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  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    Can I wish a sprained ankle on Peter Siddle? That's our last recognised batsman gone!
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,141
    AndyJS said:

    200 should be enough for England.

    Will 120? Looks like it will be more like that.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,933

    Labour MPs have accents from their home regions. Unlike Tory MPs, who talk in a condescending, sneering manner, that they've learnt at their posho schools (along with other things prevalent in single-gender environments).
    Yep. Heard RLB and Pidcock being criticised for their accents. Since they are from Salford and North Shields, they are pretty well spoken.
    At home they'd be described as posh.
  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    DavidL said:

    Will 120? Looks like it will be more like that.
    No, Australia will get 120 about 90% of the time.
  • Do you sound like Michael Gove?
    No - Gove has a much posher accent than me or Ms Brisk.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    AndyJS said:

    200 should be enough for England.

    The chances of England scoring another 120 runs from here are the same as my chances of a threesome with Margot Robbie and Maria Sharapova.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 44,076

    Yes, I did want to soften it - so that I could be more understood. I believe George Bernard Shaw did the same kind of thing and even wrote a famous play/film about it.

    My accent is what it is. (probably not Scottish enough for your tastes)
    Not at all , whilst I have a strong Ayrshire accent I can speak the Queens English when it suits, my wife , daughter and grandchildren all have soft accents.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,775

    On topic, I’m also laying a 2019 election. I think one only comes about by accident.

    2020 I’m much less confident about.

    Same.

    I think no Brexit and no election in 2019.

    Election in 2020 for sure.

    Brexit in 2020 too? Probably.
  • ydoethur said:

    Can I wish a sprained ankle on Peter Siddle? That's our last recognised batsman gone!

    No. He's vital to Essex's title hopes.

    Mind you, he's only our third best bowler - after Harmer (S.African) and Porter (English, but please don't tell the Selectors).
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495

    No. He's vital to Essex's title hopes.

    Mind you, he's only our third best bowler - after Harmer (S.African) and Porter (English, but please don't tell the Selectors).
    A slight niggle that keeps him out for two weeks?
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 9,011

    No, just a class traitor.
    A traitor to the upper class?
  • RogerRoger Posts: 20,431
    edited August 2019

    See also: Tony Blair
    Another one who sounded fake and it turned out he was. The difference between him and FS is that she's chosen one off the shelf which happens to be the same one nearly all newish Labour women have chosen so she sounds both fake and a clone.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 44,076

    No - Gove has a much posher accent than me or Ms Brisk.
    Nobody would mistake Gove's accent as being Scottish.
  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    ydoethur said:

    The chances of England scoring another 120 runs from here are the same as my chances of a threesome with Margot Robbie and Maria Sharapova.
    I'll hold you to that.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 54,801

    No - Gove has a much posher accent than me or Ms Brisk.
    You're more of a Lulu?
  • ydoethur said:

    A slight niggle that keeps him out for two weeks?
    OK then.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    AndyJS said:

    I'll hold you to that.
    Please do!
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 44,076

    You're more of a Lulu?
    another faker
  • You're more of a Lulu?
    Sure why not...
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,660
    geoffw said:

    A traitor to the upper class?
    Exactly!
  • ydoethur said:

    1990-99 one win an average of over 40 would be Thorpe. Who was the other? Michael Vaughan?
    That looks a pretty fair reflection of the decline in the County Championship.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,660
    malcolmg said:

    Nobody would mistake Gove's accent as being Scottish.
    He sounds 'posh Scottish' to me.
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006
    All the activists I know on both sides are gearing up for an election.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    edited August 2019

    That looks a pretty fair reflection of the decline in the County Championship.
    There were some quite weak bowling attacks in international cricket as well in the period 1999-2007. Bangladesh, New Zealand, West Indies, India (away) and Zimbabwe were all sides against whom half-decent batsmen would fill their boots. Now, one the other hand, there are occasional tests against Ireland or Afghanistan and the other world attacks are quite good.

