Thoughts on the imminent T20

 I have been giving some thought to the likely first choice Blast side, after being asked my opinion around the ground last week and in all honesty it could go in one of several ways. 

The crux to it all will be in the suggestion by Mickey Arthur in a recent interview that he may go with two overseas spinners. The original idea was that Sufyan Moqim would play the first half of the competition until the arrival of Mohammad Ghazanfar, but I assume the latter may now arrive early, after Mumbai Indians wretched IPL competition.

The first question is who opens with Nye Donald. I had assumed it would be Caleb Jewell, but after his success in the middle order against Northamptonshire, perhaps he stays there to knock it around when the time comes - IF he plays. One alternative could be Martin Andersson at the top, where I think he could do considerable damage with his ability to knock bowlers off a length. He did that with success at Middlesex in his last season there. 

Or there is the more wild card option of Yusuf Bin Naeem, which is why I am so interested in the current Second XI T20. At 19 he is a real talent, thankfully recovered from an injury-hit 2025 and he has been in sparkling form this year. 

In yesterday's game at Leicester, he outscored Donald, which is no mean feat. They added 72 from the first five overs against Trevaskis, Wood and Mike, experienced bowlers all, as he made 47 from 21 balls. In playing him, you are offering opportunity at the right time - when he is in form - while youth in the field is never a bad thing. 

So the team could go:

Donald, Naeem, Montgomery, Madsen, Basra, Andersson, Whiteley, Chappell, Aitchison, Ghazanfar, Moqim.

It was interesting to see Ross Whiteley bowling a couple of overs yesterday, as he could share fifth bowler duties with Andersson and Montgomery. Basra is another option and he will surely play, partly because of his dynamism and also because he was the poster boy for the T20 kit. So it would be silly were he then not in the side...

I have left out Rory Haydon, as he has made such a fine start to his red ball career and I would hate to see his confidence knocked by being smeared around. Having said that, he wouldn't let you down if needed.

If Jewell plays, I would open with Andersson and while the batting is then long, the bowling might be more of a concern:

Donald, Naeem, Montgomery, Madsen, Jewell, Basra, Andersson, Whiteley, Chappell, Aitchison, Ghazanfar/Moqim

With this side, you need eight overs from a combination of Andersson, Whiteley, Montgomery and perhaps Basra.

What we don't know is when or if Pat Brown might be available. At his best he comes into the side as a specialist, but he needs cricket AND the confidence that his twice-operated shoulder is right. As an excellent fielder, he strengthens that department too, but there has to be a question mark, at this stage. 

Mickey Arthur could still play two spinners, with the inclusion of either Shoaib Bashir or Jack Morley, but I think that a less likely scenario when he potentially has two overseas spinners available. Unless we go full on India, circa early 1970s, of course...

One final option, with a nod to the second team, might see Matt Stewart given a game or two. It would depend on performance, but he is another young man doing very well this year and if Chappell or Aitchison needed a break (or heaven forbid, were injured) then his height and regular ability to take wickets could be useful. 

Stewart can be loose at times, which is not uncommon in young bowlers, but he is coming up hard on the rails, in horse racing parlance. His inclusion is less likely at this stage, but not impossible. 

Hopefully you can see from all of that the selection dilemmas faced by Mickey Arthur. He needs to get it right, because we can ill-afford to make a slow start and spend the rest of the competition either playing catch up or simply making up the numbers. 

Finally, if we are playing two spinners, we need to support them with the pitches at home. Because you can bet the contents of your piggy bank on the fact that we won't turn up at away grounds with Ghazanfar and Moqim, to find pitches worthy of Multan and Rawalpindi.

It would be nice though, eh? 

Prospects? I am less confident than I was about the red ball season, because of injuries. Last year we batted pretty well, but seemed to be chasing 200-plus all the time, which is simply not feasible. There were reasons for this, not least Samit Patel's insistence on batting high in the order, which wasn't always effective and certainly killed the running between the wickets. 

Someone has to prove they can limit damage in the Powerplays too, where we at times haemorrhaged runs last year. I thought Patel, with his experience would do that, but he opted for the middle overs, by which time we were considering a white flag.

If Nye Donald can reproduce his sparkling form AND go on once he has reached fifty, there are few in the country can outscore him. There is considerable power in the batting, with the arrival of Basra a major plus. 

For me, it comes down to the bowling unit being more thrifty than in 2025. If they can do that, we will be competitive. I won't offer anything more bullish at this stage.

It won't be long until we find out.

As always, I welcome your thoughts on all of the above!