Thoughts on last night

Starting the Vitality Blast campaign and being 0-2 after two games is not the ideal beginning. 

It's not new. We don't, from memory, usually get off to a flyer and the reassuring thing is that in both games we have come close. It is, as one correspondent put it, small margins that are letting us down at this stage. 

Northamptonshire won last night because one man was prepared to play himself in, knock it around and then utilise his power for the short boundaries at the end. Ravi Bopara, like Samit Patel and so often Wayne Madsen, showed that for all this format is supposed to be for young, lithe athletes, there is still space for a seasoned cricketer with plenty between the ears. 

They also benefited from David Willey lending his experience with the bat and bowling an exemplary spell with the ball at the start of the innings. They are unbeaten so far, so how can we translate what they are doing to our side?

Well, for one thing we need to use Martin Andersson more astutely. One of the three form batters in the side this summer, what is the rationale in batting him at seven? He scores quickly, but without taking the unnecessary risks that Nye Donald seems to favour. Part of our problem is that two of our Blast top three are among our least productive batters this summer. I know Nye hasn't played much, but he looks out of touch and has since the pre-season games.

He likes to go over the top early in his innings and teams have got wise to this, the bowlers dropping their length and knowing, with the shot often premeditated, there are rewards to be had. Being one down early puts us on the back foot and while I don't subscribe to the theory that you don't win if you lose three wickets in the Powerplay (it worked for Northamptonshire and has for plenty of other teams over the years) it leaves you playing catch up. 

I know his strengths as well as any of you and when he is in form he clears the boundary with ease, certainly when they are the size of last night. So give the lad a chance, drop him down and give Andersson the chance to open with Jewell. Having Nye and Ross Whiteley for later innings would be no bad thing.

Just as it was asking a lot of Brooke Guest to bat three after keeping wicket, it is asking even more of Donald. He has come into the tournament with little cricket behind him, having recovered from an injury. The concentration required to keep wicket to a high standard, then refocus to open the batting is considerable. Is it fair or indeed  realistic to expect him to succeed?

Samit was terrific last night, but I'm not sure how many of those innings he has in him. He rode his luck and was hitting at everything. He had to, partly because the Power play was so poor and partly because he isn't going to be running twos. Six an over, when the field is in and you are chasing ten, will win very few matches, because you are then chasing two a ball for the rest of the innings. 

David Lloyd is another who should be under scrutiny. I know he scores quickly when he does get in, but our Power plays so far have seen us scoring at less than seven an over. You could do that by simply knocking it around. Brooke Guest, the fastest between the wickets in a potential T20 side, would vastly improve that side of the game and if he was considered for it, should obviously keep wicket. I am prepared to be in a minority of one, but I can't see how you can exclude one of the most technically gifted players in the club from a first choice side.

There would be a challenge if he and Samit were at the crease together, but he might be a better early innings option. The difference in their respective T20 run rates is negligible and, if we are playing an extra bowler, Lloyd's off spin is unlikely to be required.

Speaking of which, aren't we under-utilising Martin Andersson?  One over for eight and a wicket last night, two overs for thirteen and a wicket at Leicester. Surely such figures are worthy of greater opportunity? 

Small margins. The fighting spirit in both games has been commendable, but the 'execution of skills' as Mickey Arthur likes to put it, is missing. I don't think we have better T20 seamers than Pat Brown and Zak Chappell, even if neither is currently at his best. So we need to maximise the output of everyone else, until they rediscover their rhythm. 

For what it is worth, this would be my side to take on Nottinghamshire and to hopefully move forward: 

Jewell

Andersson

Guest

Madsen 

Patel

Whiteley 

Donald

Chappell

Aitchison/Moore

Ghazanfar

Brown

I think it offers a better chance of success. Having said that, Mickey Arthur hasn't shown himself as a man especially willing to change for the sake of it and especially, dare I say it, with players that he brought to the club.

All is not gloom and doom. Regardless of what happened in this competition, we have much to play for and we are playing some very good cricket.

With little tweaks, it could be more successful. cricket...