    Edit - although it's also true the championship has been weakened. With hindsight two divisions has been at best a very mixed blessing.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495

    He sounds 'posh Scottish' to me.
    He sounds like a tosser to me, but that's because I listen to people's words not their accents.

    For the same reason, I turn the TV off when that harebained bully Long-Bailey is being interviewed.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 44,076

    He sounds 'posh Scottish' to me.
    Fake f**ker to me, I would never have thought him Scottish by his voice, though most of the posho private school boys are similar.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,660
    notme2 said:

    All the activists I know on both sides are gearing up for an election.

    Gives them a sense of self-importance. Best let them be.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    I think we should make Tim Paine an honorary Englishman - for services to missing DRS opportunities.
  • williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 54,801
    edited August 2019
    ydoethur said:

    He sounds like a tosser to me, but that's because I listen to people's words not their accents.

    For the same reason, I turn the TV off when that harebained bully Long-Bailey is being interviewed.
    I'm not normally a fan of name-based puns, but Wrong-Daily is quite apt. :)
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 51,194
    edited August 2019
    I heard Shaheen last night. She is director of the CLASS thinktank, not an MP.

    According to Wiki, she is from Leytonstone and went to Chingford High School, then PPE at Oxford.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faiza_Shaheen

    I wasn't put off by her accent, which is a bit estuary, so much as her inarticularcy and confused thinking. To be fair, defending and explaining Labours Brexit policy is a challenge for anyone.
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006

    Gives them a sense of self-importance. Best let them be.
    It’s a head ache though... party members, mps, councillors... ppc etc convinced...
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006
    malcolmg said:

    Fake f**ker to me, I would never have thought him Scottish by his voice, though most of the posho private school boys are similar.
    So much for the ‘civic nationalism’ claims of Scot nats.
  • ydoethur said:

    1990-99 one win an average of over 40 would be Thorpe. Who was the other? Michael Vaughan?
    Vaughan is the other with Stewart and Hussein over 35.

    The peak of England batting would have been around 2010/11 with a regular line up of Strauss, Cook, Trott, Pieterson, Bell, Collingwood and Prior all averaging over 40 followed by the more than useful Bresnan, Swann and Broad.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,141
    Foxy said:

    I heard Shaheen last night. She is director of the CLASS thinktank, not an MP.

    According to Wiki, she is from Leytonstone and went to Chingford High School, then PPE at Oxford.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faiza_Shaheen

    I wasn't put off by her accent, which is a bit estuary, so much as her inarticularcy and confused thinking. To be fair, defending and explaining Labours Brexit policy is a challenge for anyone.

    They have a policy? Which hour was this in?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    edited August 2019
    This sounds bad:

    Bangladesh fire: 15,000 homes destroyed in Dhaka slum
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-49382682

    Hard to believe there are no fatalities - but then again the Great Fire of London claimed only 16 lives.
  • ydoethur said:

    There were some quite weak bowling attacks in international cricket as well in the period 1999-2007. Bangladesh, New Zealand, West Indies, India (away) and Zimbabwe were all sides against whom half-decent batsmen would fill their boots. Now, one the other hand, there are occasional tests against Ireland or Afghanistan and the other world attacks are quite good.

    Edit - although it's also true the championship has been weakened. With hindsight two divisions has been at best a very mixed blessing.
    The standard of play in Div 2 seems very much lower than in Div 1.

    The difference between Test and Div 1 standard is well illustrated by the success Alastair Cook had on his return to Essex, and he spends more time on the farm than in the nets.
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006
    kinabalu said:

    Same.

    I think no Brexit and no election in 2019.

    Election in 2020 for sure.

    Brexit in 2020 too? Probably.

    Boris has bet the ranch on October 31at. Do or die we will be leaving then. If Boris is blocked he will bring down parliament and have a general election.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,660
    notme2 said:

    It’s a head ache though... party members, mps, councillors... ppc etc convinced...
    They take too much notice of Sky and BBC news instead of reading PB!
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 51,194
    DavidL said:

    They have a policy? Which hour was this in?
    It was BBC Any Questions, but I only caught the first half.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    edited August 2019

    The standard of play in Div 2 seems very much lower than in Div 1.

