Random thoughts

Like many of you, I watched the T20 quarter finals last night and for a lot of the time felt that "this could have been us." Doubtless that feeling will be intensified tonight when watching Northamptonshire play Somerset in what should have been "our" tie and Lancashire, a team we defeated twice, play in the other game at Essex.

What has surprised me is the players who are unavailable for this stage, with Dwayne Smith of Sussex absent last night playing for Barbados and Keiron Pollard back in Trinidad and missing for Somerset. It seems somewhat strange that two players who had key roles in getting their counties so far are absent for the business end of the competition, but no more so than the number of counties who seem to be playing the cricket equivalent of tag wrestling with their overseas players, Lancashire being prime culprits in this area. So far this season they've had Ashwell Prince, Simon Katich, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Nathan McCullum and Kumar Sangakkara registered, while being thwarted in signing Shoaib Malik. How many of these guys got to the stage of knowing the names of their team mates is a moot point…

Equally strange was watching Imran Tahir of Warwickshire bowling against the team he played for last season (Hampshire) and will be playing for next year. It highlights the nomadic nature of the overseas star these days, with no real loyalty being offered in either direction. Ashley Giles has made no secret of wanting a top batsman at Edgbastonfor next year, which could be a blow for one or two young players if Jonathan Trott or Ian Bell drop out of the England reckoning and reclaim a county place. Their attack didn't look especially strong last night and neither Rikki Clarke nor Ant Botha turned their arms over. Neil Carter has had another good summer but they cannot expect him to keep producing the goods as he reaches the veteran stage.

The irony of the Memorandum of Understanding, in which counties are expected to play young players or face financial penalties, is that a number of players are being pitched in before they're ready. A former player was bemoaning the fact at the weekend that young bowlers don't really know what they're doing until their mid-twenties and haven't filled out enough to be bowling regularly, while batsmen haven't really worked out their game until that stage. Yet three are supposed to play for every county in every match...

For what it is worth, I think that the standard of county cricket has dropped a little this year and I am not alone in that thought. With sightings of English players a rarity and youngsters who are simply not ready taking places in some sides, the itinerant overseas players flit in and out, often doing little to justify the cost of bringing them in. If I was able to make one change to the regulations it would be that an overseas player with ANY international recognition in the previous five years should be able to come here as either the designated overseas player or as a Kolpak, the latter obviously if the requisite trade links with the country are in place. I would also limit counties to a maximum of one Kolpak.

Notionally, we would then be able to retain Rogers and Peterson for another three years, players who have enhanced the county game with their performances. Other teams could draw on the likes of Van der Wath, Louw and Theron as Kolpaks, good players who would improve the overall standard. Such a move would ensure that sub-standard, passport-of-convenience players who had not represented their country could not be brought in and clubs and fans alike would reap the benefit.

In the words of a very old advert, you know it makes sense

Postscript

How poor were Northamptonshire tonight? It is hard to believe that they beat us, as they were as bad tonight as we were at the County Ground.

Very disappointing.