Patrick Kidd on Cricket

Patrick Kidd blogs on the world of Cricket.

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April 09, 2007
For folk's sake


For some reason, whenever I hear a commentator say "Ireland are bringing on the spinners", I expect a quartet of men with penny whistles, fiddles and spoons to come out and start singing Michael Row the Boat Ashore.

And yes, I know The Spinners are from Liverpool, but they clearly have Irish influences in their music. They wouldn't be out of place in one of Dublin's more traditional pubs on a Saturday night.

Ireland's other spinners have done rather well today, too. New Zealand were 109-3 off 22 overs when Kyle McCallan and Andrew White started bowling in tandem. They took four wickets for 80 in 20 overs between them and if it wasn't for some late hitting by the Kiwi tail they'd have been kept to something around 240. I fear that 263 may be too much for Ireland.

Posted by Patrick Kidd on April 09, 2007 at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 08, 2007


Back with a banger



I don't know whether to be glad or frustrated by the news from Taunton today that Marcus Trescothick celebrated his return to action after his winter wobbly by making 256 for Somerset - in a 50-over match.

Trescothick's innings against Devon featured 25 fours and 19 sixes and he faced just 117 balls for his 256. Which is all well and good but when you consider that England's openers in the West Indies have been hopeless, it makes you frustrated that someone hasn't been able to get inside his head and sort out whatever problem he has with touring. Especially as Trescothick has an average of 67 in five one-day internationals in the Caribbean.

I don't want to make light of mental illness, and Trescothick deserves everyone's sympathy and understanding, but at the same time he is one of only 13 players to have an ECB central contract, which carries a significant salary bonus. The ECB doesn't disclose precisely how much, but the contracts come in three bands and we can presume that Trescothick as a senior player would be in the top-earning one. I understand that brings between £350,000 and £400,000. Even if he is reduced to the lowest band for not playing, he will be on something above £200,000.

Not bad money for missing the two biggest events of the winter: the Ashes and the World Cup. Yes, he has had hernia problems as well and his recovery from surgery, combined with today's innings, may set him up for lots of runs against West Indies and India this summer. But is there any point in picking him - especially giving him a central contract - if he won't tour again next winter?

Posted by Patrick Kidd on April 08, 2007 at 07:54 PM | Permalink