    The difference between Test and Div 1 standard is well illustrated by the success Alastair Cook had on his return to Essex, and he spends more time on the farm than in the nets.
    The batting lineups are much weaker, because every time there is a half decent batsman in a division 2 county the big boys lure him away with a huge pay cheque - sometimes illegally. So low scores and frequent collapses are the order of the day.

    I don't think there's quite the same difference in bowling lineups. Or, to put it another way, Anderson, Archer, Wood and Ali all bowl for second division sides.

    Edit - also remember your own side, after a very hard fought promotion battle in division two, absolutely dominated division one the following season. Admittedly the arrival of Harmer may have helped. But I don't think there's quite the gulf people like to claim.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 44,076
    notme2 said:

    So much for the ‘civic nationalism’ claims of Scot nats.
    What are you bumping your gums about about you halfwit , no-one is talking about nationalism , we are talking about accents.
  • notme2notme2 Posts: 1,006

    They take too much notice of Sky and BBC news instead of reading PB!
    I’ll try to calm them down...
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    Scott_P said:
    Not even government by press release. Government by cock-up.
  • ydoethur said:

    The batting lineups are much weaker, because every time there is a half decent batsman in a division 2 county the big boys lure him away with a huge pay cheque - sometimes illegally. So low scores and frequent collapses are the order of the day.

    I don't think there's quite the same difference in bowling lineups. Or, to put it another way, Anderson, Archer, Wood and Ali all bowl for second division sides.
    That might help explain why the Selectors continue to ignore Jamie Porter. He gets decent enough figures but obviously he'd catch the eye more bowling against 2nd Division batsmen.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 20,431
    geoffw said:

    A traitor to the upper class?
    It's nothing to do with class. Advertisers have tested accents to death. The most trusted are Edinburgh. So banks insurance companies etc often go for a soft Edinburgh voice overs. Why would an MP choose a voice that tells the public she's not very bright?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495

    That might help explain why the Selectors continue to ignore Jamie Porter. He gets decent enough figures but obviously he'd catch the eye more bowling against 2nd Division batsmen.
    Well, yes. Look at Will Gidman. Knocked over wickets for fun in Division 2 as a part-time medium pacer. Moved to Notts as a bowler and couldn't buy a wicket.

    Admittedly Notts are infamous for their ruination of promising young players that they steal from other counties. James Taylor, Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke also could be mentioned. But ultimately WRSG was a batsman who could bowl, but the weak batting lineups made him look like a full-on bowler.

    If you want to consider how weak some batting lineups in Div 2 are, check out James Anderson's average this season.

    And then ponder that there are still batsmen in that division who despite the lack of support and the firepower they are facing are still averaging over 50.
  • English bowlers - 50+ wickets at an average of under 30

    1946-1959 debuts - 9
    1960-1969 debuts - 5
    1970-1979 debuts - 6
    1980-1989 debuts - 1
    1990-1999 debuts - 4
    2000-2009 debuts - 6
    2010-2019 debuts - 0

    Including those with 50+ wickets at an average of under 35:

    1946-1959 debuts - 12
    1960-1969 debuts - 7
    1970-1979 debuts - 9
    1980-1989 debuts - 5
    1990-1999 debuts - 6
    2000-2009 debuts - 10
    2010-2019 debuts - 3

    So what was going so well in English cricket in the 2000s which has changed in the 2010s ?
  • English bowlers - 50+ wickets at an average of under 30

    1946-1959 debuts - 9
    1960-1969 debuts - 5
    1970-1979 debuts - 6
    1980-1989 debuts - 1
    1990-1999 debuts - 4
    2000-2009 debuts - 6
    2010-2019 debuts - 0

    Including those with 50+ wickets at an average of under 35:

    1946-1959 debuts - 12
    1960-1969 debuts - 7
    1970-1979 debuts - 9
    1980-1989 debuts - 5
    1990-1999 debuts - 6
    2000-2009 debuts - 10
    2010-2019 debuts - 3

    So what was going so well in English cricket in the 2000s which has changed in the 2010s ?

