes a really big deal of starting. They call it the Grand Départ. County cricket’s entrance is moins grand. It’s more like a cheap meal out where you can’t be bothered waiting for everyone to turn up.

Just 12 of the 18 counties are in action, because… why? Have they suffered a fixture pile-up already? The answer to that is probably yes. We’ve a feeling this entire week comprises preponed fixtures. Innovative.

In many ways it’s a big year though, because this is the last county season before…

  • The Hundred starts
  • The 50-over competition becomes an emaciated husk played by reserve team players
  • The first division of the County Championship becomes bigger (10 teams) and completely unbalanced (14 matches)

At the same time, it’s a very small year, because county cricket is going to be trampled into invisibility by the World Cup and the Ashes.

Awake from your slumbers dibbly-dobbly seamers of this green and verdant land! Go forth and nibble it about a bit!

DON'T BE LIKE GATT!

Mike Gatting wasn't receiving the King Cricket email when he dropped that ludicrously easy chance against India in 1993.

Coincidence?

Why risk it when it's so easy to sign up?

14 comments

  1. I don’t like the split infinitive in the headline, KC.

    I’m not totally agin split infinitives, but sometimes they grate and could easily be replaced by a more elegant construction.

    Meanwhile the eve of the county championship has, in London, been hailed with…

    …hail.

  2. Well, that’s a better Leics score than I expected to wake up to.

    Durham started well too, I see, Balladeer. Wonder where they got that Raine fellow from?

    1. I’d feel guilty, but I think he left of his own accord out of what was essentially homesickness.

      Still, doesn’t feel good to take from the little chap. Thank goodness they’ve not also stolen, ooh I dunno, Ned Eckersley…

      1. Eckersley’s up there too? Well, good luck to him. I always liked him, don’t think Leics should have released him.

  3. Anyone doing fantasy cricket this year? I hastily picked a team on the Telegraph game and hardly any of my guys are playing this week.

    Stoneman
    Hildreth
    Bancroft
    Duckett
    Rhodes
    Foakes +
    Willey
    J Patel *
    J Overton
    Gregory
    Plunkett

    1. Hildreth and Gregory will get to play if the rain stops, but you’ve picked the wrong Overton twin. Stay tuned for news from the CACG! (Ideally somewhere where news from the CACG is transmitted!)

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