    Is that First Class or International?

    If it is International then isn't it perhaps due to the success of Broad and Anderson claiming the top spots in the team for a long time preventing others from getting into the team?
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495

    English bowlers - 50+ wickets at an average of under 30

    1946-1959 debuts - 9
    1960-1969 debuts - 5
    1970-1979 debuts - 6
    1980-1989 debuts - 1
    1990-1999 debuts - 4
    2000-2009 debuts - 6
    2010-2019 debuts - 0

    Including those with 50+ wickets at an average of under 35:

    1946-1959 debuts - 12
    1960-1969 debuts - 7
    1970-1979 debuts - 9
    1980-1989 debuts - 5
    1990-1999 debuts - 6
    2000-2009 debuts - 10
    2010-2019 debuts - 3

    So what was going so well in English cricket in the 2000s which has changed in the 2010s ?

    Well, 2010-19 the fact that Anderson and Broad have taken a thousand wickets between them probably restricts the options for the others.
  • geoffwgeoffw Posts: 9,011
    Roger said:

    It's nothing to do with class. Advertisers have tested accents to death. The most trusted are Edinburgh. So banks insurance companies etc often go for a soft Edinburgh voice overs. Why would an MP choose a voice that tells the public she's not very bright?
    My comment followed SandyRentool's about Corbyn being a class traitor. I have no view about class in this matter.
    However on your prompting perhaps I should open up the Henry Higgins Morningside academy for refined aspirant politicians.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    Wonderful comment on Cricinfo:

    "In regards to the batting, take out Smith, and has Australia's really been that much better than England's?" Yeah, but you've seen how hard it is to take him out, right, Keith? Even bodily assault doesn't seem to work.
  • ydoethur said:

    Well, yes. Look at Will Gidman. Knocked over wickets for fun in Division 2 as a part-time medium pacer. Moved to Notts as a bowler and couldn't buy a wicket.

    Admittedly Notts are infamous for their ruination of promising young players that they steal from other counties. James Taylor, Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke also could be mentioned. But ultimately WRSG was a batsman who could bowl, but the weak batting lineups made him look like a full-on bowler.

    If you want to consider how weak some batting lineups in Div 2 are, check out James Anderson's average this season.

    And then ponder that there are still batsmen in that division who despite the lack of support and the firepower they are facing are still averaging over 50.
    Quite, and yet the Selectors seem oblivious to the difference in class between the Divisions - not that they take much notice of County performances anyway.
  • ydoethur said:

    Well, 2010-19 the fact that Anderson and Broad have taken a thousand wickets between them probably restricts the options for the others.
    I'll give you Anderson but Broad's longevity is because of the lack of competent alternatives.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495

    Quite, and yet the Selectors seem oblivious to the difference in class between the Divisions - not that they take much notice of County performances anyway.
    I would say it's more that they (and journalists for that matter) don't seem to get the complexities. From that point of view, they're like a London journalist stubbornly insisting that Brecon showed a Boris bounce, even though if there was one they would have held the seat.

    That might be because Ed Smith used to play only for big clubs in the South East. But I think it's simply because the First Division clubs have a stranglehold on English cricket one way and another and they don't bother to look beyond the end of their own noses.

    For me, I would say performances in the Second Division should be 1) weighted by opposition - a century against Leicestershire is not the same as one against Sussex, Lancashire or even Gloucestershire and 2) bowling performances should be slightly downweighted because of the fragile batting lineups.

    But they don't.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495

    I'll give you Anderson but Broad's longevity is because of the lack of competent alternatives.
    While I'm not starry eyed about Broad, how many 'competent' bowlers can take 8-15 against one of the world's top batting lineups?
  • CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,648
    ** drops in **

    The one thing more boring than watching cricket is listening to people talking about cricket.

    ** drops out **
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    Cyclefree said:

    ** drops in **

    The one thing more boring than watching cricket is listening to people talking about cricket.

    ** drops out **

    Could be worse. Could be 'ze b-vord.'
  • ydoethur said:

    While I'm not starry eyed about Broad, how many 'competent' bowlers can take 8-15 against one of the world's top batting lineups?
    That was in 2015 - how many match winning or even match altering performances since then ?

    That's not a criticism of Broad - we all fade at some point and if there isn't a better alternative coming through.
  • ydoethur said:

  • @ydoethur

    You might like to try Vic Marks' latest book, Original Spin. He's no radical but almost inadvertently lifts the lid on the cliqueishness and amateurism of the English game. It would make you realise that the kind of sophistications you propose are still light years aways and that the Old Boys Network remains the best path to selection and preferment.

    Marks himself did little to earn his caps - first with Somerset, then with England. Typically, he dropped out of the England scene without ever actually having done much wrong. But at least he got a fair chance. I'd sympathise with more had I not watched Ray East and David Acfield bowl Essex to much success round about the same time. Neither were ever capped.

    The book is an enjoyable read, but a little depressing if you care about the game.
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 51,194
    Cyclefree said:

    ** drops in **

    The one thing more boring than watching cricket is listening to people talking about cricket.

    ** drops out **

    PBers have a rather unusual level of interest in statistics, and cricket is the game for statisticians...
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163
    Trying to forget about politics by having a nice drink in Ponteland with some old university friends however the conversation has already gone onto politics.

    Out of 6 Lab voters at the 2017 election, 5 are going to now vote for Jo.

    👌
  • nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483
    Come on life could be worse I’ve just watched Yeovil lose to Barrow that’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495

    @ydoethur

    You might like to try Vic Marks' latest book, Original Spin. He's no radical but almost inadvertently lifts the lid on the cliqueishness and amateurism of the English game. It would make you realise that the kind of sophistications you propose are still light years aways and that the Old Boys Network remains the best path to selection and preferment.

    Marks himself did little to earn his caps - first with Somerset, then with England. Typically, he dropped out of the England scene without ever actually having done much wrong. But at least he got a fair chance. I'd sympathise with more had I not watched Ray East and David Acfield bowl Essex to much success round about the same time. Neither were ever capped.

    The book is an enjoyable read, but a little depressing if you care about the game.

    How about 3200 wickets at 19 each - and one test cap?

    http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/18418.html
  • MikeSmithsonMikeSmithson Posts: 7,382
    notme2 said:


    Boris has bet the ranch on October 31at. Do or die we will be leaving then. If Boris is blocked he will bring down parliament and have a general election.
    Not sure. With a legally reuqired 5 week campaign, unlike anything Blair had to face, there's too much space for somehing to go wrong.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    nichomar said:

    Come on life could be worse I’ve just watched Yeovil lose to Barrow that’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back.

    At what?
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 55,141
    ydoethur said:

    While I'm not starry eyed about Broad, how many 'competent' bowlers can take 8-15 against one of the world's top batting lineups?
    Stuart Broad has so far taken 450 wickets, 67 more than any other English bowler in test history, apart from Jimmy Anderson. In any other era he would have been our absolute star.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,933

    Trying to forget about politics by having a nice drink in Ponteland with some old university friends however the conversation has already gone onto politics.

    Out of 6 Lab voters at the 2017 election, 5 are going to now vote for Jo.

    👌

    How on Earth did you find 6 Labour voters in Ponteland? Keep your voices down, you'll be deported over the City lines!
  • ydoethur said:

    How about 3200 wickets at 19 each - and one test cap?

    http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/18418.html
    The history of the game is littered with similar examples. I remember Tom Cartwright and Derek Shackleton but I'm sure any cricket fan can come up with their own illustrations.
  • Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 14,636
    edited August 2019
    ydoethur said:

    At what?
    Clogdancing?
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 76,648
    ydoethur said:

    How about 3200 wickets at 19 each - and one test cap?

    http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/18418.html
    It sounds as though selectorial methods have not greatly changed...
    David Foot, biographer of "characters who do not fit into their social mould" begins Cricket's Unholy Trinity, about Parker, Jack MacBryan and Cecil Parkin, with the story of Parker confronting Plum Warner, the establishment's establishment man. Parker grabbed the lapels of the older man when asked to stand aside to make way for him. "I'll never in my life make way for that bugger," Parker declared. "He's never once had a good word to say for me. This so-and-so has blocked my Test career. I played once in 1921 and he made sure I never played again. Make way for him? Mr Bloody Warner will go to bed when I've finished with him."...
  • nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483
    ydoethur said:

    At what?
    ydoethur said:

    At what?
    National league football if you have lived in south Somerset you may understand but I doubt it😀
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,660
    Off topic: This afternoon, picking fruit in the garden. This evening, eating homemade apple and blackberry crumble. Yum!

    (Time for seconds)
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 34,559

    @ydoethur

    You might like to try Vic Marks' latest book, Original Spin. He's no radical but almost inadvertently lifts the lid on the cliqueishness and amateurism of the English game. It would make you realise that the kind of sophistications you propose are still light years aways and that the Old Boys Network remains the best path to selection and preferment.

    Marks himself did little to earn his caps - first with Somerset, then with England. Typically, he dropped out of the England scene without ever actually having done much wrong. But at least he got a fair chance. I'd sympathise with more had I not watched Ray East and David Acfield bowl Essex to much success round about the same time. Neither were ever capped.

    The book is an enjoyable read, but a little depressing if you care about the game.

    I've not read the book, but agree with sentiments about East and Acfield.
    I suspect Porter would be spoken about more as a possible if he played for Surrey.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495
    nichomar said:

    National league football if you have lived in south Somerset you may understand but I doubt it😀
    That really does sound boring.
  • ydoethurydoethur Posts: 73,495

    Off topic: This afternoon, picking fruit in the garden. This evening, eating homemade apple and blackberry crumble. Yum!

    (Time for seconds)

    Stop it, I'm trying to diet and you're making me hungry!
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 98,533

    On topic, I’m also laying a 2019 election. I think one only comes about by accident.

    2020 I’m much less confident about.

    By accident is why I'm so sure there will be one. Theres a lot of scope for unintentionally backing into a wall leading to one.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 34,559
    nichomar said:

    Come on life could be worse I’ve just watched Yeovil lose to Barrow that’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back.


    There's a Canvey team in a 'promotion possible' position (so far) in National League South. And my now local team have started with a win.
    So it's not all bad!
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 34,559
    ydoethur said:

    That really does sound boring.
    People get very worked up about it.
  • malcolmgmalcolmg Posts: 44,076

    Trying to forget about politics by having a nice drink in Ponteland with some old university friends however the conversation has already gone onto politics.

    Out of 6 Lab voters at the 2017 election, 5 are going to now vote for Jo.

    👌

    Oh Dear
  • Peter_the_PunterPeter_the_Punter Posts: 14,636
    edited August 2019

    I've not read the book, but agree with sentiments about East and Acfield.
    I suspect Porter would be spoken about more as a possible if he played for Surrey.
    He's not the answer to England's prayers but I watched him play against Middlesex two seasons ago when all the pacemen struggled on a hard flat pitch. Porter was the pick of them howver, followed by Stephen Finn, and then Toby Roland-Jones. Soon after, TRJ won his first England cap and was subsequently picked for the Ashes tour.

    I think the simple and unexaggerated truth is that if you play regularly for Middlesex you will sooner or later be picked for England. If you play for any other County, it is not necessarily sufficient to be of Test standard. Generally speaking, the further your County is from St John's Wood the less chance you have of an England cap.
  • nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483

    People get very worked up about it.
    Oddly enough Paddy didn’t really get the football thing and was not really interested whereas David Laws never missed a match but the decline in YTFC seems to mirror Lib Dem prospects but I think we’re on our way back on both fronts.
  • ralphmalphralphmalph Posts: 2,201
    nichomar said:

    Oddly enough Paddy didn’t really get the football thing and was not really interested whereas David Laws never missed a match but the decline in YTFC seems to mirror Lib Dem prospects but I think we’re on our way back on both fronts.
    Have they not spent a lot of money on a female team, so reducing funds for the mens team?
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 34,559

    He's not the answer to England's prayers but I watched him play against Middlesex two seasons ago when all the pacemen struggled on a hard flat pitch. Porter was the pick of them howver, followed by Stephen Finn, and then Toby Roland-Jones. Soon after, TRJ won his first England cap and was subsequently picked for the Ashes tour.

    I think the simple and unexaggerated truth is that if you play regularly for Middlesex you will sooner or later be picked for England. If you play for any other County, it is not necessarily sufficient to be of Test standard. Generally speaking, the further your County is from St John's Wood the less chance you have of an England cap.
    Or Surrey.
  • SandyRentoolSandyRentool Posts: 22,660

    Have they not spent a lot of money on a female team, so reducing funds for the mens team?
    That would have got Paddy interested...
  • nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483


    There's a Canvey team in a 'promotion possible' position (so far) in National League South. And my now local team have started with a win.
    So it's not all bad!
    I have to say following Yeovil have given me some of the most memorable moments of my life, FA trophy at Villa park two Wembley play offs you have to take the rough with the smooth.
  • ralphmalphralphmalph Posts: 2,201
    nichomar said:

    I have to say following Yeovil have given me some of the most memorable moments of my life, FA trophy at Villa park two Wembley play offs you have to take the rough with the smooth.
    I support a League 2 team and you are dead right, the playoffs are great and the final even better, especially if you win it.
  • PClippPClipp Posts: 2,138

    Trying to forget about politics by having a nice drink in Ponteland with some old university friends however the conversation has already gone onto politics.
    Out of 6 Lab voters at the 2017 election, 5 are going to now vote for Jo.
    👌

    Obviously went to a good university.
  • nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483

    Have they not spent a lot of money on a female team, so reducing funds for the mens team?
    They actually had a very successful women’s team playing in the premier league but the two clubs male and female aren’t linked financially afaik that team have suffered a double relegation and will struggle to survive I think.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 34,559
    PClipp said:

    Obviously went to a good university.
    Newcastle?
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 44,775

    Trying to forget about politics by having a nice drink in Ponteland with some old university friends however the conversation has already gone onto politics.

    Out of 6 Lab voters at the 2017 election, 5 are going to now vote for Jo.

    👌

    Stay put. I'll be there as soon as I can.
  • FloaterFloater Posts: 14,207
    kinabalu said:

    Stay put. I'll be there as soon as I can.
    I guess the Libs are preparing for Government
  • GallowgateGallowgate Posts: 20,163

    Newcastle?
    Haha correct.
  • steve_garnersteve_garner Posts: 1,019
    According to the BBC News website Owen Jones claims he has been attacked by "far right activists" outside a pub in the early hours.
  • He's not the answer to England's prayers but I watched him play against Middlesex two seasons ago when all the pacemen struggled on a hard flat pitch. Porter was the pick of them howver, followed by Stephen Finn, and then Toby Roland-Jones. Soon after, TRJ won his first England cap and was subsequently picked for the Ashes tour.

    I think the simple and unexaggerated truth is that if you play regularly for Middlesex you will sooner or later be picked for England. If you play for any other County, it is not necessarily sufficient to be of Test standard. Generally speaking, the further your County is from St John's Wood the less chance you have of an England cap.
    I was thinking about this the other day and Simon Hughes must have been the only Middlesex regular not to play for England during the 1980s.

    Although I would also add that playing for Yorkshire or Lancashire does your prospects no harm.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 60,349
    edited August 2019
    Scott_P said:
    The UK government deciding where UK taxpayer’s money is spent? It’ll never catch on.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 76,648
    Scott_P said:
    Putting faith in Boris Johnson’s word ?
    There are those who will tell you that’s perhaps not a rock solid strategy.
  • Stark_DawningStark_Dawning Posts: 9,978

    Or Surrey.
    And wasn't selection highly influenced by the 'Essex Mafia' back in the early 90s?
This discussion has been closed.